The Bravest Person I Know

 Bravery means to face or endure with the mental or moral strength to
venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. We have seen a
lot of bravery in the recent past. From the dauntless police and firemen in New York on
09/11 to our brave soldiers who fight for our freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.
My father was a fireman, my mother was a child during the bombing of London in
World War II, and many members of my family have served in military service. So
I am well acquainted with bravery on a personal level as well.

Out of all these shining examples, none of them are the bravest. The bravest
person I know is a young twenty something girl who is not a soldier or part of
an emergency service. She is a mom and she has job and she lives her life every
day just like most of us do. You have not seen her on Fox News or read about her
in the paper. If I said her name you probably would not recognize it. Yet she is
something quite special.

You see, her father, whom she dearly loves as any daughter does, took ill.
The doctors said that he needed a new kidney. My friend was a perfect match,
being of the same genetic fabric, and volunteered to donate one if hers.

Not to diminish what those who stand in the gap and protect us from the
horrors of the world one whit but, to me, there is a huge difference between
facing the danger that the building might collapse of that you might
be shot and knowing that someone is going to cut into your living body
and remove a healthy organ which you may very well need later. Not to mention
facing the risks that any surgery poses and the weeks of pain and disability that
will follow.

I think about this and I am incredulous. To simply
read about it in cold words makes it seem more like an episode of ER. But I
cannot imagine the courage it would take to do this thing. Maybe if it was me
and someone I loved I would see things differently but the risk and the pain
would be no less.. 

I have not talked to my friend about this much. Before the surgery I did not
want to upset her and make her worry any more than she probably already was. Now
that it is over and she is just fine, the point to her is moot. However, no
matter how you look at it, her sacrifice is still an act of profound bravery
that proves courage is not always lauded with parades and medals.