An inspirational Father’s Day story — three, in fact
I often walk away from interviews amazed by the strength and resiliency of so-called ordinary people. I’ve talked to people who have experienced the most horrific of traumas, yet somehow emerge whole, optimistic and generous. It never ceases to astound and inspire me.
In this Father’s Day story I did for the Houston Chronicle, I met three extraordinary families who turned near-tragedies into cause for good work, families that demonstrate the power of parental love and the value of hope.
The gift of life – given twice
Three fathers enable their children to be athletes with transplants
By MONICA RHOR
No parenting book prepares fathers for the sight of their child sick, in pain, possibly dying. There’s no manual to guide your emotions; no Father’s Day card suitable for this limbo.
But fathers can have faith and hope — and be willing to do anything it takes to save their child. Even if that means giving up a part of themselves.
Mike Flores confronted that challenge soon after his son, Ryan, was born with a congenital kidney defect. Jody Meigs grappled with the same anguish when his then-8-year-old daughter, Leslie, battled bacterial meningitis.
Ron Kainer watched his son, Carson, chase after a professional baseball career with the clock ticking away on the life of his kidneys.
All three fathers faced the same dilemma: a child in need of a kidney transplant. All three of their families arrived at the same solution: a living donor transplant from father to child.
Now, all are on the other side of the nightmare – with children who are happy, healthy and determined to show that life after a transplant can be normal by participating in this week’s World Transplant Games in Sweden, where 1,500 transplant recipients from 69 countries compete in the athletic arena.
The three families share much – the memories of endless doctors’ visits; the countertops laden with medications; the surgical scars hidden under clothing; and the stays at Texas Children’s Hospital, where all the transplants were performed.
But for each family, for each father and child, the journey to a happy ending has been unique, marked by setbacks and steps forward, by unexpected twists and hard-fought rewards, by moments of amusement and of alarm. Here are their stories: