My husband clicked the phone off.
"What did you authorize?" I asked.
"Kidneys, liver, lungs"
"Oh"
I turned at looked at the clock: 6:12 pm central time.
He stepped outside to return to some work.....but I stood in the quiet kitchen staring at the clock.
A young man was dying somewhere in my state.....and my husband, who is a medical professional, had authorized what organs could be taken for transplant after he dies.
A family....a grieving family..... had offered their son's unaffected organs to other people and it was part of my husband job to evaluate the feasibility of their gift when particular circumstances were involved.
I watched the digital clock move forward...and for some reason....my stomach tightened.
A young man would be dead soon.....and a team of people were making phone calls and initiating a chain of events to prepare for life.
6 people.....somewhere in the United States.... would receive a call from their doctor tonight.
He or she would say...."You've been matched to a donor organ. You need to come to the hospital now."
6 people...and all their friends and all their families will have their lives changed in just a few hours...... but they don't know it yet.........they are in their beds...or sitting in their chairs.....or quietly reading.....strange that I know what is coming for them even though I don't know who they are or where they live.
Phone calls will be placed ....organs will be typed and matched and transported a few miles or thousands of miles....all rushed and handled with great expectations.
As the young man's family cries and crumples in grief.....6 other families' hearts will leap with hope.
Next year....at this time....one family will look upon October 15 and feel the pain of loss...and wondered why it happened..... and 6 other families will hopefully smile at their loved one...still living and breathing.
And it will all unfold in the next few hours.....cell phones ringing.....bags being packed.....emails sent....patients and medical teams....called in ...driving to hospitals....scrubbing up and waiting......for a painful gift of life.
All of this....in the next few hours....
