Because of His Love

Chapter 13: Michael - Don't Take Me

I wake up in a cold sweat and pain everywhere. I really don't want to wake Allyson. This is the first night in a long time that she's slept peacefully in her own bed. I stumble into the bathroom by the light of my phone. As much as I don't want to wake my sleeping girlfriend, I want to wake my parents even less. I know I have to wake someone.

I call emergency services quietly and try to explain what's going on, but all I can get out is a strangled scream. Allyson wakes up and comes into the bathroom. She finds me lying on the floor in a ball. She takes my phone and gives the dispatcher the address. They ask her a question she relays and all I can do is point to my kidney region.

Allyson picks up on what I am trying to say and tells the dispatcher she thinks my kidney is giving out on me. This is the last thing I need. I bite my lip to not think about the pain, but it doesn't help in the slightest.

Allyson is doing everything they tell her on the phone. "Babe, I am going to die," I say.

"Not if I can help it," she says. "Now, hush. Paramedics will be here soon." She cradles my head in her lap and we wait. It's not a long wait. They knock on the door after a few minutes. Allyson goes to let them in. By now, I am crying from the pain.

She calls my parents from the back of the ambulance to tell them what happened. I hear her tell them she will see them soon and please bring us something other than our undergarments to wear.

The pain is intense now and I swear I am going to die. All I can do is grip Ally's hand. Just her presence is making this pain more bearable. Despite what I know she's been through, she is my rock now. The paramedics administer an IV to get medicine in me to help ease the pain.

My parents are already in the lobby when the ambulance arrives. Allyson is told to wait in the lobby while they do some tests. She kisses me on the cheek and tells me she loves me before going to meet with my parents.

They poke me and prod me, running a gamut of tests. After all the testing, they allow me one visitor. I tell them I want Allyson. A nurse leaves and returns with Allyson. She's got on one of my shirts, which she swims in, and a pair of leggings on. My mom grabbed her flip-flops. God, she's adorable.

The doctor comes in and tells me they have my test results. She asks if it's ok to discuss everything with Allyson in the room since she isn't family. I tell her that she's close enough to family. The doctor tells me that it's my liver that's failing, not my kidneys. I need a liver transplant; a partial will help for a while. Without hesitation, Allyson volunteers to be tested.

The doctor takes her to another room. They return several minutes later. Allyson kisses me and tells me she will send my dad in. She leaves and my dad comes in.

"What's up with Ally?" I ask, groggily.

"She shooed me in here and said she had to speak to mom." I half-heartedly shrug at my dad. "Girl talk," he says.

Mom and Allyson come in while dad is still in the room. The nurses are finished with me so they leave the four of us alone.

"Babe," Allyson says, "I'm a match to donate part of my liver to you. The problem is, I have no health insurance.

"I'll add you to ours right now," dad says.

He takes out his wallet and calls the insurance. He asks several questions to Allyson while he's on the phone. He rolls his eyes and I know he has been put on hold. Several minutes go by before he motions for a pen and paper. Mom scrambles to find them. He makes a couple notes and writes down a phone number.

The doctor comes back in as he hangs up the phone. They talk for a bit. I am drifting in and out, but I know I heard the doctor say, "It's not really an invasive surgery. She will be in and out of the hospital within a twenty-four hour period. Michael, on the other hand, will be in the hospital for at least a week."

He hands the doctor his notes and the phone number when she asks for Allyson's ID and insurance. The doctor reads his notes and nods. The pain medicine has fully kicked in and I fall into a deep sleep.

While I sleep, I dream about dying and leaving Allyson behind. I dream that she's so lonely and never finds happiness again. I wake up crying her name with tears running down my face. I can smell her hair near my face. She has crawled into my bed with me, being mindful of the wires hooked to my body. I turn her in my arms and kiss her sleeping face. I am so thankful to have her in my life.

She wakes up enough to mumble, "I love you, babe." I lie awake for a while just listening to her sleep. She is truly one of my life's greatest gifts. And now she's willing to give me part of her liver! The thought just blows my mind.

She's been through so much at the hands of her own family. It makes me feel so bad for her beginnings, but I hope to make the rest of her days happy. I kiss her forehead before I go back to sleep.

A beeping machine wakes me up a while later. Allyson is not in bed when I wake up. I see the bathroom light on through the crack in the door. I wait a few minutes for her to come back to bed.

I pretend to be sleeping when she comes back. She pokes at my chest.

"I know you're not sleeping."

"Yeah, some machine woke me up."

"You'll have that in a hospital. I'm surprised they let me stay. We're not married."

"Considering what you're doing for me, maybe they consider us married."

"Maybe someday." She shrugs and helps me sit up in the bed. "How about some TV, babe?" I nod. I'm not sleepy anymore. We settle on some random paid advertisement programming while we just cuddle on the bed. Allyson seems worried, but tries to play it off like she's fine. I guess we doze off sitting up.