閱讀,不是為了得到什么,而是在被生活打擊的無(wú)路可退時(shí)最后的安身之所。靜靜等待,閱讀,一定會(huì)給予你獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。下面是英語(yǔ)美文:無(wú)私的饋贈(zèng) Selfless Gift的資料,希望你會(huì)喜歡!
Selfless Gift
無(wú)私的饋贈(zèng)
By Halley Anderson
Twelve-year-olds usually don't think about death. We think about our friends and shopping.
12歲的孩子通常不會(huì)想到死亡。我們想到的是朋友和購(gòu)物。
Unless you need a liver transplant to survive. That was me, almost two years ago. My liver was failing and if I didn't get a new one, I probably wouldn't make it to my 13th birthday. And someone would have to die so I could live.
除非你需要移植一個(gè)肝臟才能活下去。那就是我,大概兩年前的我。那時(shí),我的肝臟正在衰竭,如果沒有一個(gè)新的肝臟,我極有可能就活不到13歲生日那天了。而必須有人死去,我才能活下來(lái)。
Shocking Diagnosis
令人震驚的診斷
I'd always been healthy, so it was a huge shock when I was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called cirrhosis . My liver was so damaged and scarred that it wasn't able to function properly. Prior to that, I'd been having really bad stomachaches, and it turned out that I had a twisted bowel , which required minor surgery. That's when doctors discovered how bad my liver really was. We were told I needed a liver transplant as soon as possible. My name was added to a national list, and the doctors said to expect a call when a liver became available.
我一直都很健康,所以當(dāng)我被診斷出得了肝硬化這種極為罕見的病時(shí),簡(jiǎn)直無(wú)異于晴天霹靂。我的肝臟嚴(yán)重?fù)p壞,傷痕累累,已經(jīng)無(wú)法正常工作了。在那之前,我的肚子經(jīng)常痛得很厲害,結(jié)果是腸扭轉(zhuǎn),需要?jiǎng)觽€(gè)小手術(shù)。就是在手術(shù)時(shí),醫(yī)生發(fā)現(xiàn)我肝臟的情況非常糟糕,并告訴我必須盡快做肝臟移植。我的名字被列入一份全國(guó)名單,醫(yī)生讓我等待,說如果有可移植的肝臟會(huì)有人打電話通知我。
I couldn't grasp what was happening to me. I went from a normal,energetic sixth-grader to a girl trapped in my bed, too exhausted to move. As the days passed, I grew weaker and weaker and my skin and the whites of my eyes got really yellow—or jaundiced —a sign of liver failure. I was in and out of the hospital for tests and another surgery. I thought, "When will this ever stop?"
我無(wú)法理解發(fā)生在我身上的事。我從一個(gè)正常的、活力四射的六年級(jí)學(xué)生一下子變成了一個(gè)只能臥床養(yǎng)病、根本沒力氣動(dòng)一下的女孩。日子一天天過去,我越來(lái)越虛弱,皮膚和眼白都變得蠟黃——或者說是黃疸病——肝臟衰竭的一種征兆。我在醫(yī)院進(jìn)進(jìn)出出,做各種檢查以及又一次的手術(shù)。我想:“這一切什么時(shí)候才能結(jié)束?”
Even though I was scared, I was determined to fight. I had a feeling in my heart that I wasn't supposed to die. Staying strong was a challenge, though. My mom said to think of this as a nightmare that would be over soon. That advice, and the support of my friends, who would visit and call—lifted my spirits. Soon, I was the one reassuring my mom when she got stressed about finding a donor liver. I'd tell her, "I'll get one, Mom. Don't worry!"
盡管我十分害怕,但我決定與病魔抗?fàn)帯N倚睦镉蟹N感覺:我不應(yīng)該就這樣死去??墒牵3謭?jiān)強(qiáng)是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)。媽媽讓我把這想象成一場(chǎng)很快就會(huì)結(jié)束的噩夢(mèng)。朋友們來(lái)看我,打電話給我。媽媽的建議和朋友們的支持鼓舞了我的斗志。不久,我竟成了安慰媽媽的人,每當(dāng)媽媽擔(dān)心找不到肝臟捐贈(zèng)者時(shí),我就會(huì)跟她說:“媽媽,我會(huì)等到合適的肝臟的,別擔(dān)心!”
Transplant Time
移植時(shí)刻
And sure enough, at 7:15 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2008, we got the call that a liver was available. I was asleep, and my dad woke me up to tell me. At first, I was kind of mad. I didn't want to go to the hospital. I didn't want another surgery. I was scared and didn't want to get my hopes up and then have it not work out. But I had no choice: I had to get the surgery if I wanted to live.
