The Internet Helps Dad of 'Success Kid' Have Successful Surgery

The “Success Kid” meme has become a symbol of unexpected joy and positive outcomes on the internet over the last several years. Now, the kid behind the meme has some real success to celebrate.

Sammy Griner was just 11 months old when that snapshot of his triumphant pose became a massively shared meme. Now, the 8-year-old is helping his dad, Justin Griner, who has had kidney disease since 2006, The Daily Dot reported. Sammy stepped up and used his internet fame to help raise money to fund his dad’s kidney transplant surgery.

Sammy’s fame, along with the cleverly worded hashtag #SuccessKidney, helped the family to raise more than $100,000 on their GoFundMe page within just a few days for Griner’s operation and treatment.

Then, last week, after spending years doing daily dialysis treatments, Griner got the call that there was a kidney available, ABC News reported. He had the transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

“This is absolutely the best news we could receive and it’s totally thanks to you,” reads a note on Justin Griner’s GoFundMe page. “Be proud of yourselves, because you did this. It could not have happened now if not for the pure-hearted, selfless kindness of family, friends and mostly strangers. You are the very best of humankind and I’m so thankful to each of you.”

“If the Success Kidney story has a moral,” Lainey Griner, Sammy’s mother, wrote on Twitter, “it’s be an organ donor! Thanks for being part of our amazing transplant adventure.”

h/t Reddit Uplifting