Sonya and Rick Hove,
National Director – Faculty Commons,
Durham, North Carolina
National Director – Faculty Commons,
Durham, North Carolina
[March 19, 2011] —
Sonya’s Diary, February 15 —
Today they will take half of my liver and transplant it into Gay Scott.
I have known Gay since we moved to Illinois in 1993 for Rick to attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. We looked up to Gay and her husband Roger as a godly couple and wonderful parents. Gay contracted hepatitis C years ago as a nurse before precautions like gloves were the norm. Hep C attacks the liver. As the illness progressed, Gay’s liver function declined.
Last fall her daughter emailed some people and said that Gay needed a living liver donor. I responded, passed the first round of questions, and in December, flew up to be evaluated at Northwestern. Right before Christmas they called and told me I was a great candidate to be her donor.
Three things kept running through my mind:
• God created our livers to regenerate to the exact right size for our body. When babies receive part of an adult liver it actually grows along with the child until it reaches the appropriate adult size!
• This is an opportunity to literally save a life. I have the opportunity to be the means by which he prolongs Gay’s life so that she can live for His glory.
• The last thing I kept turning over and over in my head is that if I, or someone I loved, were in need of a liver I would hope that someone would do this for us.
Rick and I talked and prayed and talked and prayed. We talked to the kids. And we decided to move forward.
Rick’s Diary, February 27
I thought I signed up for a trip to Chicago for Sonya’s surgery.
I thought my part of the deal was to help her through the process (and as an extra bonus, and because of my remarkable husband abilities, I’d keep our children alive, and our home from internal collapse while she was away).
I thought the emotional fallout of this experience would be limited to my deep worry over Sonya’s well being, followed by the grief I might receive after not responding to email for (ugh) two weeks.
Well, I was wrong. The surgery was successful – but there was more.
Something happened in this journey where I now care in a much more profound way. “Caring” kicked “doing” to the back seat. It’s far easier to be the trustworthy-faithful-friendly-kind of boy scout. You know — send money, offer advice, and help out — all the things you’re supposed to do. But it’s wholly different to let your heart care.
Which is exactly why this event is so riveting. She cared.
And somewhere along the line this thought has occurred to me: if there is a God I’d want Him to be more than a God who just does the right things, but a God who cares. Wouldn’t you?
In fact, I think there is such a God, and our capacity to care for others might just be one little confirmation of the kind of God He is.
N.B. — Sonya notes that there are currently 100,000 people in the U.S. awaiting organ donation.
(c) 2011 Sonya Hove and Rick Hove