Supernumeraries

My brother and I both got something extra at birth.

Me, I got a supernumerary tooth, a snaggletooth that would have emerged right between my two front teeth if it had not been surgically removed.

My brother got an extra electrical pathway in his heart. It sent him into cardiac arrest in April and his wife saved his life with CPR and doctors have tried twice now to disable the extra pathyway. Today he learned that it is still conducting, and doctors recommend a third procedure, scheduled for the end of December.

My prayer for him, for his family, for my mother is for life-giving resolution.

And I wish, just as I did when he was first hospitalized at 2 with this condition when I was 8, I wish there were a way to take his place. I wish I could somehow protect his vulnerability.

Instead, I will abide with him in his faith and strength and assurance that this time it's not as bad.

And I will hope that the next time something supernumerary enters his life, it's extra comfort, extra happiness, extra love.