Sunday, July 15, 2007

Brandon's Dad: A Grade A Father

Brandon is two and half years old, the son of a very young couple we know. Because of extensive kidney problems, Brandon's had a rough time of it, and probably should be in heaven by now, but for some serious prayer, a lot of which has been going up from our church. The young couple are part of the extended family of some wonderful people in our church. We have been getting reports on Brandon and his young parents and praying for him and them since he was born. Our congregation met Brandon for the first time about a month ago when his parents presented him for baptism.

We Presbyterians aren't supposed to baptize infants when the parents are not in our church or a sister church. So were we going to hold the line on Brandon? Are you kidding? We readily bypassed that bit of theology. He's one of us, and so is this couple, whatever the technical details may be.

Brandon was just about as cute and alert and well-behaved as anyone would have any right to expect of any young man of any age. It was a great moment to see Brandon baptized, surrounded by a loving family and an intensely focused congregation.

Brandon and his parents are now in Pittsburgh where the university hospital there is getting ready for a kidney transplant from his mom.

Carol was telling me that, right now at least, those transplants only last around seven years. Both his mother and his dad are good matches, but his dad gave Brandon a blood transfusion early on when Brandon needed it, and the physicians are concerned that Brandon may have developed some anit-bodies that will make accepting a kidney from dad very risky. But we'll see.

Brandon's dad had always been over-weight, Carol tells me. But he's lost 50 pounds getting himself in shape for whatever the physicians may need to do to his body to take care of Brandon's.

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