Things turned grim when, according to Siirila, as they were about to transplant, the liver died.

Sadly, Siirila and his wife returned home, where he continued to rest, still unable to return to his beloved job, cutting hair at the Downing Center Barber Shop in Los Gatos.

Then hope returned.

Just two days later, the hospital called again—they had another liver for him. Siirila and his wife returned to the hospital immediately, and at 11 p.m. on Aug. 20 the transplant he had been waiting for, for years, finally began.

According to staff at the UC-San Francisco transplant center, Siirila's progress is unprecedented from that of other transplants they have seen. He was in the intensive care unit for only two days following his surgery and returned home on Aug. 26 after only six days total in the hospital.

"It's just wonderful, the way it all worked out," said Bob, who is already talking happily with well-wishers who have been calling nonstop since he returned home. He added that he feels incredibly lucky to have had what doctors call the perfect donor for his new liver and one of the top 10 liver transplant surgeons working on him—Nancy Ascher at UCSF—in one of the country's top liver transplant centers. The surgery was completed in record time, and so far he is having the best recovery that they have seen in a transplant patient, doctors told Bob and his wife.

"I feel real good right now—a little bit of pain, but nothing serious," said Bob. "I'm doing a lot better than I ever anticipated I would be doing."

Now, he is on the road to a full recovery.

"For the next month or two, I have to just rest and relax," he explained. "I'm all stitched up, and they're really watching for rejection right now. With medication, they can kind of keep control of it."

Speaking of medication, Siirila sends out his sincerest, heartfelt thanks to members of the Los Gatos community who have been holding fundraisers to help him with his medical bills, which are definitely increasing with the costs of his transplant.

"The community has just been so fantastic," he said. "People of every kind of faith and religion have been helping me. It's so incredible. It's really what has been keeping me going."

Siirila said doctors have estimated that his anti-rejection medications will cost around $50,000 in the first year following his transplant and approximately $15,000 per year for the rest of his life.

"The money [from Barber Bob fundraisers] really helps so much with defraying medical costs," Siirila says. He sends out his thanks to the following: Bob Quinn, who created the Barber Bob website to help collect donations and inform the community of Siirila's progress and what donations are paying for; the Mosko family, who organized the Kids Help Bob bake sale in June; the Iron Skillet restaurant, which has hosted Barber Bob nights and donated proceeds to him; Tremaine and Terrick Eto, who sponsored a "guess how many golf tees are in the jar" contest at the barbershop, which has brought in nearly $400 so far; Stephanie McDowell and Kaisa Arra Smith, who earned more than $120 with a lemonade stand; and Michelle Eto and Rich Keith at the barbershop, who have raised more than $7,000 through customers to help him.

Future Barber Bob fundraisers include Barber Bob night at Baja Fresh Mexican Grill on Sept. 15, located at 1008-H Blossom Hill Road in San Jose; a Barber Bob kickboxing clinic on Sept. 18 at 11:30 a.m. at All Pro Tae Kwon Do, located at 15545 Los Gatos Blvd. in Los Gatos; and "Boogie" on Oct. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Babe Sports Bar and Grill, located at 398 S. Bascom Ave. in San Jose.

"I feel like I owe the Los Gatos community my life," said Siirila.

For more information on Barber Bob fundraisers, call Michelle at the Downing Center Barber Shop at 408.377.4550 or visit www.barberbob.org for information or to make donations.