This is a beautiful letter from Dr. Suzanne McDiarmid, a dear friend and Jennifer’s gastroenterologist & liver transplant doctor at UCLA for the past 20 years: Dear Mr. & Mrs. Seufert, I have been thinking of you so much. Below are some thoughts I have been having of you & Jennifer over the last days. If you think it would be fitting for your service, I would like to share what I would have said in person. I would so much have liked to have been with you in person. You know my thoughts are with you. At this time of the year we celebrate the miracle of a Holy Child. Today, I join you, as Jennifer’s physician for over 20 years, in celebrating the miracle that Jennifer brought to all of our lives. For me personally, it has been a rare privilege to share the heart & soul of a family that embraced this very special child. The hopes were high – for the beautiful little dark haired girl we rushed to the operating room that day 20 years ago - & yet we all knew the risks were great. The liver transplant itself was a success & Jennifer lived, but before long we all had to accept that the price had been very high. But Jennifer’s mother & father saw beyond the obvious serious physical complications that we doctors could not cure. Whereas many may have seen her as afflicted by tragic misfortune, they held her life in their hands as the most precious gift given to their family. Over the years I saw them nurture, protect & fight for the life & spirit they saw in Jennifer with a depth of love, compassion, & commitment that awe-inspired me. And, as the years went by, this family’s love for their daughter & their sister, only deepened. The last year has been especially difficult. Jennifer’s problems seemed to accumulate & we all felt increasingly helpless to get her back to the place she loved best – home. During this time I had several, sometimes heart wrenching conversations with her parents – about her life within this remarkable family, what that life meant to them, & what they wanted for her as we tried to envision her future. Jennifer’s mother put pen to paper to express this to our medical staff at UCLA. It must be one of the most beautiful “letters” a mother could ever write about her daughter. In that letter, Tana, speaking on behalf of her family, wanted us to understand that Jennifer’s life inspired in them a capacity for love they may never have known. As well, so many of those who came close to Jennifer also responded to Jennifer as she reached beyond her physical presence. And, as Tana said, if one was to measure the value of a life – what greater value could there ever be than in the giving & inspiring of love that was the essence of Jennifer. For me this is the miracle of Jennifer. Out of suffering was born a radiance of love & life that shone forth as a beacon to any that came within that light. I know – because I had the honor of standing in that light. It is Christmas – a time for gifts. I have mine – Jennifer & her family. They will stay in my heart. I will never forget the courage, the compassion, the refusal to accept anything that was not the best for Jennifer, & the power of love, that I saw so many times in her parent’s eyes. It is a rare thing in life to see such devotion – such grace – extending over so many years. For me, Jennifer & her family embody the spirit of Christmas: - the miracle of a special child - the family that nurtured the child - the love that grew from that child - the gift that child – Jennifer – gave to her family & to our world With heartfelt wishes to you all, Dr. Sue McDiarmid