Goodnight, My Angel

            Benny could not stand by idly while his niece, so frail and fragile, lay on her death bed at the mercy of one, solitary organ donor. He had to do something. He had to go out there and find that donor himself. He made several  phone calls, reaching every influential person in every city that he could think of. Finally, a hospital administrator, Dr. Colin Kempler, of Sister Elizabeth Anne Seton’s Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC contacted Benny and told him that there was a young girl in a coma in a persistent vegetative state that may be a perfect match for Amy. Her name was Alivia Hernandez and she was  the victim of an automobile accident. The doctors had recommended to her father, her only living relative, that there was no hope at all for a recovery and they requested permission to remove her from life support. . The grief stricken father was insistent that he wanted to keep Alivia alive as long as possible. He had faith that she would improve . The  man, overtaken with sorrow,  was not ready to make the decision to disconnect the ventilator. A man of deep faith, he prayed for a miracle.

            Alivia was walking home from school with her friend, Marissa  when the two girls were hit by a drunken driver as they crossed an intersection near Alivia’s house. The girls’ mangled, blood soaked  bodies lay on the pavement as a bystander quickly made the emergency 911 call. Suddenly the night was rent with sirens, people on the street echoing  mournful wails.. Alivia and Marissa were rushed to the hospital intensive care unit and Marissa was dead on arrival. Alivia, clinging to life, was connected to life support. Unfortunately, all tests indicated that she would never  be able  to regain consciousness or breathe on her own .

            Dr. Kempler invited Benny to Washington to talk to the father, hoping that the broken man might change his mind when he heard about Amy’s life threatening condition. Benny and Molly wasted no time in making reservations and packing for the hurried trip to Washington. With a sense of urgency, Benny phoned Amy’s doctors in New York and told them that he might have some promising news for them.

            When they arrived at the hospital, Mr. Hernandez was  sitting by his daughter’s bed. The child could have been Amy,. She had the same somber, helpless look brought on by a body that had forsaken her.  Benny and Molly were both deeply touched by her. Clearly shaken and distraught, the father , a small, balding man in his forties  with green eyes and dark black hair, walked them to the waiting room, listening intently to what Benny had to say. Benny proudly showed him pictures of a smiling Amy, wearing her softball uniform. The man, gave Benny his condolences, “I am so sorry for the child. She is so pretty and I am sure that she is a precious  little girl. But, I can not under any circumstances, give permission to remove Alivia’s life support. It is my feeling that Alivia knows that I am with her and that she understands what I say. I am a Catholic and I believe in the value of life. Her mother died several years ago and Alivia is all I have.  I am so sorry that you have traveled such a great distance.  I feel your pain, Mr. Deligrossi.’ Overcome with tears, Mr. Hernandez excused himself. “ I have to get back to my daughter. If she should wake up, I need to be there for her. God bless you and I hope that we can keep each other in our prayers.” “Thank you for your time and we will keep Alivia in our thoughts and prayers,” Benny said softly as he and Molly left the man standing there. A part of Benny hated the man for denying them this wonderful gift, a miracle of life for Amy, but how could he hate this man who had so much pain and grief of his own.

            Dejected, Benny and Molly left the hospital and drove their rental car to the Viet Nam Memorial. They couldn’t be that close without stopping to see the over 58000 names on the wall, including the name of Michael Deligrossi. PFC Army.  Fighting off years of torment and pain, Benny was afraid to face the wall. When he did, it took his breath away. “Dear God in heaven”, he murmured in awe and shock, “So many names.“

            They found Mikey there amongst so many other names of young men who had died so honorably. Benny touching the smoothness of the wall and gently gliding his hand over the name of his brother, he cried. Molly put her arms around his shoulders, leaned on him to support her own shaken body and joined him in tears. The two stood there for several minutes, Benny, the liberal protester, coming to grips with years of anguish sobbed uncontrollably, “I love you big brother. You are my hero. God bless you for doing what you had to do. I miss you.”

            A grim day for Benny and Molly, they flew home with heavy hearts.

            Three weeks later, Alivia Hernandez woke up from her deep sleep, smiled at her father and began the steady and slow process of becoming herself again. . Mr. Hernandez wanted to hug the whole world for this, his  miracle.

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