The Son's Blood
>
>The day is over, you are driving home. You tune in your radio.
You
hear
>a little blurb about a little village in India where some
villagers
have
>died suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been seen
before.
It's not
>influenza, but three or four fellows are dead, and it's kind of
>interesting, and they're sending some doctors over there to
>investigate it.
> You don't think much about it, but on Sunday, coming home from
>church, you hear another radio spot. Only they say it's not
three
villagers,
>it's
>30,000 villagers in the back hills of this particular area of
India,and
it's
>on
>TV that night. CNN runs a little blurb; people are heading
there from
the
>CDC in Atlanta because this disease strain has never been seen
before.
> By Monday morning when you get up, it's the lead story. For
it's
>not just India; it's Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and before
you know
it,
>you're
>hearing this story everywhere and they have coined it now as
"the
mystery
>flu".
> The President has made some comment that he and everyone are
>praying and hoping that all will go well over there. But
everyone is
>wondering, "How
>are we going to contain it?" That's when the President of
France
makes an
>announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing their borders.
No
flights
>from India, Pakistan, or any of the countries where this thing
has been
seen.
>And that's why that night you are watching a little bit of CNN
before
going
>to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a weeping woman is
translated
from a
>French news program into English: "There's a young man lying
in a
>hospital in Paris dying of the mystery flu." It has come to
Europe.
> Panic strikes. As best they can tell, once you get it, you
have
>it for a week and you don't know it. Then you have four days
of
unbelievable
>symptoms. And then you die.
> Britain closes its borders, but it's too late. South Hampton,
>Liverpool, North Hampton, and it's Tuesday morning when the
President
of the
>United States makes the following announcement: "Due to a
national
security
>risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been
canceled. If
your
>loved ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come back
until we
find a
>cure
>for this thing."
> Within four days our nation has been plunged into an
unbelievable
>fear. People are selling little masks for your face. People
are
talking
>about
>what if it comes to this country, and preachers on Tuesday are
saying,
"It's
>the scourge of God."
> It's Wednesday night and you are at a church prayer meeting
when
>somebody runs in from the parking lot and says, "Turn on a
radio, turn
on a
>radio." And while the church listens to a little transistor
radio with
a
>microphone
>stuck up to it, the announcement is made. "Two women are lying
in a
Long
>Island hospital dying from the mystery flu."
> Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the
country.
> People are working around the clock trying to find an
antidote.
Nothing is
>working.
>California. Oregon. Arizona. Florida. Massachusetts. It's
as though
>it's just sweeping in from the borders.
> And then, all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has
been
>broken! A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's
going to
take the
>blood
>of somebody who hasn't been infected, and so, sure enough, all
through
the
>Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting,
everyone
>is asked to do one simple thing: "Go to your downtown hospital
and
have
>your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you."
> "And when you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood,
please
>make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals."
Sure
enough,
>when you and your family get down there late on that Friday
night,
there is a
>long
>line, and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and
pricking
fingers and
>taking blood and putting labels on it. Your wife and kids are
out
there, and
>they take your blood type and they say, "Wait here in the
parking lot
and if
>we call your name you can be dismissed and go home." You
stand around
>scared with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is
going on,
and that
>this is the end of the world.
> Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital
screaming.
> He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it
again!
And
>your son tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me."
> Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. "Wait a
minute,
>hold it!"
>And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is
pure. We
>want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has
got the
right
>type." Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and
nurses,
crying and
>hugging one another - some are even laughing. It's the first
time you
have
>seen
>anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and
says,
>"Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. It's
clean, it is
pure,
>and
>we can make the vaccine."
> As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full
of
>folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and
crying. But
then the
>gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May
we see
you for
>a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor
and we
>need...we need you to sign a consent form."
> You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of
>blood to be taken is empty. "H-h-h-how many pints?" And that
is when
the old
>doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be a
small
child.
>We
>weren't prepared. We need it all." "But - but..." "You don't
understand.
>We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We - we need
it all
- we
>need it all!" "But can't you give him a transfusion?" "If we
had clean
blood
>we would. Can you sign? Would you sign?" In numb silence you
do.
> Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment with him
before
>we begin?"
>Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that room where he
sits on a
>table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Can you take
his
hands and
>say, "Son, your Mommy and I love you, and we would never ever
let
anything
>happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand
that?"
> And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I'm sorry,
>we've - we've got to get started. People all over the world
are
dying." Can
>you leave?
> Can you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why -
why have
you
>forsaken me?"
> And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your
>son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even
come
because
>they go to the lake, and some folks come with a pretentious
smile and
just
>pretend to care.
> Would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON DIED! DON'T YOU
>CARE?" Is that what He wants to say? "MY SON DIED. DON'T YOU
KNOW HOW
MUCH I
>CARE?"
>
>"Father, seeing it from your eyes breaks our hearts. Maybe now
we can
>begin to comprehend the great love you have for us. Amen."
>
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Email: moloko19@hotmail.com