Organ Donation and Adoption

Strange blog title huh? 

This post has been swirling around in my head for about 2 months now, but I never had time to slow down and type.

A few questions repeatedly come up with Lee's new job with M.O.R.A (MS Organ Recovery Agency).

"How do you do it?"

"Aren't you depressed all the time because of how sad it is?"

Lee always replies the same way. "Yes, it is sad that there is loss. However, I can't help but think about all the people whose lives are being saved on the other side of the loss." 

Journey with me for a moment. 

I walk into her ICU room. She greets me with a friendly smile.
"You ready to work with therapy?" I ask.
She replies, "sure." 

Beep... Beep... Beep... 

The sound of all her monitors ring in the background of our conversation.

I arrange multiple IV lines so that she can make her way to the edge of the bed.

We walk around the room, dragging multiple IV poles including the machine that is hooked to her heart (externally) to keep her heart pumping.

She's sick.

We both know it.

Her time is limited.

We finish our session and I tell her to have a good weekend.

She looks out the window and her face turns solemn. 

"I am hoping to get a heart this weekend."

Her words carried a weight. A heavy weight.

She knew what getting a heart meant for someone else.
And it wasn't easy.

That was the last time I saw her lying in that ICU room hooked to the external heart pump.

She got a heart.

Lee comes home exhausted from work.
"She's sick, Abby. I don't know how much longer she will make it without a liver."
He was on his feet all day taking care of her.
A few days later Lee comes home amazed.
She had received her liver and would be discharging home from the hospital within a few more days.
"She was so sick. I am so amazed" said Lee.

Organ donation can be a beautiful thing.
But it can only come after loss.

Lee and I have both had the privilege of seeing the beauty of organ donation in the lives of our patients.
We have seen their faces and touched their hands.
So when Lee replies "I can't help but think of the people waiting on organs and how their lives will be impacted."
He is speaking from personal experience.

Adoption is such a parallel.
Adoption is beautiful. However, in order for adoption to occur there must first be some type of loss.
Our sweet Malachi will endure loss that many of us have never known.
Those words carry a weight. My heart is heavy, not only for him, but for his birth parents also.
My heart is heavy for orphans at large.

Praise God that we serve Him who is redemptive and makes all things new!