Two Parents Offer Their Daughter the Breath of Life -- to No Avail

Did Cindy and Roger Plum of Coon Rapids, Minn., overstep the limits of parental sacrifice to try to save their 9-year-old daughter Alyssa? Although their efforts failed, both parents say they would do it again -- and again.

Last New Year's Eve, Alyssa took to bed with symptoms that suggested bronchitis. Three months later, she was rushed to a hospital emergency room with a high fever. Doctors suspected a virus, but sent her home. Two days later, Alyssa was at her doctor's office with pneumonia. Within days her skin turned blue from lack of oxygen. By mid-April she was on a list for a lung transplant.

The Plums, who had read about transplant surgeries using lobes of the lung from living donors, decided to volunteer. Alyssa successfully received a piece of Roger's lung. Then her other lung failed. Less than four weeks later, Cindy underwent the procedure. This time Alyssa died of heart failure. Both parents have 18-in. scars that run from their chest to their back. Cindy's sleep is still interrupted by pain. Roger suffers from muscle weakness. Even though the couple have a son, Travis, 6, who risked losing a parent, they never had doubts about their actions. "If I didn't give Alyssa a chance at life," says Cindy, "I didn't know if I could live with myself."