There are a lot of things I wish people understood about this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not because anyone does anything wrong\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
but because unless you\u2019ve lived it, it\u2019s hard to truly know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wish people understood that even on the good days\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
there\u2019s still a weight that never fully goes away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can be smiling, laughing, watching your child play\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and still have this quiet thought in the back of your mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if something changes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wish people understood that \u201che looks fine\u201d doesn\u2019t mean everything is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin looks like a healthy, happy 3-year-old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in so many ways, he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But behind that smile is a little body working so much harder than it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are labs we watch closely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Numbers we memorize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Changes we notice that no one else would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wish people understood how much waiting becomes part of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for updates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for labs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for something that could change everything at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I wish people understood how complicated hope can feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You want to stay hopeful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You need to stay hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But hope also makes you vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because when something doesn\u2019t work out\u2014like getting all the way to the OR and having surgery canceled\u2014it hurts in a way that\u2019s hard to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You learn to hold hope carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To believe\u2026 but also protect your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of all, I wish people understood how strong these kids are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin doesn\u2019t wake up thinking about diagnoses or lab values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wakes up ready to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ready to laugh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ready to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And watching him\u2026 reminds me to do the same. And that God has a plan and perfect timing for his new kidney. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if you\u2019re reading this, the biggest thing I would want you to know is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your support matters more than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your prayers matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your messages matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your shares matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because this journey can feel really heavy sometimes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and knowing we\u2019re not walking it alone makes all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are a lot of things I wish people understood about this journey. Not because anyone does anything wrong\u2026 but because unless you\u2019ve lived it, it\u2019s hard to truly know. I wish people understood that even on the good days\u2026 there\u2019s still a weight that never fully goes away. You can be smiling, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1995,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n