‘You must be proud of your sons.’
‘Very, my dear, so very proud,’ she said, with tears in her own eyes. ‘And then I met Arthur.’
Jade’s mouth curved into a smile. ‘You deserved to be happy after what you had been through.’
‘Thank you. Many women go through much worse than me, but there were a few lean years,’ she admitted. ‘Arthur asked me to marry him and by that time Mitchell was eighteen. He had finished school with an almost perfect score, and was a little battleworn so he took off on an adventure. I was happy for him but worried that what he had been through would affect him for a very long time. He headed off around Australia and spent many months in the Outback, then trekked through Indonesia and finally to Europe, where he backpacked for two years.’
‘And grew a beard to look like a jungle hippy,’ Jade added.
‘Yes.’ Maureen nodded. ‘And he kept that beard for years, even when he came back to finish medical school and then specialise in neonatal. Arthur was a surgeon, so he encouraged Mitchell and helped where he could, but Mitchell was fiercely independent. He wanted to do it alone. I’m afraid after his father left he almost became an island. Learnt to depend on himself. I’ve been so worried that he would end up alone and that would be a waste of such a warm and generous heart.’
Jade nodded in silence. She knew he had a generous heart and she had experienced his warmth first-hand, but it didn’t lessen the risk of him leaving without warning. Or change his inability to commit. His father had scarred him but she couldn’t take a risk and be hurt. She felt sorry for him but she had to think about Amber.
‘His father really destroyed his idea of family and as much as Arthur and I have tried it just hasn’t made a difference. I’m not sure what it will take. Or who it will take to make him believe in love and family again.’
Maureen leant down and softly kissed her granddaughter goodnight.
‘Are you sure you won’t let me stay? Arthur is down speaking with one of his former colleagues and he can run you home for a hot shower and some sleep. I can sit with Amber tonight.’
‘Thank you, Maureen, but I’m fine, really. I can get a rollaway if I want but I prefer to sit up, to be honest. I can’t really sleep anyway.’
Maureen patted her hand. ‘I’ll be back first thing in the morning, then. And I’ll bring some fresh clothes for you.’
Jade watched her leave the room and then turned to Amber sleeping peacefully and thought back to everything that Maureen had told her. It all fell into place. She wondered if Mitchell was trying to finally look past the devastation his father had left behind and reach out to her. Could she and Amber make him believe in love and family again? She wasn’t sure if he could. And she wasn’t prepared to take that risk.
He might wake up one day and just decide it was too hard and leave. She fought sleep, her mind consumed with worry for Amber and the reality that she had pushed Mitchell away, probably for the last time. As her eyes finally closed she knew it was for the best. Mitchell didn’t belong in her world any more than she belonged in his.
Morning finally came around and Jade woke just as Amber began to stir. Her eyelashes flickered and she made a little moan but quickly fell back to sleep again.
Jade stretched and then went out to the nurses’ station to get some water. It was still early and the night shift nursing staff were finishing up paperwork.
‘I can get you a coffee if you’d like,’ one of the young nurses offered.
‘No need,’ came Maureen’s voice. ‘I picked up a long black for her on the way in.’
Jade saw the slightly tired, smiling face coming towards her with a coffee, something wrapped in a small white paper bag and an armful of clothing.
‘And I picked up a ham and cheese croissant to go with it.’
The two women walked back to Amber’s room, Jade sipping the hot drink.
‘It breaks my heart to see her this way,’ Maureen said, her expression turning to one of sadness. ‘How long will she need to stay on dialysis?’
‘I’m checking today if I’m a tissue match and can be Amber’s donor. We’re both blood type O so we’re compatible on the first level so now we just need to undergo the HLA or tissue typing.’ Jade put the fresh clothes on the seat beside her and began to unwrap the croissant.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Well, there are six antigens that have been shown to be the most important in organ transplantation. Of these six antigens, a child inherits three from each parent. It’s extremely rare outside identical twins for a six-antigen match between two people, but I hope that we may have more than one matching since I’m a blood relative. Kidneys can be transplanted between two people with no matching antigens without a rejection episode but if by chance we had the six matching antigens then it would mean less anti-rejection drugs for Amber.’
‘That’s a little confusing but I guess it means if you match then you will have the surgery and Amber will receive your kidney?’
‘There’s another test called a cross-match test and it’s a very important part of the living donor work-up and it’s repeated again just before the transplant surgery. Some of my blood and some of Amber’s blood will be mixed in the lab. If Amber’s cells attack and kill the donor cells, the cross-match is considered positive. This means Amber has antibodies “against” my cells, but if they don’t then the cross-match is negative and we’re considered compatible.’
‘I think you are very brave to donate a kidney to Amber and she’s very lucky to have such a wonderful, generous aunt.’
Jade shook her head dismissively. ‘No, I’m the lucky one.’
The nephrologist arrived about twenty minutes later. Jade had finished her much-needed breakfast and changed into another skirt and blouse in the bathroom while Maureen watched Amber.
Amber had woken and was able to be taken off the dialysis machine. She was uncomfortable and unsettled but happy that both Jade and Maureen were there.
‘I just need you to sign the final consent forms for Amber’s surgery.’
Jade was confused and she didn’t try to mask it from the doctor. ‘But I haven’t undergone the tissue matching yet. My appointment is later today.’
‘We have a match already. The patient is being prepped and that’s why Amber was fasting overnight.’
Jade and Maureen both looked up to notice the sign by her bed. The nurse had come in while Jade had been asleep and put it up so the morning shift would not provide breakfast to the little girl.
‘I don’t understand. I thought family provided the best possible match.
The doctor approached Jade. ‘As I said a few days ago, the likelihood of a perfect match other than an identical twin is about one in ten thousand. Well, it looks like we found our one in ten thousand so there is no need for you to be tested. We already have a perfect match for Amber. He’s being wheeled into Theatre as we speak.’
‘How did you find the match? Was the person on file already?’
‘No.’ The doctor hesitated. ‘Mitchell underwent the tests two days ago.’
Jade rushed into the ward to find Mitchell being prepped.
‘Why are you doing this?’ she asked. ‘I could have been a match and you wouldn’t have to go through this.’
‘You’ve done enough for Amber already. Now it’s my turn.’
‘This is ridiculous, Mitchell. I never expected you