Mark couldn't help but sit in a stunned silence as he watched the familiar young men singing before him on the stage. He listened to the lyrics of the beautiful song he'd never heard before and thought deeply of just how much it reminded him of Lauren. If only they'd known the difference they'd made in his life... in her death. If only they'd known the calming affect their singing had had on him that day in the hospital so long ago... so very, very long ago.
Some days it seemed that if he thought hard enough and long enough he could imagine that it was only yesterday he was hugging her goodbye as she was leaving for that party. Other days and other moments the distance between seeing her and never seeing her again seemed to span a lifetime... a painful, lonely lifetime.
The best thing Mark had done for himself since his daughter's death was to get involved with UNOS. Being able to volunteer by visiting with patients who were awaiting donor organs and seeing the otherside of the experience he went through... getting to tour the country to share his story alongside other parents just like him... these experiences had given him a newfound hope for life. It had become a great release from what had become a day-to-day sitting at home and missing his daughter. Volunteering for UNOS gave him a reason to live. He knew that he was helping others. Helping them to understand the importance of organ donation and the lifechanging experience that comes along with it. He also knew in his heart that Lauren would have been so proud of him. That thought alone gave him the courage to struggle on.
So far that day he'd met two of Lauren's donor recipients. The recipients of her heart and of her kidney. He'd known before the convention that the woman who received Lauren's lungs had not made it. As disappointed as he'd been to hear the news, the letter he recieved from her family thanking him for the amazing gift of two more beautiful years with their mother... gave him great comfort.
The young girl who received Lauren's kidney had bopped up to him shortly after he'd met Stephanie. She was a young, spunky 18-year old... Amanda was her name. She reminded him so much of Lauren with her long dark hair and her big bright eyes. She was full of life and love and happiness and it showed. She'd hugged him tight and thanked him, "so, so much", for what his daughter had given to her. For what he'd given to her. They talked for a long time about how she'd just graduated from high school and how she'd recently gotten accepted to Yale. She'd made him smile more than he thought possible and she'd even made laugh. A young, bright-eyed girl with an infectious laugh. Lauren was living on.
It made him proud to know his daughter had saved these two beautiful women. A mother of two and a young enspiring lawyer. UNOS was right, meeting the recipients made everything real... real and so much easier to comprehend and to accept. His daughter was now a tangible part of another life.
He listened to the last lyrics as tears filled his eyes. He'd dreamed every night of the day he would be with Lauren and his wife again in Heaven. At times he'd actually wished for the day to come sooner. He knew that he needed to stay on this earth and to spread the message... he figured this was his calling. He'd always believed that God had a reason for everything. If he could convince even one person to become a donor... then he was making a difference in the world and a that difference was enough for him to carry on.
He watched as the song ended and the young men stood quietly on stage.
"We have a special guest with us tonight," the young blonde, who he assumed was his daughter's favorite, spoke loudly into his microphone as he motioned for someone backstage to join them. Cheers erupted from the audience as another, younger blonde that looked just like him stepped out from the side and took his spot there beside him.
"This is my younger brother Aaron Carter. Many of you may remember him from his days as a popstar. Many of you may remember him as the cute blonde brother of me..." the crowd laughed at the words as the young Carter reached over and smacked his brother on the back, "but there's only one reason he is here with us tonight and that... that is because of someone amazingly special."
The crowd sighed as Nick wiped tears from his eyes and tried to steel his emotions. He paused for a few moments, collecting his thoughts, gathering his gumption and continued, "One of those amazing people on that wall right there, one of those 10 donors... one of your family members," and he pointed to the black and white portraits across the room, wiping his eyes on his sleeve and sighing heavily... "saved my brother's life."
Mark stared in amazement as Aaron stood there on the stage, surrounded by the group of overtowering Backstreet Boys, looking young and innocent and totally lost, tears clearly filling his eyes and spilling out onto his cheeks and he couldn't help but shed a few tears himself. Nick handed his brother the microphone and watched silently as the young man could barely choke out his words... "I need to thank you for saving my life... I've waited so long for this. Is Mark Grant here tonight?"
Mark's heart nearly stopped in shock as he stood slowly, feeling completely out of his own body, and began to cross the room. The cheers from grew louder around him as the men on the stage motioned for him to continue forward.
Surely not. This had to be some joke. But then, Aaron was looking right at him, tears streaming down his face, a smile plastered on his thin lips. Nick took the microphone again and whispered quietly into it, "Mr. Grant... come on up here so we can finally give you the hug we've waited all these years to give you?"
His steps were slow as he plodded towards the stage. His own tears spilling down his face now. He couldn't believe this... he didn't believe this.
