2 Utah girls with rare immune disease to undergo bone marrow transplant

"We have a lot to be thankful for — more than not — and a big thing is the support we get from a lot of people and from friends and family," Elisabeth said. "You have an easier time getting through this when you have a smile on your face and when you tell yourself that life is good no matter what happens."

Because of difficulty paying bills, the Fish family was living with Elisabeth's parents. But now that the girls will have to live in isolation while recovering from the transplants, they've moved into another newer home while the owners there are serving an LDS mission in Peru.

"We're tending the house and don't have to pay much rent," Tyler explained. "We wouldn't be able to focus on our children without the wonderful help from family and friends, and even people we've never met."

Two accounts have been set up for the Fish family to help them pay for future accruing costs associated with the lifesaving marrow transplants their daughters need. There's an account at Wells Fargo under Fish Children Donation Fund, and at Utah Community Credit Union, an account has been set up under 2 Fish Marrow Wish Fund.

Elisabeth is now crusading for legislation in Utah that would mandate an inexpensive SCID test at birth. Though it's a rare disease, had that happened the two girls would have had a rapid recovering bone marrow transplant immediately after they were born.

"The two girls would never have experienced the disease," she said.

Email: eyeates@desnews.com