the hardest decision in surgery is knowing when to abandon a repair and just remove the whole organ. 

If a spleen is shattered, we'll take it out to protect the rest of the body. Same with a section of colon or small bowel. 

The human body can survive a fair amount of loss. People live without an appendix, a kidney, tonsils, and more. 

The body finds ways to compensate for what it's missing but it will eventually reach a breaking point. 

The body can only give up so much before it no longer works at all. 

Much like with surgery, life is full of calculated risks. We often make sacrifices in hopes of better outcomes.

 Not every gamble pays off the way we hoped. 

So we ask ourselves, 

What are we willing to give up? 

What can we leave behind? 

What do we need to live? 

What makes life worth living? 

What are we willing to put on the line when a life is at stake?

 How much are we ready to lose if things don't break our way?