It’s Transplant day. This early in the morning I can see my breathe when I step outside. The blackened sky is absolute. Just Luke and I are awake in the house. It’s just the two of us, the way it was before we started this family.

Mary is staying with friends. Marcus and Carl are still sleeping. Luke and I feel like the only two people awake in the world. We are subdued in these early hours.

As the parent to children with developmental trauma, I’ve often felt so helpless. I can’t undo what my children have been through. I can’t undo their hurt, their fear, their overwhelming damage of their early experiences.

This is where I can do something. Today I give a piece of myself to Luke. We were always one flesh after the day we married. Today is just the day it becomes literal.

**Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.