Company Blog

Beyond Belief

by Adam Zack — December 22, 2020

Winning can be inspirational

This is a true story. Every word of it. Since my friend Scott received his new liver at Stanford, we talk nearly every day. We talk about the normal stuff – what we are making for dinner, how the family is doing, what we are watching on TV. You know, boring old friend chit chat. Nothing that is blog worthy, to be certain. He talked about how he has been watching the Hallmark channel a lot and has been super emotional. We joked that maybe he had received his new liver from a female. Hahaha.

One of the guys who works for me, Jomel, is most probably the best employee I’ve ever had in my life. Conscientious, grateful, happy, thorough, fast, reliable, friendly, funny, caring and a great family man. And that says a lot, because I have had hundreds of truly great employees over the past 30+ years. We fist bump each other daily, clicking our wedding rings as we do so and saying “solid.” So last week we did our usual routine, and he told me a story that sent chills down my spine. Jomel has a son, Josiah, who recently turned six years old. Josiah was born with a heart defect, and for the first four years of his life had a breathing tube in his throat and had to be transported in a wheelchair. He desperately needed a heart transplant. Two years ago, the call came one night that a donor heart was available. After a long hospital stay Josiah and his new heart came home and about five months later the breathing tube was removed for the first time in his life. He has been healthy and thriving with the gift of his new heart. Last week Josiah was talking to his mom and asked her “When can we go to the desert again?” His mom asked what he meant, as they have NEVER been to the desert. Josiah said “Sorry, I thought I was talking to my other mom.” It turns out Josiah received the heart of a young boy from southern Arizona who had died suddenly. He made additional comments about wanting another pair of shoes that he never had had, riding in the car with the windows open and his long hair blowing in the wind (even though his hair has always been very short), and looking forward to seeing his other mom in heaven. He talks about heaven a lot. He was remembering things from the heart. I never believed stories like this, until now.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. We have a lot to be thankful for.