英语分享书虫（双语阅读SelflessGift）

Selfless Gift

无私的馈赠

Twelve-year-olds usually don't think about death. We think about our friends and shopping.

12岁的孩子通常不会想到死亡。我们想到的是朋友和购物。

Unless you need a liver transplant to survive. That was me, almost two years ago. My liver was failing and if I didn't get a new one, I probably wouldn't make it to my 13th birthday. And someone would have to die so I could live.

除非你需要移植一个肝脏才能活下去。那就是我，大概两年前的我。那时，我的肝脏正在衰竭，如果没有一个新的肝脏，我极有可能就活不到13岁生日那天了。而必须有人死去，我才能活下来。

Shocking Diagnosis

令人震惊的诊断

I'd always been healthy, so it was a huge shock when I was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called cirrhosis . My liver was so damaged and scarred that it wasn't able to function properly. Prior to that, I'd been having really bad stomachaches, and it turned out that I had a twisted bowel , which required minor surgery. That's when doctors discovered how bad my liver really was. We were told I needed a liver transplant as soon as possible. My name was added to a national list, and the doctors said to expect a call when a liver became available.

我一直都很健康，所以当我被诊断出得了肝硬化这种极为罕见的病时，简直无异于晴天霹雳。我的肝脏严重损坏，伤痕累累，已经无法正常工作了。在那之前，我的肚子经常痛得很厉害，结果是肠扭转，需要动个小手术。就是在手术时，医生发现我肝脏的情况非常糟糕，并告诉我必须尽快做肝脏移植。我的名字被列入一份全国名单，医生让我等待，说如果有可移植的肝脏会有人打电话通知我。

I couldn't grasp what was happening to me. I went from a normal,energetic sixth-grader to a girl trapped in my bed, too exhausted to move. As the days passed, I grew weaker and weaker and my skin and the whites of my eyes got really yellow—or jaundiced —a sign of liver failure. I was in and out of the hospital for tests and another surgery. I thought, "When will this ever stop?"

我无法理解发生在我身上的事。我从一个正常的、活力四射的六年级学生一下子变成了一个只能卧床养病、根本没力气动一下的女孩。日子一天天过去，我越来越虚弱，皮肤和眼白都变得蜡黄——或者说是黄疸病——肝脏衰竭的一种征兆。我在医院进进出出，做各种检查以及又一次的手术。我想：“这一切什么时候才能结束？”

Even though I was scared, I was determined to fight. I had a feeling in my heart that I wasn't supposed to die. Staying strong was a challenge, though. My mom said to think of this as a nightmare that would be over soon. That advice, and the support of my friends, who would visit and call—lifted my spirits. Soon, I was the one reassuring my mom when she got stressed about finding a donor liver. I'd tell her, "I'll get one, Mom. Don't worry!"

尽管我十分害怕，但我决定与病魔抗争。我心里有种感觉：我不应该就这样死去。可是，保持坚强是一项艰巨的任务。妈妈让我把这想象成一场很快就会结束的噩梦。朋友们来看我，打电话给我。妈妈的建议和朋友们的支持鼓舞了我的斗志。不久，我竟成了安慰妈妈的人，每当妈妈担心找不到肝脏捐赠者时，我就会跟她说：“妈妈，我会等到合适的肝脏的，别担心！”

Transplant Time

移植时刻

And sure enough, at 7:15 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2008, we got the call that a liver was available. I was asleep, and my dad woke me up to tell me. At first, I was kind of mad. I didn't want to go to the hospital. I didn't want another surgery. I was scared and didn't want to get my hopes up and then have it not work out. But I had no choice: I had to get the surgery if I wanted to live.

没错，就在2008年11月7日早上7点15分，我们接到一个电话，得知已经找到了合适的肝脏。我当时正在睡觉，爸爸叫醒我并告诉了我这个消息。起初，我有点儿发疯。我不想去医院，不想又去做手术。我害怕，我不想希望燃起后手术却又不成功。但是我没有选择：如果我想活下去，就必须去做手术。

My surgery took 10 hours, and then I stayed in the hospital for 10 days,hooked up to all sorts of tubes. It was agonizing . I was determined to get out of there and go back to my normal life, but I knew that my body could reject the liver and that's why they had to keep me there.

