For Nick

This is my cousin Robert Nicholas Whitaker or "Nick's" story...

"Tell me a little bit about your son..."
That is all the doctor said to the tired and heart broken Mom he found in the waiting room. She had talked to so many doctors. Without questioning this doctors motives, she fumbled through her purse and found a book of pictures she always carried with her. "This is Nick right after we adopted him." She went on to tell how she had a hysterectomy at the tender age of 18. She and her husband had adopted three children, who by the way, were all biracial. Nick was their first.

From the moment he was born Nick was just an outstanding child. He was bright, cute, talented and had a magnetic personality that pulled people in and immediately put them at ease. He grew up in Abilene, went to Wylie Schools. He was well liked. He sang in a band after High School for a while and did great. Made good money. But wanted something else. So he enrolled in a local college and took a job rebuilding computers. Something nagged at him though. Why had his birth Mom left him? Who was he?

For reasons no one can fully explain, after playing golf with his Dad on Fathers Day, Nick got in his car and drove six hours to his favorite place in the world, the coast. Somewhere along the way he stopped for three bottles of tylenol. He parked his car by the beach and took all three bottles. When he came to, it was around 5pm the next day. He didn't know that his liver was dieing and the ammonias were already causing him to hallucinate. He stumbled to a near by fisherman and said "You have to get me some help. I am dieing."

"Please, please wake me up when my Mom gets here," he made the ER nurses promise. Five hours later they did. "Mom I am so, so sorry! I don't know why I did this. I don't want to die" he cried as he drifted in and out. But he was dieing. His liver was failing. There was not much left to do except get a new liver. The odds, she was told, were a million to one that any transplant program would take Nick since he did this to himself.

But his family was one that did not give up. Mom and Dad both called on old friends, family members, co-workers until finally someone came through. "Baylor in Dallas will work with the insurance and take a look at Nick. A plane will be there in an hour. Have him ready."

"We don't do transplants on suicide patients." That is what the first doctors from Baylor said who looked at Nick. "I doubt the transplant team will even grant you an interview". They put him in ICU and sent the family to a waiting room. So there she sat, not knowing what exactly it was that she was waiting for, talking to this doctor about her precious boy who had made an awful choice.

"I see" said the doctor after she finished, "Let me see what we can do for your son." He left. She glanced over at her husband. In the four days since that first phone call from the Corpus ER had he slept at all? Had she? "Maybe he can help" the Dad said in a hopeless attempt to comfort the Mom. Surrounded by friends and family all waiting in the crowded little waiting room for who knows what, she wept.

Ten minutes later a nurse came to tell the family that their son was on the waiting list for a liver transplant. "But we never had the interview" she said. The nurse informed her that the doctor who had inquired about her son was the head of the liver transplant team. "That was your interview." When asked how many people were waiting ahead of Nick, the nurse said, "None, your son is number one because his need is greatest. Without a liver in the next 12 to 15 hours, your son will die."

"We hope for a healthy liver, but we will take what we can get" the surgeon explained. No one asked what the odds were that a liver would come in time. It did not look good at all. BUT prayers were flooding heaven and God knows no odds! A family that had drifted away, now clung to the one real power in the universe, their God.

We don't know who paid the ultimate price and ended up giving Nick a perfect liver just 6 hours later, but we praise God for their life and their generosity. We pray that Nick's body will accept this new liver. We pray the boy who made a rash choice to end his life now has the strength and stamina to fight for it. It will be a life long fight involving anti-rejection medication and big life changes. BUT Nick did not make it this far alone and he will not be alone. Father God, Thankyou for finding a window into Nick's heart. Please help his tattered organs recover!

I first wrote this post a week and a half ago (see Life Amplified 6/28)but couldn't post it. Too soon, too personal. Today Nick is still fighting for his life. He has had a heart valve surgery and a stomach surgery since his liver transplant. He may not make it. As I type this, they are running test to see if he needs another liver transplant. This liver does not seem to be functioning. His family understands how severe the circumstances are. Still, they acknowledge that this has brought them back to God in many ways. They are grateful for the time they have had in the last weeks to tell Nicholas how much they love him. They have peace knowing he didn't really want to die and is so sorry for all of this. We pay for some choices for a lifetime. The family is trying to stay positive and take advantage of every moment Nick is with them.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you have read this far (I know this is long), read a little further and pray for Nick and his family. Pray that he lives. Pray for peace for his family either way. Pray for God's glory, wisdom and comfort to surround and conquer these circumstances! Thank you.