The Gift of Wellness
ingMy son Apel is now five years old, and my daughter Tala two. Apel will be starting Kindergarten in June, his second year at school, while Tala is already walking and talking, proudly asserting "I wab you, Papa" and "I wab you, Mama." When I go off to work, she tells me "God bwess, Papa!"
It's easy to take for granted how grown up and healthy they are, but I won't.
It wasn't too long ago, for one thing, that either of these kids was in the hospital, one with pneumonia, the other with a banged-up head.
As any parent can attest, one of the most harrowing things any parent should have to go through is the fear for the life of one's child. It's nightmarish to hear your daughter wheezing like every breath was her last and breaks your heart every single time to know she's in such bad shape she can't even summon the breath to cry properly.
While I am familiar with this concept, however, I confess that there are parents who have it a whole lot worse than I ever did.
A friend of mine from high school and his wife are currently facing one of the worst crises, if not the worst crisis, any parent should have to face: that of keeping their child alive against overwhelming odds.
Their baby has a rare liver condition known as billiary artesia, which in simple language means that her liver is unable to properly filter out all of the toxins that pass through it. She's only 10 months old, and most of that time has been spent in a fierce struggle for her life.
The other day I, and several of our other friends, each gave 450cc of blood while we wait to find a liver donor for the baby. Her existence is on a day-to-day basis now, a harrowing experience for any parent to have to go through.
My prayers go out to my friends and I hope with all my heart their daughter is able to find the liver donor in time for the transplant.
It's easy to take for granted how grown up and healthy they are, but I won't.
It wasn't too long ago, for one thing, that either of these kids was in the hospital, one with pneumonia, the other with a banged-up head.
As any parent can attest, one of the most harrowing things any parent should have to go through is the fear for the life of one's child. It's nightmarish to hear your daughter wheezing like every breath was her last and breaks your heart every single time to know she's in such bad shape she can't even summon the breath to cry properly.
While I am familiar with this concept, however, I confess that there are parents who have it a whole lot worse than I ever did.
A friend of mine from high school and his wife are currently facing one of the worst crises, if not the worst crisis, any parent should have to face: that of keeping their child alive against overwhelming odds.
Their baby has a rare liver condition known as billiary artesia, which in simple language means that her liver is unable to properly filter out all of the toxins that pass through it. She's only 10 months old, and most of that time has been spent in a fierce struggle for her life.
The other day I, and several of our other friends, each gave 450cc of blood while we wait to find a liver donor for the baby. Her existence is on a day-to-day basis now, a harrowing experience for any parent to have to go through.
My prayers go out to my friends and I hope with all my heart their daughter is able to find the liver donor in time for the transplant.
posted by Jim Arroyo | 6:52 PM
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