沒錯(cuò),就在2008年11月7日早上7點(diǎn)15分,我們接到一個(gè)電話,得知已經(jīng)找到了合適的肝臟。我當(dāng)時(shí)正在睡覺,爸爸叫醒我并告訴了我這個(gè)消息。起初,我有點(diǎn)兒發(fā)瘋。我不想去醫(yī)院,不想又去做手術(shù)。我害怕,我不想希望燃起后手術(shù)卻又不成功。但是我沒有選擇:如果我想活下去,就必須去做手術(shù)。
My surgery took 10 hours, and then I stayed in the hospital for 10 days,hooked up to all sorts of tubes. It was agonizing . I was determined to get out of there and go back to my normal life, but I knew that my body could reject the liver and that's why they had to keep me there.
手術(shù)進(jìn)行了10個(gè)小時(shí),然后我住院10天。我身上插滿了各種管 子,痛苦至極。我堅(jiān)持要出院,回家過正常的生活,但我知道我的身體可能會(huì)排斥這個(gè)肝臟,這也是醫(yī)院讓我必須留院觀察的原因。
Life Saver
救命的人
The surgery sped by in such a blur that I didn't have time to ask where the organ came from. I guess I always imagined that it would be from an old person who'd passed away of natural causes. So when my mom told me that my liver was from a 17-year-old girl, I couldn't believe it.
這個(gè)手術(shù)來(lái)得過于匆忙,讓我都來(lái)不及問清楚肝臟從何而來(lái)。我想我那時(shí)一直認(rèn)為它應(yīng)該來(lái)自于一個(gè)自然死亡的老人吧。因此,當(dāng)媽媽說我的肝臟原本屬于一個(gè)17歲的女孩時(shí),我簡(jiǎn)直難以置信。
Kayla Borgerson, my donor, had died in a car accident in a nearby town. When I saw a report about her death on the news, I teared up. Here was this beautiful, young girl who had literally saved my life. My emotions were so mixed up. I was happy to be alive, but I hated knowing that it was because Kayla had died. I kept thinking about Kayla's family … how awful it was to lose her so suddenly.
我的捐贈(zèng)者凱拉·博格遜死于附近小鎮(zhèn)的一場(chǎng)車禍。當(dāng)我在新聞中看到關(guān)于她的死亡報(bào)道時(shí),我哭了。就是這個(gè)漂亮的年輕女孩真正救了我的命。我百感交集。我很開心能夠活下去,但我不愿這是由凱拉的死亡換來(lái)的。我總是想起凱拉的家人……如此突然地失去她該有多么痛苦?。?/p>
Months passed, and I grew stronger and healthier by the day. But I couldn't shake the guilt that came along with receiving Kayla's liver—that her life was cut short, while I lived. My mom suggested that we go meet Kayla's family, and I jumped at the chance. I couldn't wait to meet the people who helped save my life.
幾個(gè)月過去了,我的身體日益強(qiáng)健。但我始終無(wú)法擺脫隨接受凱拉的肝臟一起而來(lái)的罪惡感——她的生命停止了,而我活了下來(lái)。媽媽建議我去見見凱拉的家人,我馬上就答應(yīng)了。我迫不及待想要見到伸出援手救了我一命的人。
The Borgersons live about 35 miles away. As soon as Kayla's mom saw me, she started crying and so did I. Kayla's younger sister, Katie, who survived the car accident, was sweet and funny. It felt as though I'd always known them. I guess it's because I have a part of Kayla in me. Sometimes I get a weird vibration when I talk about her, as if she's around me, helping me through all of this.
博格遜一家住在大約35英里外。凱拉的媽媽一見到我就開始掉眼淚,我也是。凱拉的妹妹凱蒂是一個(gè)可愛而有趣的小女孩,她在那場(chǎng)車禍中幸存了下來(lái)。我有種感覺,好像跟她們認(rèn)識(shí)了很久一樣。我想,這是因?yàn)閯P拉的一部分在我的體內(nèi)。有時(shí)當(dāng)我談到她時(shí),能感受到一種奇怪的觸動(dòng),好像她就在我的周圍,幫我熬過這一切。
Still, I can't imagine how hard the Borgersons' decision to donate their daughter's liver was. Kayla decided on her own to be an organ donor when she got her driver's license. Her parents could have overridden her decision since she was a minor , but they didn't. That's the only reason I am here today. I am just so grateful for the amazing gift I received.
然而,我仍然無(wú)法想象捐贈(zèng)女兒的肝臟對(duì)于博格遜夫婦來(lái)說是一個(gè)多么艱難的決定。凱拉拿到駕照時(shí)就自行決定成為一個(gè)器官捐贈(zèng)者。因?yàn)樗€未成年,她的父母本可以不理會(huì)她的決定,但他們沒 有。這也是我今天還在這兒的唯一原因。能收到這份神奇的禮物,我是如此地心懷感激。
It is impossible to repay Kayla for what she did for me, but I try to honor her by taking good care of my liver and having as much fun as I can every day.
我不可能報(bào)答凱拉為我所做的一切,但我會(huì)盡力照顧好我的肝臟,并盡最大可能快樂地度過每一天,以此向她致敬。