I have been changed for good...

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By loving me so...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

Because I knew you

I have been changed for good *

One of them lived in New York, one lived in Iowa – they did not know each other, and they never knew the impact they would have on one another’s lives… Two moms sang these lyrics to their baby boys…One mom was losing her boy, Jake, when she sang it to him. The other mom sang it to her boy, Beckham, shortly after he received a new heart. Eventually, she would learn that he received Jake’s heart…

I will never know the pain of losing my child like Jake’s mom knows – and I will never know the joy in knowing my child now has a chance to live like Beckham’s mom knows, though my mom knows. I do know the pain in understanding that there is a family grieving out there over insurmountable loss – and I always hope that there is at least some comfort in knowing the gifts and the joy they’ve given others… I also know, as a recipient, the feeling of awe that fills us when we think that some person and some family has given us a gift like this – given us life – given us a strong heart or given us breath…

This beautiful video slide show has several pictures of Jake and his family. The accompanying music is Jake’s mom singing the song above, “For good…”:

Jake’s mom sang this song to Jake and Beckham, and to all of us, at the opening ceremonies at the U.S. Transplant Games in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 31st, 2010.

At the games in Madison, Jake’s mom, Holly, also met the boy who has Jake’s heart – Beckham. The pictures below show the first time Holly held Beckham:

   

Above is the Scadlock family, with their son Beckham – next to the Campbell family. If you’d like to read a little more about them, here are links to stories in The Ithaca Journal, and The NKF Transplant Games website, and editorials in the Press-Citizen and CNBC.

When I look in the mirror – when I look at Laura – when I look at all that is beautiful in my life; I feel Kari’s smile all around me… I’m quite certain that when Beckham’s mom and dad look at him – when they look at all that is beautiful in his life; they will feel Jake’s smile…

* Excerpted from “For Good” by Stephen Schwartz for the musical “Wicked” (with one tiny change…)