A Marine's Heartbreaking Decision

For four-month-old Dillon Sellers, waiting for a heart transplant, every day is a fight for life. Doctors say Dillon could die at any time.

But while his mother, Betsy, is at his side in California, his father is in Kuwait on what will be the front line in any new war with Iraq, reports CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales.

"It was a hard decision to make," said Betsy Sellers, Dillon's mother. "He had to go to the hospital and say goodbye to Dillon basically, and not know if he'd see him again."

As the family struggled with Dillon's diagnosis, the Marines offered Sellers a desk job at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, a small desert town 140 miles east of Los Angeles.

But the 13-year veteran is second-in-command of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and had trained for months to deploy to the Middle East. His wife said ultimately he was concerned about bringing in a new member so late in the training.

So, with two sons at home and one on life support, Sellers shipped out with the men and women he trained for battle.

On The Early Show Wednesday, Sellers, who was interviewed by satellite from a secret location in Kuwait, said it's "kind of tough" to be so far away from his family and his little boy.

"Obviously, I was used to being able to see him from time to time, and of course, get daily updates on his condition. And I'm not able to do that from here," he said. "But I know my wife's taking good care of my other kids and him, and he's in good hands at Loma Linda. The doctors and nurses there are taking great care of him, doing everything they can for him.

His wife had told Gonzales, "We can't do very much for Dillon. We're very helpless and this is a way that (Major Sellers) felt he could give something now and help out his country and it's something he really believes in and I'm very proud. I supported him 100 percent, but it's hard."

The major's mother, Betty Sellers, said the family supported her son's decision.

"We didn't say, 'Hal, do this or do that.' We tried to convey the message that Dillon was getting the best possible care he could have, and maybe Hal had to do in life what he could do best," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Des Moines, Iowa.

Marines at Seller's home base say he faced a choice no parent should have to make, but that's part of being a Marine.

"I think this situation sheds light in a very tangible way on the sacrificial nature of service to country. While no one would want to be in the major's position, we understand the difficulties," said Capt. Rob Crum, a base spokesman.

Dillon has been close to death many times in his short life and his O-positive blood type makes the search for a donor heart difficult.

"He is commonly known as the universal donor, but he is not the universal recipient," said Armando Deamaya, transplant coordinator at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. "Every day could be an end-of-life issue for him. We're probably talking days rather than weeks."

Lying in a crib at the medical center, Dillon breathes with the help of a ventilator as tubes snake from his chest, arms and legs. A patch from Sellers' unit, known as the Wolf Pack, is among the pictures and stuffed animals decorating Dillon's crib.

The baby was listed in critical condition Monday.

"You go day by day and learn to be grateful for the little things. He is still here and still fighting," said Betsy.

Dr. Anees Razzouk, chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center, said on The Early Show Wednesday that Dylan was in stable condition.

"However," added the doctor, "he's on maximum life support. He is fighting his own battle, you know. And he's hoping to get a new heart. We are having a team of dedicated specialists working with him day to day, and we hope that gift of life will arrive soon for him.

"Just listen to his parents talk," continued Dr. Razzouk, "and you're not surprised that he's a brave and courageous fighter, as well. We are all praying for him, that he would win this battle. He has been waiting for four months. And so far he's hanging on. He's been in a fine balance and has very little reserve. But every day brings in a new hope for him."

Betsy Sellers absolutely agreed with her husband's decision; as a matter of fact, they came to the decision together. How is she holding up not that it's a reality?

"Surprisingly well," she said on The Early Show. "I guess I've been so busy with everything that I don't have time to really think about it. The Marine Corps itself has been a wonderful support. The wives that I know are my family, of course, have just been amazing, and Hal's family. So I know that I have a lot of people I can turn to if I need it."

And on the other side of the world, Dillon's father prepares to fight and waits for word about his son.