Transplant or not?

We fasted. We prayed. We went to the Temple. Our family and friends also did these things for us. We were fervent in our efforts to get an answer that was right for our family. I think we wanted the answer to be a transplant because at least we would be doing everything that we could to "fix" things. Ultimately, the answer that we both undeniably felt, or rather, knew, was that we should NOT do the transplant. It was a hard answer to receive, but there was no way that either of us could deny that THAT was the right answer for our family.

We never knew how to tell people that we had opted out of that possibility, because we feared that they would not understand our choice. The easiest way to put it into one tiny little nutshell was that we wanted him to have a happy and pleasant life as long as he was given life, versus a hard and tiring life full of Dr. visits, needles, pills, and blood draws for as long as he lived. Quality vs. Quantity.

We knew then, as we know now, that not all transplants are so painstakingly difficult. Transplants are the absolute RIGHT thing for some people. We just knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that we should NOT list OUR son for the procedure at that time. There may come a time that we feel differently. We just need to listen to the answers that we have NOW.



It's a hard thing to make a decision like that. Even knowing that it was the choice we were supposed to make, we still struggled with it.