Dead Daughter Gives Dad Life

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I found this at abc news. Lester Peterson needed surgery on his heart. He had made plans to have it done. His daughter, Dawn, was a teacher in Texas, and was recovering from a torn achilles tendon, so she was going to come back to Iowa to help her father. Sadly, Dawn never made it to him. A blood clot formed in her injury and traveled to her heart and caused it to stop beating. Doctors finally got her heart to start beating again, but the lack of oxygen to her brain caused it to stop functioning. Her parents began to fill out papers to donate her organs, and suddenly her father had an idea. He wanted to use her heart to help replace his. He said that it was a way that his daughter could still be with him, but his doctor did not want to do it. This kind of surgery would be far more dangerous than just using a standard valve. After he thought about it, the doctor decided that it was an option and they could try it.

I found this to be an incredible story. In my opinion, the loss of a child would be the hardest thing to face in life. It was not any different in this case, other than the fact that this child could help her father live on. I can understand the reason this father wanted to use his daughter's heart instead of the standard valve, even though the risks were high. According to the doctor, he would have to make 4 large incisions instead of 1 small incision. This could cause potential for more leaking. Before this could even get started, the doctor would have to make sure Dawn's valve was the correct size for her father. This can only be confirmed after Lester was already on the operating table. I can see myself wanting the same thing if I were in his shoes. I would feel that something good came out of my daughter's death, just like Lester and his wife stated as they were going through the organ doner process.

I think that it is different how some things work out sometimes. I am sure that the family probably wishes that it could have been different, but you can't look back. You can only look forward.