The Match and The Spark offers experience and insight through the lens of a parent, fighting time and protocol to save her chronically ill child. This is not the story of a patient as much as it is the journey of his advocate. Family members and loved ones of a person diagnosed with a serious illness can often battle immense fear, isolation, and guilt. Casey Bradley Gent's memoir illuminates her realization that feeling wrecked does not equal being broken; that in between the sad days, and hospital stays, it is imperative to seek out joyful moments.
Beau Gent's diagnosis was part of him, but it did not define him. The author learned families with a critically ill child can call out the sickness, and give it a label, without giving the disease complete power over their days.
At age thirteen, Beau learned to redefine power in his days. Because of his autoimmune disease, he was sick before every baseball game-but played anyway, every single weekend. At nineteen, he became a dialysis patient, studying biochemistry as the machinery cleaned his blood. Beau remained a full-time college student throughout his battle with kidney failure. And his mother remained his fulltime advocate, all the way through to his transplant victory and beyond.
The Match and The Spark is a rollercoaster story. And just like a wild ride with twists and hills, at the end, there is a sense of exhilaration. A sense of "We did it!" that will comfort families who must be resilient in the face of grave challenges.
Casey Bradley Gent is a Colorado native, wife, and mother to three beloved children. The owner of Snowshoe Studios photography, she has photographed presidents Clinton and Obama, two Super Bowls, and countless weddings. Casey is an outdoor enthusiast who loves to run, hike, and play with her dogs and reindeer in the Colorado mountains.
