A Good Meeting - Dr. Peggy

*** This entry was written before Jason was admitted to the hospital for a transplant.

In order to get a transplant you must undergo a certain amount of pre-transplant testing to determine your health. A bone marrow biopsy, a breathing exam, and an arterial blood draw, as well as multiple blood tests are a few of the required procedures.

Although these tests are usually time-consuming and sometimes painful, this time the tests were wonderful.

When we walked into the testing room we felt so defeated.  Since death is listed as a possible side-effect, the idea of a bone marrow transplant is scary. 

The doctor began testing Jason and slowly the room became a little more comfortable as we opened up to her about our concerns, and she opened up about her family. In an hour or so we became fast friends with Dr. Peggy, a Christian, whose smile became impossible to resist.

Her sense of humor is witty and charming. She didn't tell us horror stories, or accuse us of being faithless. She didn't focus on the horrible current situation but rather talked about the positive results. She joked about her daughter's trip to Louisiana, and poked fun of her husband and son who recently lost their hunting bait to a bunch of rowdy squirrels. She made us laugh, not cry. And in those moments she honestly made us forget all of our problems. I hope to meet more people like this while we sit in the hospital room. What a difference a positive attitude, faith, and a friendly face can make!

We left that room, smiling, holding onto her business card and a piece of paper with her personal home phone number and email, as well as an invitation to attend church with her family on Sundays during my stay at the hospital. May God bless Dr. Peggy for turning a scary moment into an enjoyable one.