“Gifts?”
Gifts may not always be what they seem. Often gifts are peered through rose colored glasses, but one’s gift may be another's nightmare. My intention is not to scare, but to be empathetic and see things from all angles. I need a heart transplant. I only have a few years left on this earth if that transplant does not transpire.
Sadly, no one can receive a heart without the donor dying first. Receiving a young and healthy heart would be an unyielding and true miracle, from my point of view. This would provide me, someone who was only thirty-five years old when diagnosed with heart failure, the gift of a heart that would unequivocally save my life and change me for the rest of my days. It would be an undeniable blessing to receive such a magnificent gift. Ultimately, receiving a twenty-one-year-old’s heart would be the best possible scenario for me. I would have the potential to live a long, full life. My health would be restored!
But, what about the heart donor? This beautiful gift is very possibly someone else's worst nightmare. Maybe a set of loving parents lost their child in a horrific car accident. Maybe their child was ripped out of their arms by the unapologetic disease that is addiction. Maybe a woman and child lost their husband and daddy in combat in a country halfway across the world. A sad truth is that no one who dies of old age can donate a heart of any use to anyone else. The donor must likely die a very untimely, young, and unexpected death.
Now, is it fair to view this opportunity as a gift? Yes, I think so. It will provide someone in need with the most generous gift of all, life. Yet, there is a problem. To receive arguably the world's most selfless gift, someone of sound body and health must die. They cannot be sick or compromised in any way. They likely must have died abruptly and unexpectedly. Is it really fair for one to receive that inconceivable gift if someone else must die for it? Thinking of this for several years has only stirred the troubled thoughts in my mind. The only sound conclusion I have arrived at is that one person's gift is likely another's curse. Thinking about it, the unfair exchange only depresses me.
By: A.L. Blackheart
