Nicholas' Gift

"Viva Nicholas! Viva Nicholas!" shouts Reg Green at the dedication of a school named after his slain son. And that sums up how all of Italy feels about 7-year-old Nicholas Green, an American tourist and accidental victim of a bandit’s bullet. In this highly publicized 1994 crime, would-be robbers who fired the fateful shots were not even after the Greens but were trying to intercept a jewelry shipment. Still, the bizarre story of mistaken identity is little more than a footnote to the powerful, true story of two parents’ generosity and willingness to forgive – all while dealing with their boy’s grim prognosis. Under the worst circumstances, Reg and Maggie Green make the most courageous, decision possible: They will donate Nicholas’ organs, a practice almost unheard of in Italy has increased 118 percent, giving more than 3,000 people a second chance at life. It is called "The Nicholas Effect."