Alex and Mallory, Meet Wolfgang Puck

More than anything else, twenty year old Alex Rampenthal wanted two things: the chance to meet famous chef Wolfgang Puck...

...and a healthy liver.

Alex had been waiting for a transplant for years, since disease began to destroy his liver. His desire to be a chef made Wolfgang Puck one of his heroes. After some false starts and near misses, Alex got his two wishes... sort of.

Georgia Aquarium banquet chef Gregg Brickman helped grant Alex's first fish wish by giving him some cooking tips while Alex was waiting for a liver transplant. Within days of that adventure, Alex had had a transplant.

But the liver didn't take.

?It was very scary. At least my old one had worked for twenty years,? Alex said. ?This one was dying and I didn't know where the next one was coming from."

His first liver was diseased. His second one failed. Alex wasn't waiting for strike three.

"I prayed like crazy,? he said, ?and so did my family and, just like he always does, God pulled one out for me. Twelve hours later, I have Mallory. I named her."

Alex has called his new liver Mallory after another two-time transplant recipient who has become his friend.

The liver is working wonderfully, and Alex feels great.

One down, one to go.

Then Chef Brickman surprised Alex with a visit and a DVD message from someone very special.

"Alex, this is Wolfgang Puck," said the man on the DVD.

Puck took time from his ridiculously-busy schedule to record a message for Alex and sign a chef's jacket.

"I hope you recover soon, because we need you in the kitchen,? Puck said. ?Here is your first jacket. Wear it at home, wear it wherever you are, but we want you in our kitchen."

"Getting to see Wolfgang Puck actually sign the jacket and everything," said Alex, ?means a lot to me."

Doctor Thomas Heffron, who transplanted both of Alex?s livers, came by to see how his patient is doing.

?We?re hoping that this liver takes him, as he says, for the next 60 or 70 years," Heffron said. Then maybe Alex will be a famous chef, ?and we can all go eat in his restaurant."

Alex and Mallory, his new liver, are doing beautifully, and they have a signed chef's jacket from Wolfgang Puck. Not a bad Christmas.