Four years. It seems insignificant when thinking of a life
but this one is special. Four years ago tonight Sarah received her gift of
life. That same night another family lost someone they loved dearly, just as
much as we love Sarah. Our joy at the sight of Sarah growing each day is
mingled with the painful realization another child died. We’ve never met the
donor family personally and we still hope to have that opportunity sometime in
the future. I can’t begin to imagine
what their healing process must have been like or how they are still coping,
still remembering the loss of a young life with so much potential – a life
tragically cut short.
For us this family will always have a special place in our
hearts. They decided at some point to share the organs of their beloved child
with others, and Sarah was the beneficiary of that child’s liver. The portal
vein Dr. Healey was able to harvest from that liver replaced Sarah’s useless
one. And the liver itself, what a beauty! To date, Sarah has had no major
issues or serious rejections resulting in liver damage. While she’s had her
shares of biopsies, that liver has remained strong and up to the task of
dealing with an active four-year-old.
Tonight --- and each day --- we will celebrate the 2nd
chance Sarah received April 22, 2009. If things had been different and a liver
had not come, our lives would be so very different. I can’t begin to imagine my
life without her silly laugh; or the times watching her dress up as a little
princess and giving us that mischievous smile, as if to say “yes, I really AM
this cute!; or seeing how much she loves her brother and sisters and how much
they love her in return. The thought of a family of five instead of six is
almost too painful to consider.
So, yes, we are grateful that we’ve had these 1400+
additional days with Sarah, all because someone else shared a precious gift
amidst the pain of their loss.
“Thank you” will never be enough.
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