Life
Shark Tank Star Robert Herjavec Buys Prosthetic Leg For Boy Who Had His Stolen
A boy was heartbroken when his prosthetic leg was stolen from him. A Shark Tank star heard about this and took action
Kevin Chen
06.20.17

For many of us, the sight of distant suffering is discouraging. Though we want to help, we cannot, as the people affected are so far away and we lack the means to reach them. That is why it is so touching to watch Robert Herjavec โ€” multimillionaire businessman and co-host of ABCโ€™s Shark Tank โ€” explain his decision to help out a family in need.

When 4-year-old Liam Brenes removed his prosthetic leg to go swimming in Crystal Cove National Park, he could not have possibly expected it would be stolen. Unfortunately that is precisely what happened. The family was desperate for the return of their sonโ€™s artificial limb. A friend of the family set up a GoFundMe to try and cover the costs of a replacement prosthetic, but the financially-struggling family found themselves sinking into despair.

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The Orange County Register
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The Orange County Register

Enter Herjavec. In an interview with Nancy Grace, Herjavec explains his motivations for helping out the Brenes family. โ€œI turn on the news and I hear this story,โ€ said Herjavec, โ€œand I couldnโ€™t believe it.โ€ The injustice of Liamโ€™s story compelled Herjavec to reach out to the TV station he was watching and through them, the Brenes family. Introducing himself as โ€œthe guy from Shark Tank,โ€ Herjavec immediately offered to pay the entire cost of Liamโ€™s replacement prosthetic.

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But Herjavecโ€™s generosity did not end there. โ€œNot only did Robert from Shark Tank get the little boy a new leg,โ€ said Nancy Grace, โ€œjust for a little icing on the cake, heโ€™s sending him to Disneyland.โ€ Herjavec was not content to simply bring Liam back into walking shape. Rather, his goal was to improve the youngsterโ€™s outlook on life in general. โ€œI think, in life, we all have those moments,โ€ explains Herjavec, โ€œthat determine who we becomeโ€ฆ I just felt this overwhelming need to help [and] try to bring some light into his life.โ€

Herjavec refuses to take full credit for this act, opting instead to praise the community that rallied behind the Brenes family after hearing their tale. And although he recognizes why many choose not to help others, he maintains โ€œitโ€™s too easy in life to not help. Itโ€™s too easy in life to not get involved.โ€ Herjavec claims the feeling he got from helping Liam was all he needed to justify his generosity.

โ€œItโ€™s when we give that we do more for ourselves.โ€

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