I've met Erica once during a consultation with Dr. De Villa, the liver transplant doctor. She was lively and full of energy, nevertheless the strain of the transplant still evident. Up to this day, I can still remember how I felt upon seeing her. I felt relieved, joyful and proud that a 3 three year old can have so much courage to undergo a very dangerous procedure. At that time, the media were all focused on the great breakthrough of the Medical City Transplant team, it's no question that they did a wonderful job but credit should also be given to Erica's will to survive, her parent's pre-operative care (believe me, having them gain weight is so much easier said than done), and all other people who stood by to offer support and prayers.
I understand the struggles in raising a child with a liver malfunction. You can't feed them fat, their bodies won't absorb it. You can't bring them out to public places for fear of catching a virus. Simple colds develop into pneumonia in a span of 72 hours. Then there's portal hypertension, swollen livers, the list goes on. Even the transplant itself is not a guarantee that everything will be normal afterwards. There's no happily ever after. For all we know the transplant could just make the child's body even more fragile but we've got no choice. It's either try transplant and hope for the best that it works or helplessly wait for the time to run out. There are lucky patients who get to live a close to normal life. For some who are not so lucky, it's a string of hospitalizations, daily maintenance medications, and routine blood tests.
Even with all these on our plate, I can't imagine us (BA parents) giving up. After all, what we would not give to be with our kids for another day?
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