We are two months post-transplant for our 20 month old. His checkup yesterday couldn’t have gone better. It’s mind boggling to think back to how sick he was and how unknown his future was…and how someone elses POOP changed his LIFE. It also makes me incredibly grateful for his donor, whom we will never be able to name.
OpenBiome, the non profit that screens and selects donors for FMT’s, only accepts around 3% of it’s applicants. Without this organizations existence, we probably wouldn’t have been able to find a donor so fast, or not at all. Before a “bank” was started (like a blood bank) when someone needed an FMT, family members were the first options, but it is so hard to find a family member that has 100% healthy crap (hope you’re not eating and reading this post).
Before we knew about these poop banks, we stressed ourselves on “what if we aren’t able to donate, how sick will our son actually get while we search?”. And then a doctor explained it all to us and a weight was lifted. Because of a donor, our minds were put at ease, there was a plan for our son- his health- and his future. His life was changed.
I heard a past president say ‘a life so blessed should be lived in service to others,’ (what up Obama). I love that. I agree with that. A pay-it-forward mentality. So, where does that type of thinking leave us after a successful FMT for our boy?
Swabbing our cheeks for Be the Match. (I myself am not a candidate for OpenBiome…all the more reason to be grateful for those donors.)
Be the Match is a national registry for bone marrow and blood platelets, like OpenBiome is for stool. When a sick patient needs a donor, doctors can start their search here and hopefully find a life-saving match.
Because God has blessed me day in and day out, I’m continuously looking for ways to do the same for someone else. Instead of a wedding registry, we’re asking for donations to a local charity. I can figure out how to survive without a kitchen-aid mixer (for now), but I figured some kids might not get a Christmas meal or a toy from Santa…or newborns might not get clean diapers like they should.
This was sort of a rambling post but you get the point…do something for someone who can never repay you.
Diary of a Midwestern Housewife 