"This Close"

It has been a hard week for some of my online friends. Amanda from Imagine Bright Futures informed all of us at Liver Families that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It just seems like cruel irony that Amanda has to endure cancer along with her niece's biliary atresia. I will be praying for her as she undergoes a mastectomy on the 29th.

Then, I began reading heartbreaking posts from my pal, Sheri, whose son Antonio was critically ill. He had a liver transplant, but then developed Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disorder (PTLD), which is a form of cancer caused by exposure to the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). It can happen in children who are immunosuppressed due to organ transplantation. After reading about Sheri's elation that Antonio had been given his life-saving gift of life, it seemed nearly impossible that she would be again watching her son slowly fade, and actually come "this close" when he had to fight pnuemonia on top of the PTLD.

Thankfully, Antonio has made marked improvement. Sheri has been away from her other three children for nearly a month, and like a God send, Kim, another Liver Families mom flew up from Texas to comfort Sheri. I think Kim's positive energy played a pivotal role in lifting Sheri up out of the darkest places that our minds can go when faced with life or death situations.

Charlie, Meghan, and I went to visit Sheri last night. She is still quite fragile and now her emotions are begining to bubble up at random points as it appears she is realizing how "this close" brushed up against her precious Antonio.

Antonio, I hope you are making your bull frog noise soon. Your mommy really, really needs to hear it soon. I hope those good vibes that Kim brought with her can somehow make their way through space and time and land on Amanda.