Adrian breathed a sigh of relief. The tests were hard, the waiting excruciating, but in the end, it was all worthwhile. He had thought hard and taken his time, but he knew this was his sister’s last resort. The tests would determine if he was a suitable match. Thank the Lord, their blood matched, even though both of them had a rare blood type.
His sister, Isabella, had been awaiting a kidney transplant for eleven years. Adrian was too young to undergo the operation at the time, and it pained him to watch his sister fight day in and day out to stay alive, watching her skin turn yellow as her kidneys failed. He knew she was a battler who would fight until a suitable donor came along.
Isabella was being kept alive by a dialysis machine—her life support. Without it, she would simply “die.” The thought made Adrian shiver as if someone had walked over his grave. Because the family couldn’t afford to hire a machine for home use, Isabella had to travel daily to the transplant unit at the hospital, where she would stay for six hours until she was “topped up”—a phrase that gave Adrian the giggles, as if he were talking about filling a car with petrol. She didn’t mind the trips, but she looked awful each time she returned.
The day had finally come. Adrian held his sister’s hand as both were wheeled into the operating theater. The doctor, a young man with reassuring greying hair, gave a confident smile and waved to the anesthetist to administer the local anesthetic.
The next thing Adrian saw was a shadow overlooking him, grabbing his arm to take his blood pressure. He fell back asleep, feeling no pain, but some discomfort—to be expected, he thought sleepily, having had a part of his body removed.
Isabella woke up five hours after Adrian. She looked around and saw her brother still fast asleep. Before she could say anything, her dad pushed his fingers to her lips and said, “Everything is alright, darling. Adrian is fine. How do you feel?” Isabella was too weak to talk and drifted into another semi-conscious sleep.
Three months later, Adrian and Isabella were sitting outside a café enjoying the sun, both reflecting on the operation and the outcome. Isabella was now back to normal; she had a great color and looked healthy. Adrian was fine too. They both giggled as they sipped their coffee.
© William Sinclair Manson 2025
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