My son saved his 5-year-old sister as an organ donor; 13 years later, she received a birthday card that said, “Happy birthday, little sister.”
«Happy birthday, little sister. I promised I would be here».
My heart stopped.
Hannah looked at me.
—Luke was my only brother. Mom, who wrote this?
I couldn’t answer.
Suddenly I went back thirteen years.
Hannah was five years old when her liver began to fail.
I volunteered to get tested as a potential donor, but the doctor shook his head.
—They are not compatible.
Then Luke took a step forward.
He was eighteen years old.
And it was perfectly compatible.
—Honey, I know you want to help her —I begged him—. But you are also my son.
He took me by the hand.
—She is my little sister, mom. How could I live with myself knowing that I didn’t do everything I could to save her?
Doctors said the risks were small.
Hannah’s operation went well.
But Luke began to weaken.
Finally, a doctor took me aside.
—We are doing everything we can.
They couldn’t save him.
They said his case was one in a million.
After that, I raised Hannah alone.
I kept Luke’s photographs on the walls and told him stories about his brother until he knew them by heart.
Years passed.
And then, the day he turned eighteen, Luke’s message came.
—Mom!
Hannah’s voice brought me back to the present.
—Mom, please say something.
I looked at the photograph.w
Did anyone know where Hannah worked and when she would be there.
And one phrase kept resonating in my mind.
«I promised I would be here».
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.
