EXCERPT FROM EMAIL TO FRIEND

This is an old friend, a former colleague, who I lost touch with in the early 1990s when I went on maternity leave to have baby Lewis.

Tonight I found her again accidentally, when I saw her name mentioned on a website I visited. I’m bringing her up to date.


“We had Lewis, then 5 years later, Hannah, and 5 years later again, our baby Rose. What I do these days is care for Rose, who has a rare liver disease called biliary atresia. Destroyed bile ducts, which sounds simple but is actually lethal, and she is in liver failure. Rose at the age of less than 8 months needs a liver transplant!

She's a gorgeous girl, and we're savouring every moment with her. She's in the Royal Children's Hospital much of the time, as she is tonight. Shane and I take it in turns to stay beside Rose, while the other sleeps at home with Lewis and Hannah.


Rose hadn't been growing for a few months, until about two weeks ago. Her liver specialist wants to keep "growing Rose" in hospital for awhile, till she's big enough to survive liver transplant surgery.”

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