Page 23 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“We’re going to start some testing to see if Jack’s organs can be used.”
“What does that mean for my son?” Mom struggles to keep her voice strong.
“Jack will be kept on the ventilator until we have finished the testing. We believe his lungs and kidneys will be able to be donated also. We’ve already called in possible candidates for those organs too, and are waiting for them to go through testing to see if they’re a match. Once everything is figured out, we’ll ask you to say goodbye to Jack. He will be taken into the operating room and his organs will be harvested. Once the organs are removed, we will turn off the ventilator and we will call the time of death. I'm very sorry for your loss. I know how difficult this must be for you, but you’re making a very selfless decision. One that will be a blessing to so many people.”
“Thank you, Dr. Miles.” Dad nods again. “We’re not telling Taylor about Jack’s accident. If she somehow is a possible patient who could receive Jack’s heart, we don’t want her to know yet.”
“That’s completely understandable.” He scribbles something on Jack’s chart before he lifts his attention back to us.
“If she somehow is a match, I think it’s best if she doesn’t know who’s heart she’s getting until after the surgery. I know she’s going to be a mess if she finds out it’s Jack’s.”
“I think that’s a wise decision. I’ll be back once I know the results.”
It takes almost four hours before the nurse enters the room. Everyone’s attention instantly snaps to her and it seems like we’re all holding our breath, waiting to find out what’s going to happen.
“We would like to begin the surgery to harvest Jack’s organs within the next hour.”
The next hour is somehow the longest and the shortest of my life. It’s difficult knowing my brother is lying right next to me. His body is alive, yet he can't talk to me or interact in any way. I’ll never see his cocky smirk or hear him tease me for something stupid. He'll never do something to annoy me or try to scare me when I'm walking through the house at night.
When they wheel his bed out of the room to take him to surgery, there isn't a dry eye. We’re all a mess and I'm not sure we’ll ever be ok again. How does a family survive when a quarter of the members are gone? How do you keep going when your only sibling is all of a sudden missing from your life?
“Hello?” I ask as I answer the phone and scrub a hand over my face. I'm emotionally exhausted and I know this is just the beginning of it. It’s only going to get worse once Taylor finds out.
“Easton?Hi, this is Taylor’s Mom.” The excitement in her voice is hard to miss and I know exactly why she’s happy.
“Hi, Mrs. Gaines. How are you?”
“I'm fantastic! Taylor got the call! They have a heart for her. She was actually just taken back to surgery. She wanted me to get a hold of Jack so he could be here when she wakes up. Do you know where he is? I’ve called him a few times, but it keeps going straight to voicemail.”
I swallow hard and try to keep the tears at bay. I don’t want to lose control when I break the news to them.
“Yeah, I do. Where are you in the hospital? I’ll come see you.”
“Oh! We’re on the third floor. They’re letting us wait in the room Taylor will be in after her surgery. It’s room 384.”
“Ok. I’ll see you soon.”
I hang up and scrub my hands over my face again. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but someone needs to do it.
“I’ll come with you, son.” Dad appears at my side and places his hand on my shoulder.
We walk silently down to the third floor and quickly find room 384. I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly.
“It’s ok, Easton. I'm here and we’re going to make it through this,” Dad murmurs as he lifts his hand and knocks on the door.
Mr. Gaines calls for us to come in. I keep my head hung and my attention on the ground as I follow Dad into the room.
“Chase, is everything ok?” Mr. Gainesis on his feet immediately and coming towards us.
“Jack was in an accident.”
“Oh! I'm so sorry to hear that. Is he here? In the hospital? Is he ok?” Mrs. Gaines spits out one question after another, not giving us a chance to answer.
“I believe Jack might very well be Taylor’s heart donor,” Dad says softly.
“No!” Mrs. Gaines gasps as tears instantly fill her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Chase and Easton. What can we do for your family?” Mr. Gaines places a hand on both of our shoulders and shakes his head.
