A father of four is home in Florida for Father's Day thanks to the lifesaving surgery he received in Chicago.

Andrew Wagner traveled to Northwestern Medicine for a second liver transplant following his battle with stage 1 lung cancer. Wagner won the battle, but learned his transplanted liver from 15 years ago was failing.

As his condition got worse last year, his wife reached out to transplant centers across the country, hoping someone would agree to a second transplant. Since Wagner had not been cancer-free for three to five years, they were told the re-transplant was not an option.

When they traveled to Chicago, Northwestern Medicine agreed to the surgery.

"We're actually rewriting the textbook of indications for transplant here at Northwestern. It's really exciting times," said transplant surgeon Dr. Satish Nadig. "I always call this the renaissance of transplantation because what we're learning from the past is not necessarily what we're taking with us for the future of transplant."

Five months after surgery, Wagner's new liver is functioning well, and he remains cancer-free.

Now he's home with his wife, four daughters, and one granddaughter.

• Chicago
• Florida
• Lung Cancer