that transplants could be done when there was no match. He figured it best to keep quiet at this point and be grateful for this bit of progress. “As I said, her doctor can answer any questions,” he responded evasively.
“And,” his mother continued, “they can determine if you’re a match by simply doing blood work.”
“Yes.”
She looked up at her husband. “That doesn’t seem so terrible, Frank. I mean a blood test seems harmless enough.”
“I’m against this, Marilyn.”
“They send a sample of my blood to a lab, Dad,” Jeremy said eagerly. “At least let me take that step.”
His mother was gazing up at his father with a look of resignation, and Jeremy knew by theexpression on his father’s face that he’d won this battle.
“I’ll sign the papers for the blood test,” Jeremy’s father said shortly, his words clipped. “But that’s all. One blood test.”
Jeremy rose, suddenly exhausted. “Thank you.” He was out the door when he heard his mother tell his father, “It’ll be all right, Frank. We should allow him this much leeway. He loves the girl. I mean, he has to match her in some way, and what are the odds of that happening? I’d say a million to one.”
“The odds aren’t high enough for me,” Jeremy heard his father say. “Not nearly high enough.”
When Jessica’s parents heard the news, they rushed over to Jeremy’s house and spilled out their gratitude with handshakes and effusive speeches. Jeremy didn’t miss his father’s tight-lipped expression or his mother’s polite but vacant stare.
“We’ll pay for everything,” Don McMillan said. “You don’t have to worry about any of the costs.”
“Is the test expensive?” Jeremy’s mother asked.
“Between six and eight hundred dollars,” Don said. “But who can put a price on Jessica’s life?”
His parents didn’t say anything negative. And when they met Dr. Witherspoon and signed the consent form, they asked no questions. It was as if they wanted only to get out of his office as quickly as possible.
“Are you certain there’s nothing you want to know?” the doctor asked, placing the form in a manila folder.
“Nothing,” Jeremy’s father said. He cupped his hand around his wife’s elbow. “It’s understood that our consent is only for the antigen test.”
“It’s understood,” Dr. Witherspoon said, “but as long as we’re taking this first step, why not let me go ahead with the other testing? We’ll check him into the hospital for a couple of days and get a complete picture of his eligibility as a donor.”
“We’d rather not.”
Jeremy watched the doctor’s face and realizedthat Dr. Witherspoon knew exactly what he was up against. “The antigen test alone might not knock him out of contention,” he told them. “However, the other testing may. We don’t want to get Jessica’s hopes up prematurely. Therefore, if you’d allow Jeremy to do the full battery of tests, it would give me the total picture as to his suitability as a donor.”
Jeremy suppressed a smile. Dr. Witherspoon was clever, and he knew how to get what he wanted from the most reluctant people.
“Frank, perhaps that’s not such a bad idea,” Jeremy’s mother said. “The psychological tests may show that Jeremy is unfit.”
Jeremy didn’t think so, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Frank told his wife. “But I said I’d cooperate through this point. So if the full battery of tests will settle this matter once and for all, go ahead.”
Jeremy watched them march out of the office; he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If the tests were favorable, he knew, he’d only just begun to fight.
Jessica’s emotions swung wildly between euphoria and fear. She was ecstatic about the prospect of getting a new kidney, but terrified too. When Jeremy was admitted to the hospital for three days of intensive testing, she stayed with him as much as possible. It
“And,” his mother continued, “they can determine if you’re a match by simply doing blood work.”
“Yes.”
She looked up at her husband. “That doesn’t seem so terrible, Frank. I mean a blood test seems harmless enough.”
“I’m against this, Marilyn.”
“They send a sample of my blood to a lab, Dad,” Jeremy said eagerly. “At least let me take that step.”
His mother was gazing up at his father with a look of resignation, and Jeremy knew by theexpression on his father’s face that he’d won this battle.
“I’ll sign the papers for the blood test,” Jeremy’s father said shortly, his words clipped. “But that’s all. One blood test.”
Jeremy rose, suddenly exhausted. “Thank you.” He was out the door when he heard his mother tell his father, “It’ll be all right, Frank. We should allow him this much leeway. He loves the girl. I mean, he has to match her in some way, and what are the odds of that happening? I’d say a million to one.”
“The odds aren’t high enough for me,” Jeremy heard his father say. “Not nearly high enough.”
When Jessica’s parents heard the news, they rushed over to Jeremy’s house and spilled out their gratitude with handshakes and effusive speeches. Jeremy didn’t miss his father’s tight-lipped expression or his mother’s polite but vacant stare.
“We’ll pay for everything,” Don McMillan said. “You don’t have to worry about any of the costs.”
“Is the test expensive?” Jeremy’s mother asked.
“Between six and eight hundred dollars,” Don said. “But who can put a price on Jessica’s life?”
His parents didn’t say anything negative. And when they met Dr. Witherspoon and signed the consent form, they asked no questions. It was as if they wanted only to get out of his office as quickly as possible.
“Are you certain there’s nothing you want to know?” the doctor asked, placing the form in a manila folder.
“Nothing,” Jeremy’s father said. He cupped his hand around his wife’s elbow. “It’s understood that our consent is only for the antigen test.”
“It’s understood,” Dr. Witherspoon said, “but as long as we’re taking this first step, why not let me go ahead with the other testing? We’ll check him into the hospital for a couple of days and get a complete picture of his eligibility as a donor.”
“We’d rather not.”
Jeremy watched the doctor’s face and realizedthat Dr. Witherspoon knew exactly what he was up against. “The antigen test alone might not knock him out of contention,” he told them. “However, the other testing may. We don’t want to get Jessica’s hopes up prematurely. Therefore, if you’d allow Jeremy to do the full battery of tests, it would give me the total picture as to his suitability as a donor.”
Jeremy suppressed a smile. Dr. Witherspoon was clever, and he knew how to get what he wanted from the most reluctant people.
“Frank, perhaps that’s not such a bad idea,” Jeremy’s mother said. “The psychological tests may show that Jeremy is unfit.”
Jeremy didn’t think so, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Frank told his wife. “But I said I’d cooperate through this point. So if the full battery of tests will settle this matter once and for all, go ahead.”
Jeremy watched them march out of the office; he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If the tests were favorable, he knew, he’d only just begun to fight.
Jessica’s emotions swung wildly between euphoria and fear. She was ecstatic about the prospect of getting a new kidney, but terrified too. When Jeremy was admitted to the hospital for three days of intensive testing, she stayed with him as much as possible. It
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