The Gift of Life

By Lamplighter1890 

Pasadena, California

Emma checked the time on her cell and saw that it was 7:58 AM, almost time for the parade to start. She was beyond excited, and her hand trembled slightly as she slid her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. Then again, it was a cool 60 degrees and she had to remove her glove to take a couple of last pics and text her BFF Brenda, who was back home in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The parade safety officer walked around the float performing a final check, ensuring that all the riders had their safety tethers attached; Emma smiled at her and displayed the nylon tether attached to her waist belt. The woman gave her a thumbs up and moved on.

Emma and her sister Jen were kidney donation recipients, and it was Jen who was supposed to be in the parade. But tragically, Jen was killed in a car crash six months after her operation; so, Emma volunteered to represent Jen and her donor. She couldn't help but feel that Jen's donor's family must have thought the gift was wasted.

As the float began its slow roll forward, Emma wondered if the man who donated his kidney to her was watching. She smiled thinking that when she was waving to the TV cameras, she was waving at him.

Duluth, Minnesota

Jerold looked out the window of his hospital room and saw that the snow had really picked up. He hated the cold and snow. His gaze returned to his TV and the Rose Parade in California, where it was a beautiful winter day, sunny, cool, and no snow.

Then something that the parade commentator said caught his attention: ...and here we have the Donate Life float honoring twenty organ donors with the recipients sitting in front of their donor's Floragraph.

"Oh my God - I know that girl!" said Jerold out loud, as the TV showed a closeup of Emma waving to the crowd.

"She is there because of me!"

It was just eighteen months ago that Jerold had donated one of his kidneys to Emma, and here she was on the organ donor float looking awesome. Jerold smiled and waved back at the TV screen.

And now here he was, donating another kidney; this was the 23rd kidney Jerold had donated.

Jerold's "people" had discovered that kidneys were the easiest organ to replicate, with the bonus that the donor didn't have to die. He just grew a new one. Really, it was a pretty basic plan, just donate organs that carried their seed and would eventually turn the host human into a servant species. Jerold and his fellow soldiers had donated millions of organs all over this desirable little planet.

As Jerold watched Emma and the float pass by the camera stand, a graphic saying "Organ donation - the gift of life" appeared on the screen.

Ain't that the truth baby! thought Jerold, as he sipped his cup of orange juice.

***

Note: The Rose Parade, held on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California, has been a yearly event since 1890. With upwards of 3/4 of a million spectators lined up on the streets and another 35 million watching around the world, it is the largest parade event in the USA. Since 2004, the Donate Life Float has honored organ donators and recipients. LL1890