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Veteran Detroit firefighter who died on the job gives the gift of life

Posted at 5:50 PM, Nov 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-14 17:50:30-05

Chopper 7 flew over as Detroit firefighters honored one of their own. And it hasn’t been easy.  

The family of Mike Lubig has been inside Henry Ford Hospital for the last six days to go through the organ donation process.  

“He spent 20 years saving lives, and he gets to continue doing it this way,” says his wife, Lisa.  

His organs are being donated to give the gift of life.  

Doctors determined that the heart, liver, and kidneys can be harvested and given to people unknown to the Lubigs. 

Mike put his life on the line every day as a Detroit firefighter. His life came to an abrupt, totally unexpected ending last week.  

“Every time he walked out the door it could be the last time.  So you had to live every day to the fullest because you didn’t know if you had tomorrow, “ said Lisa.

Lubig died on the job in the station of a heart stoppage, then swelling of the brain. He could not be revived.  

It was on a very busy night, and his brothers and sisters in the ranks want his family to get full death benefits from the city.  

“Sometimes the stress of the job gets to you.  We fought four fires that night.  Pretty exhausted.  And things just happen, unfortunately,” said Christopher Shinneman, a Senior Firefighter.  

Mike Lubig also taught his kids to sign up to donate their organs and follow their dreams.  

His family is asking others to also sign up.  

It’s easily done through the Secretary of State’s office and through your driver’s license.