British surgeon Martin Kelly traveled to Ethiopia in 2006 to film a documentary about the charitable organization he'd founded, Facing the World, which helps provide medical treatment to children with severe medical conditions. While he was there, he spotted a child desperately in need of help: three-year-old Zerihun Muche, a boy who was born with a condition called bladder exstrophy, which left several of his internal organs, including the bladder, on the outside of his body.

"His skin was constantly wet and sore and he faced a bleak future," surgeon Imran Mushtaq, who operated on the child, told the Daily Mail. "When Martin saw him he was wandering around naked and he just thought, ‘We have to do something about this boy.'"

Dr. Kelly was so moved by young Zerihun's plight that he immediately referred him to a specialist at a London hospital, where surgeons would treat the child for free. Now, Zerihun is recovering from an intensive procedure that placed his organs inside his body. In the future, he will now be able to father children – a prospect that would have been impossible under his previous circumstances. Soon, Zerihun, now five, will be able to return home to his family in Ethiopia.

Sadly, Dr. Kelly, 42, did not survive to see the child's twist in fate: The surgeon, who was the husband of actress Natascha McElhone, passed away from a heart condition last month.

Nonetheless, by offering to help the sick young boy, Dr. Kelly has left a remarkable living legacy. Zerihun will now have the chance to live a normal life – and for the other surgeons who worked on his case, the experience was so moving that they have now set up a charity devoted to helping other children in developing countries who suffer from the same condition.

"It is so rewarding to treat these children and to give them a better quality of life," said Dr. Mushtaq. Though Dr. Kelly may be gone, it's certain that his generous spirit will survive.

By Kathryn Hawkins