“Is that good or bad?” I blurt. “I can’t remember.” I begin to panic.nbsp;
I remember the hospital saying deceased donor kidneys are graded between zero and one-hundred percent but for the life of me I can’t remember if a low rating is a good thing or bad.
She laughs lightly over the phone. “The lower the better.”
“R-Right.”
“You have some time to think about accepting if you want. But we need to hear back by the hour.”
“N-No. I’m taking it,” I say.nbsp;
An eleven percent is rare, and someone my age at that. This is an opportunity I can’t throw away. I have to jump on it before it’s gone.
“Are you sure?” she asks. “It’s early in the morning; maybe you should talk to your parents.”
“No,” I say firmly. “I’m taking it.”
“Okay, we’ll prep the operating room. How soon can you be here?”
“About an hour? Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
She then goes over questions like when was the last time you ate? Drank? Blah, blah, blah.
She hangs up, and I sit for a moment in stunned silence.
Did that really happen?
I stare down at my glowing phone and know it did.
I quickly go about doing an emergency shut off from my dialysis machine. Once I’m free, I run down to the end of the hall and barge into my mom and dad’s room.
“Mom! Dad! Get up!”nbsp;
My dad sits straight up. “Whashappenin,” he slurs, looking from left to right.
“Get up.” I beat my hands on the bottom of the bed. “The hospital called. They have a kidney for me. It’s a good match. I have to take it.”
My mom rolls out of the bed. “We have to hurry, Jake,” she tells my dad.nbsp;
I leave them to get dressed and grab their things, then I wake up Harlow, knowing we can’t leave her behind to wake up to an empty house with no clue where we went.
“Are you serious?” she asks, coming awake oddly alert.
“I’m serious.”
And then I burst into tears.
My body is a rollercoaster of emotions.
Happy, scared, overwhelmed, completely euphoric. It’s a lot to process.
“Oh, my God, Willa, this is amazing.” She hugs me tight and I sob into her shoulder.
It is amazing.nbsp;
More than that, it’s life changing.