Life can be such a roller coaster sometimes. Our friend Clark was a perfectly healthy 24 year old last month, but this month it's a totally different story. He was admitted to the Instacare for nausea and vomiting. They did some tests and found out that his liver was failing. As part of a large Mormon family, he doesn't touch alcohol or drugs, which are what usually destroy the liver, but instead they found a very rare virus that was attacking his liver and within about a week, he was in the ICU and was rated #1 on the nationwide transplant list.

They weren't sure if he was going to survive long enough to receive the transplant, but he managed - barely. Then there was the whole blood clot episode that caused part of the new liver to die off and scared everyone to death. The blood clot dissolved and that part will grow back, but it was a possibility he might have to have a second transplant.

Now, they are worried that he might have to have a bone marrow transplant. The nasty virus that caused all this mess is still lurking in his system and now it is attacking his bone marrow. Everyone is fighting so hard to keep this poor guy alive and everything just keeps going wrong all the time. His father has passed on, but his poor mother is about out of her mind with worry, as you can imagine.

To top it all off, the family is facing financial ruin with all the medical bills. The transplant bill alone is about half a million, and Clark is going to have to take the anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life. I was shocked to find out that the cost of them is $2,000 to $5,000 a month. That just boggles the mind, doesn't it? I think there is something so wrong with our medical system that someone would have to come up with that kind of money just to stay alive. It's like extortion or something. Can you even imagine? Most 24 year olds can barely manage their rent, car payment, and a little left over for some pizza and soda or something.

This hits pretty close to home for us. Matt, my older son has a medical condition that might require a transplant one day and it absolutely terrifies me. Everytime I go to his blog and read about this whole nightmare, I see Matt in that hospital bed, and I see myself suffering the way his Mom is suffering. I can't hardly imagine a worse situation, so that gives me a little extra empathy for them.

In a way, I don't actually know them and haven't actually met them, but in another way, I feel like I've known them forever through the blog they've set up and the updates my family has been sending. I think that's what makes blogging so powerful. Clark is my niece's husband's cousin, as ridiculous as that sounds and he works for their company, where my sister was the office manager. That's Utah for you, relatives of any degree are relatives for life!

If you'd like to read more about Clark's story and possibly consider donating to their cause, please pop over to the blog they've set up SuperClarkKimble.blogspot.com. And of course, any and all prayers will be greatly appreciated.





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