This true story was written by Amanda Zweig, the sister of kidney recipient Adam Zweig. Adam received his kidney on July 30, 2001. He is an aspiring actor, a former Kidney & Urology Foundation of America college scholarship recipient and a KUFA Ambassador.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It’s what I lost my only son to. The son I expected to raise with my wife to become a man we could be proud of. It didn’t make much sense to us. We tucked him in, kissed him goodnight, and went to sleep. He didn’t cry that night. He didn’t wake us up that night to tell us he was dying. We had to find out the next morning. When he was laying dead in his crib, refusing to breathe.

But life goes on. At least, mine did. Sure, I had a job to work and a wife to love; but for me, something was missing. There was a pain inside me and I couldn’t make it go away. I had a new need to help others; so that no one else would ever have to bury their child like I had to. But for a time, I wasn’t sure what to do about it. So I kept my cell phone on and waited for my job to tell me where to go next.

“Philipe! Man, we need you right now. Richie’s cab broke down and this couple has been waiting at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for forty minutes. You think you can get over there?”

“Yeah sure, I’m not doin’ anything. Tell them I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw an old man with white hair sitting in a wheelchair looking up at a woman with teased brown hair, high black boots, and a matching belt. There was no one else around, so I assumed they were the people I was looking for. Little did I know, they were looking for me too; and not just for a ride home.

“Thank god! We’ve been waiting here forty minutes. Hesh, the taxi’s here,” the woman said when I approached them.

“So sorry about the wait, someone else’s cab broke down so they sent me to save you guys,” I said to her with a smile, trying to ease the situation. Her husband was obviously very sick.

“It’s alright, let’s just get going. I’m Lorraine and this is my husband Hesh.”

“I’m Phillipe,” I shook Lorraine’s hand and patted Hesh on the shoulder as I began pushing his wheelchair towards my cab. I helped him into the car, put the wheelchair in the trunk, and began the forty-five minute drive to Marlboro. A few minutes later I checked my rear view mirror and noticed tears in the woman’s eyes. Hesh was holding her hand.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but is everything alright?”

Lorraine looked up at me and seemed indecisive. “Well, not quite. My husband has to be in and out of the hospital for cancer treatments while my grandson is on the next floor up getting dialysis treatments. That’s why we have to take a cab home today, because my daughter doesn’t want to leave her son, and I wouldn’t dare make her.”

I bit my lip and sighed. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Lorraine looked up at me confused. Even I was confused. These people were strangers to me, and here I was offering them help that I wasn’t sure I could give. But that emptiness inside of me was starting to fade away at the possibilities I might find.

“To be honest I’m not sure; my grandson needs a kidney. He’s been on the waiting list for over a year now, and I was told it could take years before a match even comes along.”

“I want to help.”

Lorraine looked at me like I was crazy. Like she couldn’t believe what I had just said. But I saw an opportunity in front of me. I saw a woman behind me in my taxi cab sitting next to her husband sick with cancer as we drove away from the hospital where her grandson sat receiving treatments for his failing kidney. If I could take away some of the pain in her eyes, it would take away some of the pain in mine. She didn’t have to go through what I did with my son.

“Please, let me help you.”

Lorraine once again looked at me. “Well... it’s a very long process. I mean.. This is a kidney he needs, not a ride home, Philipe.”

“He needs one kidney? I have two. Please, I want to give your grandson my kidney.”

Lorraine looked at me skeptically. I needed to explain to her my situation. I needed her to know why I needed to help her. I took a deep breath and told her about my son.

“I don’t want you to have to bury your family like I did mine,” and I looked her in the eyes and found tears there.

“Let me get your number to give to my daughter, Eileen. She’ll be able to tell you if there’s something you can do.”

I gave Lorraine my number automatically. The pain I felt began to churn towards something like excitement-I might actually be able to help this family.

I turned into the senior complex where Hesh and Lorraine lived, and by that time Hesh had started to crack a joke. He was a funny man. I truly hoped that he would be able to push through his cancer.

I pulled into a parking space in front of their house and opened the door to help Hesh out of the backseat. He cracked yet another joke and laughed a hearty, unforgettable laugh. I smiled when Lorraine smiled- she had so much love for her husband. I knew there was that same love for her grandson. I let Lorraine open the door to her home and we got Hesh into the house.

“Is there anything else you need before I leave?” I asked them both.

“No, you’ve done more than enough. Thank you so much,” Lorraine said as she looked into my eyes.

“You’re welcome, have your daughter call me please. I really do want to help.”

“I will. She’ll call you,” and she led me to the door.

“Have a good night,” I told her and headed back towards my cab.

The whole way home I was thinking, hoping, praying that I could help this family. It was not about doing a random act of kindness to me, it was about protecting these strangers from what my family had no choice but to go through. If there was something I could do to save Lorraine’s grandson, I would do it.

