Page 22 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“Why are they keeping him alive if hehas no brain activity?” I blink at the computer screen, not really seeing anything in front of me.
“They want to know if we want to donate his organs.”
“How’s-” I begin to ask, but Dad cuts me off.
“His heart didn’t sustain any damage. We want to donate his organs. That’s what he’d want, especially after everything with Taylor.”
“Ok, so now what?”
“We’re headed to the hospital to say… to say goodbye,” Dad chokes on a sob and the reality of the situation finally hits me.
My little brother is never going to call me again. We won't be able to go out for drinks or to hang out and watch movies. I’ll have my house to myself and suffocate in the silence I was never able to enjoy with Jack around.
Silent tears stream down my cheeks, but I do nothing to stop them. My chest feels like someone just slammed a sledgehammer into the center of it.
“I’ll be at the hospital in twenty minutes. I need to call my boss and tell him I’ll need some time off.”
“We’ll see you then.”
I scramble to save my document and send an email to my boss. I know this would be better handled as a phone call, but I don’t think I can talk to anyone right now. I quickly gather my keys, wallet, and phone, then I'm out the door.
The entire drive to the hospital, my brain is running on overdrive. I know we can't give Jack’s heart to Taylor, but I really hope there’s some sort of miracle that happens here. It’d be amazing if his heart could save her.
As I step into the hospital room, I swallow hard and try my hardest to blink away my tears, but they’re coming too quickly.
Jack’s lying on the bed, but his face is so bloody and cut up, it’s hard to tell it’s him. There’s a tube down his throat and a bunch of wires and IVs hooked up to him. He looks so different from the man I ate breakfast with this morning.
“Hello. I'm Dr. Miles. I’m sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances. We have some important decisions to make and I want to make sure Jack is treated with the utmost care and respect.”
“We want to donate his organs,” Mom blurts out, then bursts into tears.
“Ok. We can discuss that,” Dr. Miles says slowly.
“Jack’s girlfriend, Taylor Gaines, is on the donor list for a heart. Is there any way we can test her to see if she’s a candidate to receive his heart?” I pinch my lips together to try and gather my composure.
I need to call Taylor. I need to tell her what happened and give her a chance to say goodbye. She deserves to know.
“I can't make any guarantees. When donating organs, there are a lot of things that go into making sure the correct person gets the correct organ. We also have strict rules we need to follow when it comes to organ donations.”
“We understand,” Dad says witha nod.
“I’ll give you some time with your son and brother. We believe Jack has quite a few organs we could use to save other peoples’ lives. I know this is a difficult time for all of you. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll just be right out at the desk.”
The doctor leaves us in silence and I glance over at my parents. They’re both staring down at Jack with tears dripping from their cheeks onto the ground.
“I should call Taylor,” I murmur as I tug my phone out of my pocket.
“Not yet, Easton. I don’t want her to know yet.” Dad places his hand on my shoulder and shakes his head.
“What? Why not? She deserves to get a chance to say goodbye!” I frown at the man I’ve always looked to for guidance, but this time he’s wrong.
“And I’ll make sure she gets that chance. But what if by some miracle, she’s a perfect match for his heart. We can't tell her who’s heart she’s getting until after it’s inside of her. You have no way of knowing how she’ll respond. If she gets too upset and her blood pressure is too high, they might not do the procedure. I don’t want her to miss out on this opportunity if Jack can save her life. This is what he’d want, Easton.”
I nod my head as my tears fall faster. If my brother could do one thing before he died, it would be to save Taylor. Though I don’tthink he’ll ever love her the way I do, they were still best friends and he’d want to be the one person to save her life and give her a future.
Collapsing into a chair next to Jack’s bed, I hang my head and say a silent prayer. I know the doctor thinks Jack’s organs can save multiple peoples’ lives, but I pray one of them is Taylor. I can't lose her. She means too much to me.
It feels like hours before the doctor comes back in. There’s a soft smile on his lips and it has me sitting a little taller in my seat.
