it s the fact that he s standing here at all. i was very thin and i was basically kind of yellowish, jaundice. reporter: he was born with a rare genetic disorder that affects the organs. his liver was probably functioning at only 10%. reporter: how bad did things get? he could barely keep 250 calories down. reporter: in the summer of 2018 he had to be put on a feeding tube and colorado s transplant waiting list. he would have died for sure. reporter: wait times can often stretch into years, but a month later, a miracle. a match from a living stranger. i remember the day of the surgery and looking across the campus over to where i knew that whoever this person was was on a slab having their liver removed, or a portion of it. and i d never met her.
and there was a connection somehow. i knew there were kids out there that could use the help. and i m healthy and had the means to be able to donate. reporter: that mystery donor? broomfield, colorado, police officer carolyn becker. we re never off duty. whether i m wearing my uniform or not, if i see somebody in need, i m going to help. that was true in this case too. i saw an opportunity to help somebody. reporter: you knew you could save a life? yeah. reporter: doctors removed a portion of becker s liver and transplanted it into clyde. his improvement, almost immediate. my jaundice and yellow eyes went completely away. and the first time i ate a meal, i ate all of it. that was amazing. reporter: the story almost ended there until a special thank you note arrived in officer becker s mailbox seven months later. dear donor, thank you for my chance at a new life. i could never have imagined this happening. reporter: after a search online, officer becker realized
the hoffmans were saddled with huge medical bills. i knew there was more i could do to help. thank you. that will be so helpful for him. thanks. i decided to stand on the side of the road with a sign much like panhandling. thank you. what a wonderful thing you re doing. thank you. i appreciate that. reporter: raising more than $10,000 one donation at a time. this is a ea-68 prowler. reporter: so when clyde and officer becker finally met more than a year after the surgery, the hoffmans had a lot to be thankful for. hard to have words for all of it. i think that s why the first week tears would come. it s a heart felt decision. and you can see there s just like a lot of piping and tubing. when i tell people, yes, donate. donate your organs. now i can truly say go donate. reporter: you think she went above and beyond the call as a police officer and as a human? yeah, i think so. i mean, donating an organ,
family and enjoy your life. and that s your christmas reality check. can i just say, if you had told me that your christmas gift to america was going to be sticking up for butter, i would have said never. butter, misunderstood historically. misunderstood butter. what about butter, john avalon asks. who will speak out for butter? i will. you. that was beautiful. can t wait for that reality check. so a denver area police officer already went beyond the call of duty. way beyond by donating part of her liver to an ailing boy. then she took things one step further to help his family as well. lucy kavanaugh explains. this is an e-8 prowler. reporter: there are few 12-year-olds who know as much about aviation as clyde hoffman. it s beautiful. just the curvature and everything. reporter: it s not just his knowledge of planes that is impressive.
richard jewell. there s a controversy about a made up scene involving a reporter in this film. but it gets you thinking. clint eastwood wants you to think about who got this story wrong and why and who got it right. i think that s worth experiencing. and the third one on my list to have some fun for christmas is cats. it s problematic. why? i love musical theater. but cats has always been a problem. too controversial? it s about cats. it s weird. i always thought it was problematic. i think you should give it another chance. taylor swift is singing. it s beautiful. you know but hey. also a lot of streaming options. i would second the irishman. but the two popes is on netflix. what pope benedict and pope francis might have talked about. and look, it s christmas. how about all the christmas