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American Morning
Desperate Decision
Aired March 05, 2003 - 09:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: It is a choice no one who is in the service should have to make, service to country or to a critically ill child. Marine Major Hal Sellers shipped out a little over a week ago. Meanwhile his 4-month-old son is hospitalized in desperate need of a heart transplant. Without it, little Dylan has just days to live.
Now Seller's wife, Betsy, is by her son's side and standing by her husband's decision to join his unit overseas. Betsy Sellers joins us on a very early morning indeed from 29 Palms, California.
Good morning, Betsy. Thanks for being with us.
BETSY SELLERS: Good morning, thank you.
ZAHN: How sick is little baby Dylan?
SELLERS: He is very sick. He is critical. Within that critical, he is fairly stable at the moment. He has been waiting on the transplant list for a little over four months. The longest that Lominda (ph) University Children's Hospital has had a baby wait and make it to surgery is six months. So he is day to day.
ZAHN: But he is on top of that waiting list now, right?
SELLERS: That is true. He does need to have a heart that matches in size and in blood type.
ZAHN: Your husband had to make a very difficult job. As I understand it, he was offered a desk job nearby and yet chose to serve with his unit. How conflicted was he about making this very important decision?
SELLERS: It was very hard. It was a very hard decision for him to make. He did a lot of thinking about it, and just ultimately, this is what he wanted to do as a marine, this is what he has trained for, and it was -- he has a very high level of duty and responsibility to his country, and he felt that he was being put to the best use deploying with his troops.
ZAHN: So powerful to hear you say that. Yet I know as a mom of two other children at home and a very sick son, there had to be a part of you that didn't want him to make this decision.
SELLERS: Of course, of course. I would have liked to have had him here and to have the support. But at the same time, I'm very proud of his decision and what he is doing. The Marine Corps itself has been a wonderful support to me. I have a lot of wives here. Other Marine wives that are supporting me and my family. So I know that there are people that I can turn to if I need to.
ZAHN: And how much contact will you have with your husband as you wait out this really stressful period of time?
SELLERS: Not very much. And not very consistent contact. He was able to call Sunday morning for the first time and just to check in, and I was able to give him an update on Dylan, which was reassuring, and he's going to try to call once a week, but we're not sure how it'll work.
ZAHN: And how much contact do you have with Lominda (ph) team? Obviously, they have been through this before and the heartbreak of all the decisions families have to make. Are they staying in close touch with you?
SELLERS: Very close touch. On the days -- I try to go down three, four times a week to visit Dylan. It's an hour and a half away from me. When I go down, of course I get an update from all of the teams on his condition. And then on the days that I don't go down, I can call 24/7 if I wanted to, and There is always somebody there for me to talk to. So it's a wonderful peace of mind for me to know that he is being taken such good care of.
ZAHN: And if you get good news from an organ bank that then in turn is communicated to Lominda (ph), how long could it take from the time you're tip off Dylan can have the surgery to the time it's actually done?
SELLERS: It really depends on where the heart is coming from. The Lominda (ph) surgery team goes and retrieves the heart and brings it back to the hospital. So it -- that could be a matter of a few hours, and then surgery itself takes anywhere from four to six hours.
ZAHN: I've got to tell you, I hand it to you. You are one strong woman. I hope you realize that. You've shown such enormous respect for your husband's commitment to the Marines, and I think we all respect that as well. But we also understand the heartbreak now of your going it alone. I know you have big support out there, but we wish you tremendous luck and hope you get good news for baby Dylan. We'll be rooting for you and your family.
SELLERS: Thank you. I appreciate it.
ZAHN: Thanks for joining us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 5, 2003 - 09:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: It is a choice no one who is in the service should have to make, service to country or to a critically ill child. Marine Major Hal Sellers shipped out a little over a week ago. Meanwhile his 4-month-old son is hospitalized in desperate need of a heart transplant. Without it, little Dylan has just days to live.
Now Seller's wife, Betsy, is by her son's side and standing by her husband's decision to join his unit overseas. Betsy Sellers joins us on a very early morning indeed from 29 Palms, California.
Good morning, Betsy. Thanks for being with us.
BETSY SELLERS: Good morning, thank you.
ZAHN: How sick is little baby Dylan?
SELLERS: He is very sick. He is critical. Within that critical, he is fairly stable at the moment. He has been waiting on the transplant list for a little over four months. The longest that Lominda (ph) University Children's Hospital has had a baby wait and make it to surgery is six months. So he is day to day.
ZAHN: But he is on top of that waiting list now, right?
SELLERS: That is true. He does need to have a heart that matches in size and in blood type.
ZAHN: Your husband had to make a very difficult job. As I understand it, he was offered a desk job nearby and yet chose to serve with his unit. How conflicted was he about making this very important decision?
SELLERS: It was very hard. It was a very hard decision for him to make. He did a lot of thinking about it, and just ultimately, this is what he wanted to do as a marine, this is what he has trained for, and it was -- he has a very high level of duty and responsibility to his country, and he felt that he was being put to the best use deploying with his troops.
ZAHN: So powerful to hear you say that. Yet I know as a mom of two other children at home and a very sick son, there had to be a part of you that didn't want him to make this decision.
SELLERS: Of course, of course. I would have liked to have had him here and to have the support. But at the same time, I'm very proud of his decision and what he is doing. The Marine Corps itself has been a wonderful support to me. I have a lot of wives here. Other Marine wives that are supporting me and my family. So I know that there are people that I can turn to if I need to.
ZAHN: And how much contact will you have with your husband as you wait out this really stressful period of time?
SELLERS: Not very much. And not very consistent contact. He was able to call Sunday morning for the first time and just to check in, and I was able to give him an update on Dylan, which was reassuring, and he's going to try to call once a week, but we're not sure how it'll work.
ZAHN: And how much contact do you have with Lominda (ph) team? Obviously, they have been through this before and the heartbreak of all the decisions families have to make. Are they staying in close touch with you?
SELLERS: Very close touch. On the days -- I try to go down three, four times a week to visit Dylan. It's an hour and a half away from me. When I go down, of course I get an update from all of the teams on his condition. And then on the days that I don't go down, I can call 24/7 if I wanted to, and There is always somebody there for me to talk to. So it's a wonderful peace of mind for me to know that he is being taken such good care of.
ZAHN: And if you get good news from an organ bank that then in turn is communicated to Lominda (ph), how long could it take from the time you're tip off Dylan can have the surgery to the time it's actually done?
SELLERS: It really depends on where the heart is coming from. The Lominda (ph) surgery team goes and retrieves the heart and brings it back to the hospital. So it -- that could be a matter of a few hours, and then surgery itself takes anywhere from four to six hours.
ZAHN: I've got to tell you, I hand it to you. You are one strong woman. I hope you realize that. You've shown such enormous respect for your husband's commitment to the Marines, and I think we all respect that as well. But we also understand the heartbreak now of your going it alone. I know you have big support out there, but we wish you tremendous luck and hope you get good news for baby Dylan. We'll be rooting for you and your family.
SELLERS: Thank you. I appreciate it.
ZAHN: Thanks for joining us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
