Family heals after Petra Manning said doctors did not think much of her son Sam's chances for survival when he and his twin brother, Aaron, were born 2 1/2 years ago.
their arduous journey
A dad's gift keeps his son alive
while mom keeps them togetherBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com"His (Sam's) kidneys were so badly damaged that they didn't think he would survive," Petra Manning said last night. "In fact, they didn't think he'd survive the first 24 hours."
But Sam did survive, long enough for his dad, Schofield Barracks Chaplain Bill Manning, to donate one of his kidneys to his son. The Manning family, including Bill, Petra, Sam, Aaron and 14-year-old sister Tracy, returned to Hawaii last night after spending five months in California while Sam recovered from the surgery in March.
"We knew when Sam was born that one of us was going to have to donate a kidney," said Bill last night. "I just donated the kidney; my wife did all the work keeping the family together.
"I feel like I got the better end of the deal."
About a half-dozen chaplains from the Army's 25th Infantry Division (Light) were at Honolulu Airport to greet the Mannings last night when they arrived. Among them was Chaplain (Maj.) Phillip Wright, who said Manning has had to fly back and forth between Oahu and California to be with his wife and family at Stanford University.
The Mannings are used to dealing with adversity. Aaron was born with one arm and missing a bone in his right leg. Both boys have had to have surgery several times.
Sam will have to go back to Stanford for a follow-up biopsy and chest X-rays because his lungs were underdeveloped due to kidney failure, said Petra Manning.
Bill Manning said while the ordeal has been tiresome, he works in the right place to gain support. There are about 23 chaplains in his division.
"Chaplains turn to other chaplains," he said. "They've given me everything we needed to handle this: days off, prayer.
"Everything is going to be all right."