* * *

“Hello?” I answered my cell phone later that night.

“Hello, Philipe?”

“Yes, can I ask whose calling?”

“Yes, this is Eileen Zweig. Lorraine’s daughter.”

“Yes, yes of course how are you doing?”

“I’ve been better, and yourself?”

“I’m doing alright. What I should ask you is how is your son doing?”

There was a pause on her end. “He’s also been better. I’m sure my mother told you about his need for a kidney?”

Her tone was very professional at first, and I could tell that she doubted my sincerity.

“Yes, yes she did. I would like to give your son a kidney.”

“That means a lot to me, Philipe, but it’s just not that easy. There’s a lot more to this than just taking out your kidney and putting it into my son.”

“Alright, then what else is there?”

“There’s a matching system. You need to have the same blood type as my son and at least a three antigen match. There are tests that you would have to take to check for these things, are you sure you’re willing to do that?”

“Yes,” my answer was quick and truthful, and there was another pause on her end of the line.

“Are you positive that you want to put yourself through this? The chances of you even matching my son are very low.”

“Eileen, did your mother tell you about my son?”

“Yes, she did. I’m so sorry to hear it.”

“Thank you. But maybe that will help you understand why I want so badly to help you. I will not allow your family members to go through what I did.”

“Well then, I’ll call my son’s doctor and she will make the arrangements for blood work you’ll have to take..”

“Alright, that’s fine.”

“Thank you Philipe. I can’t put to words what this means to me.”

“No Eileen, thank you.”

“Have a good night.”

“You as well,” and we hung up the phone. I smiled as I walked towards my bedroom and kissed my wife goodnight. There was something I could do for this family.

* * *

“What we’re going to need to do is draw blood and compare it to Adam’s to see if the two of you match and we’ll take it from there.”

The nurse tied a yellow piece of latex right above the crack in my arm and pricked my vein with a needle. As I watched my blood fill tube after tube, the nurse put a stopper in the last one while holding the needle to my arm with her other hand. She grabbed a cotton swab and pushed down as she pulled the needle out and told me to hold it there to stop the blood. It barely hurt me at all.

After they drew blood, I got into the elevator, pressed the number five, and prepared to meet Adam and his father. The door slid open in front of me to reveal a white stretcher against a wall and a sign right above it directing people where to go. I found where it said “Dialysis Unit” and followed the arrow to the right. A tall man with graying hair stood at the end of the hallway waiting for me.

“Philipe?” he asked me with his hand out to shake mine.

“Yes, Martin?”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you. Adam’s over here, follow me.”

He led me down another hall and I looked to my right to find two rows of giant machines with children sitting next to them, tubes connecting them to the dialysis filtering unit. My heart went out to each and every one of them, but my attention was caught by the teenaged boy who Martin indicated to me as his son. They had the same blue eyes. My heart ached for Adam, and now my need to help him was even greater. I shook Adam’s hand and introduced myself. He had a very big, bright smile and his eyes matched it perfectly. I was going to give him my kidney so that he could live his life, instead of being strapped to this gigantic machine for, what I was told, was usually three to four hours at a time.

We had good conversation for a while, but then it grew silent. I busied myself with watching nurses check the children’s machines, their blood pressure, and whether or not the kids were hungry. I looked at Martin and he led me a little away from his son.

“Look, this is a great thing you’re doing, Philipe. But are you really sure?” he asked me.

“Martin, this is something I want to do. I will not let you bury your son the way I buried mine.”

Martin’s eyes got teary and he tightened his mouth. He shook my hand hard and I took it as a thank you. It was all I needed.

* * *

I found out about a week later that I had passed the two out of three tests I had taken to make sure I could give Adam my kidney. The doctors had said that they were sure my kidney would suit his body fine because of my young age. The only thing left to do was a psychological test with a doctor from the hospital, and I was sure I’d pass it. The realization hit me that I was really going to give Adam my kidney. I was going to get him off of that machine and allow him to hang out with his friends, be with his family. I was going to give him what I could never give my son. And I was happy for the first time in a very long time.

However, Eileen called me a few days later and informed me that she was in the car driving to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A better match for Adam had come in and they were going through with the operation that day. The elation I felt for that boy was indescribable. Even if it wasn’t my kidney taking him off of that dreadful machine, it was someone else’s who was better suited for him. I felt happiness for the entire family. Adam was finally going to have a proper chance at life, and I was happy I could have offered that chance to him. Just as I would have for my own son.

* * *

I guess everyone has their reasons for helping another person. I found my reason the second I held a funeral for my baby boy. But the Zweig family has opened my eyes to how many people there are out there waiting for an organ for years at a time, barely breathing through those days. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me, it seems silly to walk around selfishly holding on to organs we don’t even need when there are people attached to machines, barely making it through the day. So there’s my reason for giving up a piece of myself to someone in need. What’s yours?