December 4th was a beautiful, fun-filled day as my children and I rode in the Toys for Tots parade with Eveline Rivers. After the parade, my two year old son was riding in a go-cart when it suddenly left the gravel and flipped on its side skidding across the parking lot. As the go-cart came to a stop, I realized that my son, Sean, was underneath it. I frantically picked Sean up expecting to hear a cry bellow out of his mouth but instead I heard a soft sigh. There was nothing but silence. His eyes where dilated and rolled back into his head, he had no pulse and he wasn’t breathing. When I opened his mouth to give him a breath, his gums were as white as his teeth. I couldn’t wait for an ambulance, so a friend rushed Sean and I to the emergency room at Northwest Texas Hospital where I handed my son over to the staff on duty. Doctors and nurses rushed into the room to get Sean on life support. I was instructed to leave the room and contact family members and my pastor.

After many tears and grueling hours of waiting, a doctor came out and informed me that my son had a lacerated liver, that he was receiving blood transfusions and that he would soon bleed to death if they did not perform surgery. If Sean survived the surgery, there would still be a good chance of brain damage due to the length of time he was without oxygen.

The surgeon came back after about an hour to let me know that the surgery had been successful. They removed 30% of Sean’s liver in order to stop the bleeding. I was still given very little hope that Sean would ever be normal again. Two days later, Sean woke up. He immediately showed signs of being a normal two-year-old boy. His recovery time wasn’t long and we were able to be at home for Christmas. Today, he is back to being a lively and healthy boy. I am so very grateful for all the donors that took the time to donate the 12 units of blood that saved my child.