Melanie sat on the wood bench for the first time since her heart surgery. She let the light snow flakes fall on her face as she looked up, smiling at the sky. She let it soak in. Enjoying the moment here at the bench where she had spent many lunchtimes when she worked. Not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, but just being here. She was at Central Park in New York during the Christmas season. She loved being here in the park. The spirit of the upcoming holiday created an air of excitement and electricity. She was waiting for a gentleman named Ian, but they had never met so she did not know what to look for but she was happy to finally be meeting him. Though she had no idea what to say once he got there. No words could explain what she felt.
About two years ago, Melanie collapsed at work. When it had happened, Melanie thought she was in perfect health. She had never had an issue before. She rarely ever got sick. She didn't eat junk food, she was a Vegan and she exercised almost every day. She was the perfect weight for her height. So when she found out at thirty she had been born with a unrepairable heart condition, she was stunned. She had no previous signs in her life up to that point of a problem with her heart. No signs beforehand that there was an issue.
"Why now?" she asked the doctor, he had no answer. His only concern was that she needed to be listed on the Organ Donor Recipient List which already had over 100,000 people waiting for transplants of the heart, lung, liver, cornea and so on. Finding a perfect match was going to be difficult if not impossible. All she could do was sit back and hope that it would be her turn for the gift of a heart transplant before it was too late. The impossible became possible and a match was found about three months ago. She had heart transplant surgery. Now she was here, feeling better and healing as expected by the doctor.
When she had gotten to the park, she had gone to the little coffee and hot chocolate stand a few feet down from the old wood bench and bought herself some hot chocolate. She also gave the very sweet lady behind the counter an extra forty dollars to 'Pay it Forward' Melanie said. Melanie liked to do this at least once per paycheck. She loved to watch how one act of random kindness such as this transformed people. So the next ten people to come to the counter got a free coffee on Melanie. The people wanted to know who to thank, but Melanie told the lady behind the counter she preferred to remain anonymous. Then she sat down on the wood bench and had fun for a few minutes, just sitting and watching the delighted surprise of the customers as the 'Pay it Forward' theory worked. Melanie thought about it, Cindy, the heart donar was a extreme and lasting example of 'Pay it Forward'.
When they found out they were getting free coffee, people would start to smile, laugh and started saying 'Happy Holidays!" as they waved goodbye and they walked away. Then the unexpected happened. Some people began to hand over and extra ten or twenty dollars to add to the 'Pay it Forward' fund. Melanie sat and just watched and giggled.
Melanie looked around and noticed things she had never taken time to notice before. There were colorful strands of lights hanging in many of the trees that lit up the early evening and a choir of young adults singing Christmas songs on the other side of the walkway. A little farther down was the man with the Salvation Army ringing his bell, some people dropping change in his bucket and others being more generous with dollar bills as they hurried to their next destination. Everyone had someplace to go. A lot of people had various shopping bags in their hands and hurried to get to the next store and sale before they closed.
She thought to herself how amazing but saddening it was that she had lived here in New York for over 15 years in an apartment that overlooked Central Park yet she had never noticed the beauty and charm of this place at Christmas time. It had taken a near death experience to open her eyes.
She noticed a gentleman that had walked up on the other side of the walkway in front of her. He just stood there and watched. She knew it was Ian. He was handsome and very well dressed, clean cut man in a suit that was very professional. Ian looked unsure about whether he could walk over or not. A range of emotions crossed his face and Melanie thought he just might turn around and walk away. She stayed seated on the bench, not aware she was holding her breath. She didn't want to push him. She understood his trepidation. Ian was the husband of Cindy, whose heart was donated to Melanie during her transplant only twelve weeks before.
Ian's wife had been the organ donor that had saved her life. During a horrible car wreck, Cindy was fatally injured. Ian had been the one that had to sign the papers verifying that he agreed with the assessment of the doctor that his wife's condition was grave and that she be kept on life support until the organs were harvested out to people who were matches on the wait list. He had been the one that agreed with the doctor to keep her on life support so the organs needed could be used to save other lives.
Cindy had saved lives, several people - five to be exact, had lived because of the generosity of organ donation. One blind female teenager could now see. It was a legacy to be proud of, but Ian could not appreciate it yet. He missed his wife too much. Ian walked over to Melanie and they stared at each other because neither knew what to say. Ian sat next to Melanie on the bench. They both held back tears.
Melanie started. She said "Thank you just doesn't seem like enough. Because of you and your wife, I’m alive and sitting here." Ian stayed quiet, he couldn't speak.
Continuing "I heard that her organs saved five people, me included. Also, the eyesight of a young girl was restored, essentially giving her a life she can see. None of us will ever forget the generosity of you and your wife Cindy. I wish there were some way to express how much gratitude I feel."
He looked at her with tears in his eyes and said,"There is." He stood up and took her hand and helped her stand. He took his other hand and put it over her beating heart and immediately she understood. He stood there for several minutes with his hand on her heart with his eyes closed, feeling Cindy's heartbeat from inside Melanie's chest.
Melanie stood still and whispered. "I am so sorry for your loss. I know that does not help you feel any better, but because of Cindy - I was given a second chance at life. So thank you, from the bottom of Cindy's heart, I thank you. Anytime you need to feel her heart beat, I will meet you here at the bench. Just call."
Ian smiled, kissed her softly on the cheek and said "Thank you Melanie" and walked away.
She sat back down on the bench feeling a mixture of emotions from a great sadness for Ian, who was obviously dealing with a gigantic loss to a overwhelming happiness that she was still alive. She sat there for a while longer on the wood bench and looked up at the sky, enjoying the feel of the cold snow flakes landing on her face.
Melanie lived for almost another 45 years after receiving the donated heart from Cindy. A teenage girl, blind from birth received her eyes and can now see. Five other people lived for another three to four decades because of the donation of Cindy's organs. Melanie never had another heart problem because of Cindy and Ian's generosity. Melanie and Ian met yearly, always around Christmas in Central Park at the bench, usually snowing and Ian felt Cindy’s heart beat strongly inside Melanie's chest.
References
Information used for Organ Donation, Google, http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/what-can-be-donated/
Just a note, although this story is complete fiction, I did use the above web page as a reference to the amount of people waiting for a compatible organ donor and the type of organs that can be donated.