A 9-year-old boy whose tiny body was ravaged by swine flu during the 2009 outbreak is recovering from a much-needed but once-impossible kidney transplant.

Robert Maddox received the kidney from his mother on July 30 at the Mayo Clinic, nearly four years after contracting the H1N1 virus that killed an estimated 1,282 U.S. children.

"He was told by many doctors that he was not a candidate for a transplant," said Dr. Mikel Prieto.

(READ the good news from ABC News)