Last Friday, my cousin, Brock, passed away while waiting for a liver transplant. He was 21 years old. My two younger brothers were very close to him and our two families are very close as well. We are all very emotional because of this loss. Brock had been battling Crohn's disease since age 10 and had been on the liver transplant list for over a year. Over the summer, his health began to deteriorate very quickly. He spent the last month in the ICU. Finally, we saw a glimmer of hope as a liver became available! We all thought our prayers had been answered. Sadly, he was so unstable that the doctors feared he would not survive the surgery. They opted to help him stabilize and wait for another liver. He died less than a week later. My mom called me at work to give me the sad news. I was shocked. He had fought so hard and so long that I just assumed he would get better and get his transplant. The thought never even crossed my mind that he would die. Alas...
I've learned a lot about my cousin these last few days. I, like most people, never knew the true extent of Brock's sufferings. That's because he always was cheerful. His smile and optimism were contagious. Once at a family gathering, I was talking about all the surgeries and accidents I've had, probably complaining, and showing some of my scars. Brock simply said, "I win!" and showed me his. He had a giant scar on his chest from having his spleen removed after it had swollen up to 8 pounds. Never once did he complain about it. Never did he ask, "why me?" To him, it was just a battle scar to show off. He definitely beat me on that front.
The last few years, he got really into superheroes and comic books. I had to laugh at his non-stop tweets about the latest comic books, as I just thought, "What a geek!" Besides, he thought the best comic book movie ever was The Avengers, when it is obviously The Dark Knight Rises. But there is something to be admired about the characters in those comics and movies. They are selfless, optimistic, courageous, and much, much more. And so was Brock. It has been wonderful these last few days to see hundreds of people write amazing tributes to Brock on his Facebook wall and to hear all the stories today at his funeral of how Brock exhibited all these attributes. It was apparent that Brock was truly an inspiration to many people. We all left the service today feeling lucky to have known him. I only wish I had known him better.
Last week, my copy of How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen came in the mail. I finished it last night and have been thinking about in the context of my cousin's passing. The book's conclusion is that while the world is obsessed with measuring success based on metrics such as money, fame, and power, God's only metric is the individual. How many lives did we improve because of our actions? How many people did we selflessly serve? Judging by the amazing funeral service and the countless messages from friends and family, Brock's short life was immeasurably successful! What an inspiration! Thank you, Brock. God be with you 'til we meet again.
P.S. Please become an organ donor. You will save someone's life and it could be someone like my cousin, Brock.
