A Loving Father

A Loving Father

By: Syd Brekke

I was so scared I had to choose, it was me or the baby. I told the nurse my decision, I told them that I didn't want Danny in the room. The nurse did what I said and went to talk to him. Dr. Jones comes in and pulls the curtain shut, he tells me that I am brave and she would have been lucky to have me as her mom. He was sorry it had to turnout like this. He went over to the machine and right before he shut the machine down I saw Danny running towards me yelling and heard crying and then it was black. - Liz

When I met Liz I knew she was sick. That didn't matter to me, I loved her. When the cancer caught up it infected her lungs. They were failing. I made the decision to give her one of mine. I was not going to loose her. Two years passed and everything looked okay. We decided to have a baby. We got the bedroom ready and everything. Liz was so happy to hear she was having a baby girl. One morning at about three o'clock Liz woke up coughing up blood. I ran her to the emergency room. They checked her in and told her that the fetus was becoming ill and they had to get her out otherwise she would die. I did not know this information at the time. Liz kept it from me, and she chose what to do by knowing that only one of them could live. - Danny

I named her Elizabeth after her mom. I remember the day I was in the hospital with Liz and the nurse told me I couldn't be in the room I walked outside with her she told me about what was happening to Liz and the complications with the baby. They would only be able to save one life. As soon as I heard that I ran into the room flew the curtain out of the way and there she was, her eyes were glossed over she was pale and gone. In the corner I heard a baby crying, it was Elizabeth. The nurse handed her to me. I cradled her in my hands and cried so hard. – Danny

Over the years Elizabeth and I got a routine together. I worked at a hardware store and my hours were perfect so I could drop her off at school and pick her up on time. The first few years with Elizabeth were tough she was in and out of the hospital for her lungs. They did surgery to remove the right one because it was corroded with cancer and spreading fast. I thought it was over and we would be okay now after the surgery. Until the one day the school called to notify me that Elizabeth was unresponsive and she was on her way to the emergency room. – Danny

My name is Elizabeth I am seven years old and live with my dad. He is awesome. He always lets me pick the movies we watch on the weekends and on Fridays we go bowling. Every night he tells me a story about whatever I pick. He is not the best at it but he tries. I can tell some days are hard for dad, I always catch him looking through mom's box of stuff. He seems sadder every day for some reason, and he's just getting worse. – Elizabeth

Danny had gotten to the emergency room and Elizabeth was hooked up to a machine sleeping. Dr. Jones stopped him before he walked into the room. He explained that they suspect the cancer is back, and they have to run some tests. Danny asked "where"? Dr. Jones replies "in her left lung". Danny knew that if she couldn't get a donor for a lung transplant that Elizabeth would die. Danny walked into the room and she woke up. She smiled and he hugged her and explained what had happened. After a day or so there was nothing the hospital could do. They told Danny to take her home and make her comfortable and wait for a call about a transplant if one becomes available. They got all signed up on the waiting list, sitting way at the bottom of it. Three months passed and there was no call. Elizabeth was getting worse he could see it, Danny sat there looking at her, he couldn't do it anymore. He wrapped a blanket around her to keep her warm and carried her in because she was not able to walk. The nurses hooked her up to get some nutrients in her. Danny went to ask Dr. Jones about the waiting list, he said that there will not be one available by the time she needs it. Danny burst into tears. The next day Danny went down to the cafeteria to get food. When he got back up to the room, Elizabeth was smiling ear to ear. She told him the news that they had a lung for her. Danny just hugged her and said that's amazing. Elizabeth was due for surgery the next morning. They woke up early that day to watch "The Little Mermaid". Right as it finished the nurses came in to get her. Danny hugged her and said "it's going to be okay Elizabeth I love you, I will see you later". Elizabeth said "I know, we got this dad" and she rolled off down the hall on the bed.

I woke up it was about five o'clock at night. I looked around and had a big stitch line down my chest. The nurse was sitting in my room watching over me. I asked her where dad was. She came and sat on the bed and said he gave you a lung Elizabeth. You are alive because of him. I started to bawl I knew what that meant that dad was gone because he only had one lung left in him. The nurse gave me a box. Inside was a letter it said "You are so young and have everything ahead of you still. Your smile makes everyone around you happy. You lost mom at such a young age and have grown up so fast. You took care of me when I was supposed to take care of you. You were the reason why I woke up every morning. I would walk into your room and see you smiling in your crib, ready to get up for the day. I need to take care of you now". – Love you so much, Dad. I just sat still with tears rolling down my cheek I looked in the box deeper and there was an envelope with a number and a check for a college fund. The nurse told me that I would be staying with me grandma now. She told me that your dad didn't leave this world knowing you would be stuck and not have a place to go or a future to have. My dad is my best friend, he is the reason why I am still here. He saved me. – Elizabeth

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