"It would take a miracle, you say? Well, if it takes a miracle, why not?"     - Boyd K. Packer

My name is Patrick and my journey began October 31st, 2008 in a hospital in Michigan. I was born weighing just 5.5 lbs with a condition known commonly as "Short Gut Syndrome" which means that most of my intestines are missing. Without intestines, I am completely dependent on TPN - IV nutrition - to survive. The TPN hurts my liver, though, and if I need it too long my liver will become scarred and eventually fail. Also, having a central line all the time makes it easy for me to get infections in my blood. If I had more intestine, I might have other options, but with so little of my intestine, I need a transplant before my liver fails or an infection takes my life.

My parents started thier journey a few years earlier when they decided it was time to start a family. They soon discovered that becoming parents was not going to be as easy for them as for some other people. In June 2008 they decided to apply to be adoptive parents. The application was finally approved in September and on November 5th, just a few days after my birth, thier social worker sent them an email about me.

We met for the first time a few days later and although it was overwhelming for them at first by the end of the weekend I had them wrapped around my tiny finger. In just a few weeks the court gave its approval and we were ready to begin our journey together.

We traveled back you Utah by air ambulance at 70,000 feet and checked into Primary Children's Hospital on Thanksgiving morning. Once I was healthy enough and plans were made with doctors, dieticians, and home healthcare, I got to take my first car ride to my new home on December 9th, just in time to get ready for Christmas. My adoption was finalized in January.

Since they don't do intestinal transplants in Utah, my doctor in Utah recommended that we go to Seattle Children's Hospital. They have a great program there with some of the best doctors in the country. . So, the next stage in my journey was a plane trip to Seattle for the transplant pre-evaluation. This trip consisted of a lot of tests, and pokes and other uncomfortable medical stuff, but the doctors learned a lot about my needs. A short time later I was listed for a small bowel transplant.

I still have a long way to go in my journey. It's not easy to find a donor for someone as little as me, so I will probably have to wait a while. In the meantime, I get to go back to Seattle every few months for checkups, on top of my doctor's visits at home. I'll have my biggest adventure when it's time for my transplant. We'll need to get there in 6-8 hours, even if we need to charter a plane. Then we'll live in Seattle for several months until the doctors think it's safe to go back home.

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and so far my journey has been over 3000 miles and counting, but together, we journey onward, one step at a time.

With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. In Salt Lake County, volunteers are raising funds for transplant patients like local baby Patrick Hoopes.

Born on October 31, 2008, Patrick was diagnosed with Short Gut Syndrome, and doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington recommended a life-saving small bowel transplant. An estimated $70,000 is being raised by Salt Lake County volunteers.