Seventeen

Seventeen years ago on August 26th, 2003 my life was forever changed. If that sounds dramatic it’s for good reason. The night before I received a phone call. On the other end, a voice told me they had a liver for me and I was to make my way to the hospital immediately.

If you’ve ever been told to run, not walk this was one of those times. I quickly made my way to the hospital and several hours later I received my transplant.

I’m thirty-three now and I was sixteen when I had my liver transplant. This means, as of today, I’ve had this organ longer than my original one. To stop and think about it is quite strange. For seventeen years I’ve been walking around with someone else’s organ inside my body.

If it weren’t for this liver, my life would have most likely ended nine months after August. But thanks to answered prayer and the help of modern medicine my time on earth has been extended.

Rather than living on borrowed time, I was given a second chance at life. It’s been a chance to pursue my God-given goals and to marry the girl of my dreams, to raise a family, and ultimately, finish whatever task my heavenly Father put me on this earth for.