Chapter
13
Days passed. Alexa skipped school to go to the hospital with her
mother. Everyday, Elisa's doctor's told them the same thing. There was no
change in her condition. She was still in a coma, unable to even breathe on her
own. Meanwhile, Brian was getting worse. He slipped in and out of consciousness.
Alexa knew his situation was very grave. So was Elisa's. Alexa grew more and
more depressed everyday, knowing that two people she loved were dying. She had
finally told her mother about Brian, and Mrs. Morgan and his mother had met.
They now sat together in the waiting room and provided comfort for each other,
knowing that their children were dying.
***
After Elisa had been in the hospital for a week, there was still no
change in her condition. One morning when they arrived, Dr. Trenton asked them
to come into a small private room with him.
"Mrs. Morgan, I'm sorry to tell you, but your daughter's condition
has not been getting better this past week. We ran some tests on her yesterday,
to measure her level of brain function. We found that she is brain dead."
Mrs. Morgan's eyes filled with tears. Alexa felt a cold hard knot
settle in her stomach. She struggled to hold back her tears.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," he said sympathetically.
"I have someone who would like to talk to you now. Is that alright?'
Mrs. Morgan nodded. He left the room and returned with a woman.
"This is Barbara Lewis," he said, motioning to the woman.
"She would like to talk to you."
"It won't be long," Mrs. Lewis said, as Dr. Trenton left the
room. "I'm very sorry about your daughter," she began
sympathetically, "but I'm here to talk to you about an option that could
help a part of your daughter live on, and help many other people."
Alexa exchanged a glance with her mother.
"I'm from the Kentucky Organ Donation program," she
continued. "The doctor's here have some run some tests on Elisa's organs,
and it seems that they are in wonderful condition. They would be perfect to
donate to others. Have you heard about organ donation before?" she asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Morgan answered. "I know about it."
"Well, would you consider donating some of Elisa's organs?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Morgan, flashing Alexa a sidelong glance.
"I think it's what she would have wanted."
"That's wonderful," said Mrs. Lewis. "Your gift will
help many people that would die without Elisa's organs."
"Like Brian," Alexa thought sadly. Suddenly an idea began to
form in her head. "Do we get any say about who gets the organs?" she
asked.
"Well, no, not usually. The doctors make a decision based on a
number of factors. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I have a friend who really needs a heart transplant. He's
here, at this hospital, and he's dying. He could really use Elisa's
heart," she said.
"I'm sorry, dear, but," she started.
"Please, could you just have the doctors see if he's compatible
for it?" Alexa interrupted. "He's dying! I can't lose two people in
one week!" Her eyes filled with tears.
Mrs. Lewis nodded. "I'll ask the doctors to check it out,"
she said. "What's his name?"
"Brian. Brian Littrell," she replied.
"Alright. I'll go see what I can do," she said.
"Thank you," Mrs. Morgan said.
"Thank you," Mrs. Lewis said, leaving the room. After
she was gone, Alexa collapsed into her mother's arms and began to sob. Her twin
sister was gone.
***
That afternoon, Brian's doctors ran many tests on him to see if he was
a candidate to receive Elisa's heart. Alexa and her mother had already told
Brian's family whose heart he would receive if the tests turned out well. At
six o'clock that evening, Dr. Simms walked into the waiting room. Jackie jumped
up. Alexa stood up also. Her mother had gone home earlier in the day to rest,
after they had said their final good-byes to Elisa, but Alexa had begged to
stay to find out if Brian would get her sister's heart. Now, her heart lodged
in her throat as the doctor cleared his throat and began to speak.
"As you know, we had to run many tests on Brian, to see if the
heart would work for him." He glanced at Alexa as he said the word heart.
"We have the results from the tests back now," he continued. Alexa
held her breath. She knew what the doctor was about to say could change all of
their lives. She knew that if Brian didn't get this heart, he might never get
one. He might die waiting.
"and, we think Brian would be a good candidate," Dr. Simms
finished. Alexa gasped in delight. Jackie threw her arms around her husband and
he held her tightly. When she pulled back, Alexa saw there were tears streaming
down her face.
"When will the surgery be?" Brian's father, Harold, asked.
"It will be a couple hours. We have to remove the organs from the
donor first." He glanced again at Alexa. "Then we have to get Brian
prepped for surgery."
When he left the room, Jackie hurried over to Alexa and hugged her.
"Thank you so much, Alexa," she said, her eyes filling with tears
again. "Without your sister, Brian would probably die. We can never repay
you."
"You don't have to repay me," Alexa said. "I wanted to
do this. I couldn't let two people I love die." They hugged again. Then
they all trooped down the hall to see Brian.
***
