I
For Patrick & Nancy, looking at their child, their only one, normally brought joy. But never in this world had they thought that they would see their beloved Rodney like that. Fighting for his life. Surrounded by intruders, entering unwanted in his body, to prolong his life or to prolong his suffering. His chest was slowly rising up and down and Rodney was in another world. A dreamland. Far from the controlling eyes of his parents. Far from the prying eyes of his jealous girlfriend (but he still loved her). He was now even farther, from his own heart beat. His heart beat left him alone now.
Outside his body, outside the temple that had been the refuge to his organs, tissues - outside his young 24 year old brain, there was a different world. The situation was different. In the immediate walls where his body lay, you could hear an ongoing beeping sound. It was not a break alarm or that a fire drill was taking place. This meant that someone in this room stopped living. His heart stopped.
He saw his own body as if it tried to lift itself up. He wanted to be released. He was like roaming around, lighter than usual. But then it hit him. This might as well be the after life experience, that a body experiences, he thought. This might be what I have been reading about all this time!! Now it's happening to me!!
He called out his parents' names. Nothing.
He wanted to cry. Nothing.
He just wanted to live again. Nothing.
II
The scenery in Czech Republic was immensely beautiful. He was driving back to Prague from Telč, a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava. The town was founded in 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of the busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria.
He was there with his friends but a sudden call from his colleagues required him to cut short his long planned cross country skiing holiday. He had to leave. He had his last cigarette with his friends in the main square in Telč, with the famous 16th century houses, shadowed by the column of the Virgin and the fountain in the centre of the square date from the 18th century. He had his cigarette in his mouth and was looking sideways towards his friends, listening. He was always praised in being a good listener. He now looked like James Dean's Jett Rink in Stevens' 1955 masterpiece, Giant. He gave the impression that he was full of himself. But he was not. His mind was elsewhere. He was thinking of Julie. His beloved princess, Julie.
He inhaled the last breath from the cigarette and exhaled the white smoke that scattered itself, like a million times before. White, pure white smoke. Just like when a new pope is elected in the Vatican. Just like the chimney - the smoke from the chimney, from Michelangelo's 16th century Sistine chapel. Rising up to the blessed Roman sky to yell that a new shepherd was elected. A new leader was born.
He waved his fellows goodbye and walked the 100 remaining meters towards his new car. A white Volkswagen Polo. A masterpiece of technology at a relevant price. An upper class car for the middle class...or those aiming higher. Just like he did. His job demanded total dedication and discipline. He was a lawyer.
III
Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and pulse less ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart with a device called a defibrillator. This depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, terminates the arrhythmia, and allows normal sinus rhythm to be re-established by the body's natural pacemaker, in the Sino trial node of the heart. Defibrillators can be external, transvenous, or implanted, depending on the type of device used or needed. Some external units, known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs), automate the diagnosis of treatable rhythms, meaning that lay responders or bystanders are able to use them successfully with little, or in some cases no training at all.
After the panic that followed when Rodney slipped away, there was a sudden activity to try to revive the young kid. The sound of the cardiac monitoring equipment was penetrating. A continuous ongoing struggle between the doctors and the machine. The sound wanted to keep on buzzing. It liked to show its powers. Especially during these so called triumphant moments. The oscillated energy that it transmitted was strong. This time it was stronger than that of the qualified people surrounding the dying body of Rodney. Their efforts were futile. His body was still there. But his soul was light years away, waiting to be called for its judgement by the Creator. He was 24 years old. Just like James Dean was when he died in that horrific traffic accident in the early fall of 1955. They shared a lot of similarities.
IV
All these paths swerving like snakes or a million reptiles on top of each other from Telč led to Humpolec. Humpolec was another nice medieval town in the Vysočina Region.
It was predestined. While driving, he noticed everything, as if he knew that this was to be his final journey. He admired all the flowers that were dangling and dancing with their invisible partner - the wind. He saw the details of the trees as they celebrated and yelled Hallelujah towards their Creator. Their hands clapping with each other, brushing and then bending back to their position in this repetitive journey. He saw meadows enriched with sunflowers that reminded him of a Van Gogh painting. He saw the roads that were shining in this hot summer day in mid-July. He was at ease. But once again like in Telč, he found himself thinking of her. He had to hear her voice.
He called Julie. She was not answering. I want to surprise her, he thought. I want to go to her first.
In the midst of all these thoughts - of how he would surprise her - the bunch of flowers that he will buy and million other thoughts, he was oblivious of what was to become. I love you, he wrote on his iphone, I think of you, even when thoughts are light, when there is the night, when you are out of my sight - I simply love you. He pressed send. It was his final movement. The last time he would press send. The last time that his thumb pressed that blue button on the right hand side of the phone.
The dog just hit the road, just as Rodney was listening to the declining tunes, the last verses of "Hit the road Jack". Rodney had no time to comprehend what happened but he swerved several times. The new car rolled over then and slid several meters until it hit the oncoming vehicle. Rodney was severely injured. His head now resting on the driver's window panel. The other car's driver and passengers survived unhurt. The love that couldn't wait a couple more hours was not meant to flourish anymore. Just because the mobile phone was erroneously used.
V
Robert Thornton loved jogging. He was keeping up his family's tradition to jog early in the morning, just like his dad, his grand dad before that and many others in the family. They jogged thousands of kilometres.
Robert has been living in the Czech Republic for the past 30 years. He had been retired for the last three. He loved the scenery in Prague. He loved jogging all the way from central Prague to Velka Amerika, a man made quarry some 34 km away, every day. Then he would come back with a friend of his that used to patrol the area, working as a ranger, at the end of his shift. It used to take him some 3 hours usually. Nanette was his wife. She always waited for Robert to come back near the window of their house the one that overlooked Charles's bridge - a memento of the Czech history. Today somehow she felt something bad happened. She stood up from the chair where she was finishing the embroidery and looked out. At that time she saw Vaclav, the Ranger passing through their street with his Land Rover.
He suffered from renal failure. That was another tradition of his that he inherited from his family!! He suffered from chronic kidney disease. His wife knew about it and therefore she immediately went along his track to see if anything happened to him. That is what she perceived and that is what really happened. Robert was lying on the path purposely planned for the joggers. Lifeless.
The Emergency team managed to revive him just on time. He was afterwards taken to hospital. A few metres away, Patrick & Nancy decided that they would give the doctors the go ahead to remove the organs from their beloved son. The organs that could be used of benefit for others.
VI
Robert's waiting was not as long as the doctors told him. Robert was the first to benefit from the decision that Patrick & Nancy took for their son. They wanted him to live in others. And Rodney was now living in Robert. Rodney was now running with Robert. And when Nanette started waiting again for her husband to be back from the now shortened jogging trail, Robert was not alone. Nanette was now waiting and welcoming home two men...Robert & Rodney.
Rodney is one of the many people living in others. One of the many that gave others a new start. A new life.
We might vanish physically from this world, but we can live in others. In the memory of those who loved us and will never forget us. We might live in a heart beat - in a kidney - basically in every tissue that can be removed from us to give a fresh breath - a new life to others!!! My message today is clear - Donate blood. Enrol as donors - give life to others - LIVE IN IMMORTALITY...IN feelings, IN thoughts - THRU memories!!!