手术进行了10个小时，然后我住院10天。我身上插满了各种管 子，痛苦至极。我坚持要出院，回家过正常的生活，但我知道我的身体可能会排斥这个肝脏，这也是医院让我必须留院观察的原因。

Life Saver

救命的人

The surgery sped by in such a blur that I didn't have time to ask where the organ came from. I guess I always imagined that it would be from an old person who'd passed away of natural causes. So when my mom told me that my liver was from a 17-year-old girl, I couldn't believe it.

这个手术来得过于匆忙，让我都来不及问清楚肝脏从何而来。我想我那时一直认为它应该来自于一个自然死亡的老人吧。因此，当妈妈说我的肝脏原本属于一个17岁的女孩时，我简直难以置信。

Kayla Borgerson, my donor, had died in a car accident in a nearby town. When I saw a report about her death on the news, I teared up. Here was this beautiful, young girl who had literally saved my life. My emotions were so mixed up. I was happy to be alive, but I hated knowing that it was because Kayla had died. I kept thinking about Kayla's family … how awful it was to lose her so suddenly.

我的捐赠者凯拉·博格逊死于附近小镇的一场车祸。当我在新闻中看到关于她的死亡报道时，我哭了。就是这个漂亮的年轻女孩真正救了我的命。我百感交集。我很开心能够活下去，但我不愿这是由凯拉的死亡换来的。我总是想起凯拉的家人……如此突然地失去她该有多么痛苦啊！

Months passed, and I grew stronger and healthier by the day. But I couldn't shake the guilt that came along with receiving Kayla's liver—that her life was cut short, while I lived. My mom suggested that we go meet Kayla's family, and I jumped at the chance. I couldn't wait to meet the people who helped save my life.

几个月过去了，我的身体日益强健。但我始终无法摆脱随接受凯拉的肝脏一起而来的罪恶感——她的生命停止了，而我活了下来。妈妈建议我去见见凯拉的家人，我马上就答应了。我迫不及待想要见到伸出援手救了我一命的人。

The Borgersons live about 35 miles away. As soon as Kayla's mom saw me, she started crying and so did I. Kayla's younger sister, Katie, who survived the car accident, was sweet and funny. It felt as though I'd always known them. I guess it's because I have a part of Kayla in me. Sometimes I get a weird vibration when I talk about her, as if she's around me, helping me through all of this.

博格逊一家住在大约35英里外。凯拉的妈妈一见到我就开始掉眼泪，我也是。凯拉的妹妹凯蒂是一个可爱而有趣的小女孩，她在那场车祸中幸存了下来。我有种感觉，好像跟她们认识了很久一样。我 想，这是因为凯拉的一部分在我的体内。有时当我谈到她时，能感受到一种奇怪的触动，好像她就在我的周围，帮我熬过这一切。

Still, I can't imagine how hard the Borgersons' decision to donate their daughter's liver was. Kayla decided on her own to be an organ donor when she got her driver's license. Her parents could have overridden her decision since she was a minor , but they didn't. That's the only reason I am here today. I am just so grateful for the amazing gift I received.

然而，我仍然无法想象捐赠女儿的肝脏对于博格逊夫妇来说是一个多么艰难的决定。凯拉拿到驾照时就自行决定成为一个器官捐赠者。因为她还未成年，她的父母本可以不理会她的决定，但他们没 有。这也是我今天还在这儿的唯一原因。能收到这份神奇的礼物，我是如此地心怀感激。

It is impossible to repay Kayla for what she did for me, but I try to honor her by taking good care of my liver and having as much fun as I can every day.

我不可能报答凯拉为我所做的一切，但我会尽力照顾好我的肝脏，并尽最大可能快乐地度过每一天，以此向她致敬。