It has been 6 years since we lost a 4-year-old boy named Xander Vento, and it is still hard for me to forget him...forget how his love for others was more important to him than his own life.
In August 2012, while playing in an Arlington swimming pool with other children, Xander, an excellent swimmer, noticed a 3-year-old girl struggling, having waded into water above her head.
He quickly swam beneath her, lifted her so she could breathe, while he slowly maneuvered her to shallower water.
But all that time, his rescue of her kept his mouth, his nose, underwater...and though she survived, Xander did not.
That happened nowhere near this time of year, so I guess it is the spirit of this season that makes me think about a child who knew better than many adults that it is better to give than to receive.
I’ve never met the parent who wants any child to have to make a choice like Xander made between saving them self or someone else, but I want to believe ever good parent hopes to raise a child who will grow up to be a man or woman of excellent character like Xander…an example to their peers.
That such virtues permeated this young man at age 4… is simply incredible.
Xander Vento has been gone now longer than he was here, but he lives on in the bodies of others who received his donated organs…in the memory of his family, his friends who have dedicated themselves to raising awareness about drowning prevention.
And now hopefully in this season of giving, he lives on in you…if only awhile.