“Dialysis,” he said. “Or a transplant.”
The word hit me like a brick.
“Transplant?” I repeated.
He nodded.
“Sometimes spouses are compatible donors.”
I didn’t even look at Daniel.
“I’ll do it,” I said.
Daniel turned to me immediately.
“Grace, no. We don’t even know if you’re a match—”
“Then test me,” I said.
And they did.
The weeks that followed were full of blood tests, scans, hospital visits, and paperwork.
People later asked if I hesitated.
I didn’t.
I watched the man I loved slowly fade in front of me. I watched our kids whisper questions they thought I couldn’t hear.
“Is Dad dying?”
I would have given him anything.
When the hospital finally called and said I was a match, Daniel cried.
In the car, he held my face in both hands like I was something fragile.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
At the time, I thought that was love talking.
Now I realize… it was the truth.
The morning of the surgery was cold and bright.
We were placed in pre-op together. Two beds beside each other, separated by a thin curtain.
Machines beeped softly around us.
Daniel kept staring at me like he couldn’t believe I was really doing it.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I said.
He squeezed my hand.
“I swear,” he whispered, voice shaking, “I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you.”
Those words stayed in my head for months.
Back then, they felt romantic.
Now they just feel… ironic.
