Giving and Receiving the Ultimate Gift

by Jesse Hunter

foonfoon 译

Giving and Receiving the Ultimate Gift

生命最后的馈赠

by Jesse Hunter

foonfoon 译

The measure of life is not its duration, but its donation.

—Peter Marshall

Track 2

I grew up as an only child. I never thought much about it at the time, other than wanting to have a brother around to play catch with. Now I think, “What would happen if I needed a kidney or bone marrow transplant or something?” Without any siblings, and having almost no blood relatives at all, would I be able to fnd a viable match? Wait! I just realized, that sounds a bit selfish, doesn’t it? I should be more worried about helping others, rather than them helping me.

In this month’s first feature, Professor Barbara Russell Chesser teaches us An Even Greater Lesson, which she learned from one of her most beloved students, whose death broke the hearts of many but saved the lives of many as well. And, if you want to learn more about how An Act of Giving Truly Changes—and Saves—Lives, check out our second feature by T.J. Maciak, who miraculously survived massive kidney failure thanks to two different transplants, and is now a world class athlete competing in the World Transplant Games since 2006. For our third feature, Ryan’s Hope, Nancy Lee Doige tells the story of a young boy who lost his life too soon, but whose generous posthumous donation helped save the lives of other youths in need.

Reading this month’s stories, I was brought to tears on several occasions. I’d reckon to say that most, if not all, of us, at one point or another, fear death’s icy grasp upon us. But I’d also imagine that, when that fateful day comes, as I drift off into the great beyond, it would be comforting to know that the parts of me that were still functioning could save the lives of those who need them.

我是家里的独子。对此，我从来没有想太多，只是偶尔想要一个兄弟陪我玩传球游戏。现在我想：“如果我需要做肾或者骨髓或者其他什么移植手术，那该怎么办呢？”没有任何兄弟姐妹，也几乎没什么血亲，我能找到匹配的器官吗？慢着！我刚刚才意识到，那听起来有点儿自私，不是吗？我更应该想着去帮助别人，而不是让别人来帮助我。

在本月的第一篇主题文章中，芭芭拉·拉塞尔·切瑟教授教会了我们《生命中更为重要的一课》，这是她从自己最心爱的其中一位学生身上学到的，这个学生的死亡打碎了许多人的心，但同时也挽回了许多条生命。此外，如果你想要了解更多关于《拯救生命的给予》的故事，那么请看我们的第二篇主题文章，由T·J·马齐尔克执笔。多亏了两次不同的肾移植手术，他奇迹般地从严重的肾衰竭中生还下来，现在是一名世界级的运动员，自2006年起就一直参加世界移植运动会。而在我们的第三篇主题文章—《赖安的希望》中，南希·李·多伊奇讲述了一个生命太过短暂的小男孩的故事，他在死后慷慨地将自己的器官捐赠出来，拯救了许多需要帮助的年轻人的生命。

阅读这个月的主题故事，我的眼泪有好几次都已夺眶而出。我猜想，不说所有人，我们大多数人，多多少少总是害怕死神那冷冰冰的手把我们抓住。但我也可以想象得到，当注定的那一天到来，我慢慢地去往彼岸之时，得知我身体一些还在运作的部分能帮到那些需要它们的人，拯救他们的生命，我会深感安慰。