I've thought a lot about gifts this week. Monday was the fourth anniversary of the death of a little Canadian boy named Andre. Andre was born in the spring of 2006 with Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and in December 2006 he received a bone marrow transplant from me. I was the only possible match for him out of approximately 6 million tissue samples and I was a good enough match that my marrow was harvested and sent to Canada for him. It was such an honor to do that even though I didn't know him or his family and to this day have not met any of them. Sad to say, I didn't save his life but I gave him the gift of time. My head gets that concept but my heart hurts for his sweet mom and dad and brother and sister who loved him and miss him very much.
The son of a high school friend is currently fighting for his life in a hospital in Austin. He was born with a heart defect that ultimately caused his heart to fail. In June 2012, he received a heart transplant from a grieving family who had the forethought to donate the organs of their son to give others the gift of time. My friend's son, whose name is Mike, has fought hard to live for the past 15 months. He's currently suffering a major rejection episode and only the good Lord above knows if he will survive this or go to Heaven. His family (parents, brothers, wife, and daughters) certainly hope he has more time with them and so do I.
If you are not on the bone marrow donor list, I encourage you to go to the website of Be the Match and find out if you qualify and if so, get on that registry. If you are not a blood donor, I encourage you to become one. Please make sure that your family knows if you would like to be an organ donor in the event of the unforeseeable. These are all things that offer others the gift of time--a most unselfish gift.
The Gift of Life is another matter. That comes from God above through his son Jesus Christ--the greatest gift ever. I'm so glad that I have received that gift.
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