Excerpt: Prologue
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Cheating Destiny
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About the Book
Prologue
My son is thirsty.
For most parents that sounds rather harmless, one of many needs that any
three-year-old has. At first, Garrett’s request seems particularly
innocuous. He has always preferred drinking milk or juice to eating. His
constant running and playing would dehydrate any child, and he shows no
sign of illness. But when he looks up at me and says, “Daddy, I’m
thirsty,” repeatedly over several days, I wonder if the damage has
already been done.
Soon Garrett’s complaint becomes more urgent, and the water flows right through his small body, causing frequent trips to the bathroom. I try to break the cycle, telling him he’s had enough to drink and hoping that his craving will go away. But still he drinks. He is potty trained, and he does all he can to hold the tidal wave of water coursing through him. On several occasions, he groans in his sleep to avert wetting his bed. I rush into his room, hustle him into the bathroom, and yank down his pajamas just in time. Splash! The urine rushes out like water from a fire hose. A couple of times the force is too great, and he pees in his bed.
“That’s okay, buddy,” I tell him. “We just can’t drink so much water at bedtime.”
I am hoping for something, anything, whatever it takes to diminish his longing. But the water has become his lifeline. I watch him hold the glass in both hands, lift it carefully to his mouth, tilt it, and swallow again and again. I had once been thirsty like that. It was many years ago, but I remember it well.