A Selfless Act

This case happened during my on call...

It was midnight. Rainy nights. And he is just another typical boy. Young and bright boy, and just finished school, waiting to go to college. Let's just called him Ali. Ali was riding his bike down the street. He just finished work and was rushing to go home. The watch on his wrist shows 25 minutes past eleven. The street was quite deserted, only few cars cruising down the road. Like him, they are going home too.

Out of no where, this cyclist dart across the road. Spinal reflex kicks into his action. His right hand jam into the brake, and his left hand quickly steer to the left to avoid the imminent crash. Alas, the wet road does no help. In no time a all, his bike skidded and he was dragged along. It just won't stop. With a loud 'crack', he hit head on into the road divider. The last thing he ever saw is the flash of street lights. Then he went into unconscious state.

I attended him in casualty department. His Glassgow Coma Score was merely 6/15. CT scan done, There were extensive skull bone fracture with massive intracranial bleed. A ring to the neurosurgeon on call realized my worst fear, his condition is beyond the help of modern science.

This piece of news was broken to the Ali parents. Naturally, they were in the state of devastation. I wasn't expecting anything less than this. Having raised this child, seeing him rocking the cradle, to his first word to his first graduation, there is more than just memory. There were life, joy and there were pain. There is no grieve worst than a white-haired sending away the black-haired, as the chinese saying goes.

"I wish to give away the organs of my child to the needful person." The mother said to me.

"What?" I replied. This was not what I would expect in a typical parent in such situation.

"I don't want him to die like this. I want him to be remembered as someone brave. And I want his spirit to live on in people that need it the most." The mother added.

I was taken back of her decision. It seldom happen in this country, what more in this small hospital. Her generosity to donate organ is genuine and pure from the heart.

A couple of phone calls and paper work later, the organ harvest team arrived from Kuala Lumpur by plane with all sorts of equipments. Finally, he was lay to rest at 1 am the next day. Physically, he is no longer here but his spirits and organs lives on in the other people.

Bravo to such a selfless act. Only wish that there were more people that wiling to take such steps to help the people in need. Anyway, death is just a path that everyone has to walk down alone. Why we need to carry all the organs that will eventually rot or cremated along while it can help people like those haemodialysis dependent or external cardiac machine and give them another ray of hope? Time to think, people...