Real Boy From 'Success Kid' Meme Hopes To Raise Money For Dad's Kidney Transplant

“Success Kid” has brought smiles to thousands of people on the Internet, as a popular meme that depicts an infant with a determined look on his face and his hand in a fist. The memes typically include scenarios where a potentially bad situation is turned around to become something pretty successful. See below:

But the actual boy from that photo, Sammy Griner, is now 8 years old and he’s making headlines in a new way: His dad, Justin Griner, is in need of a kidney transplant. Sammy and his mother are hoping to reach out to the Internet to crowdfund Justin's treatment, as well as find a live donor. This is nothing short of sweet, and you can find their donation page on Gofundme.

Laney Griner, Sammy’s mother, at first thought that using the “Success Kid” meme to help them raise money wouldn’t be appropriate. “But then I thought what a positive boost it could bring to our fundraising efforts for people to know this is for the father of the baby who has made so many people smile,” Laney told BuzzFeed News.

She notes that Justin, 39, was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2009 (about two years after the original Success Kid photo was taken), and has been on dialysis since. His mother died from kidney disease, which makes their predicament all the more urgent.

“One can only survive with no natural kidney function and using article kidney filtering for so long,” Laney told the Daily Dot. “His energy and mood are affected, he can no longer work, and he spends 12 hours a week in dialysis clinic. Having been on dialysis for this long greatly increases his risks of developing further complications. The only way to save his life is to get a transplant. There’s no other way around it.”

She also noted that they're hoping to find a live kidney donor; they've tested several family and friends to be donors, but no match has been discovered yet. The Griners are hoping to fundraise $75,000 for a kidney transplant. As of Tuesday afternoon, they’re already over $38,000 and continue to raise more by the minute.

“We’re the parents of ‘Success Kid’ for goodness sake,” Laney told the Daily Dot. “If anyone understands the power, the mass, and goodwill of the Internet, it’s those of us lucky to experience it daily.”