I Owe You One

For 3 years Victor has been terribly sick. His arm was black and blue. He often passed out. His kidneys have failed and dialysis was not working. Victor was dying.

Tony, his brother, kept offering his kidney but Victor refused as he couldn't bear to think of his brother living with 1 kidney because of him. It took a long time to persuade Victor but finally he agreed.

Several times the brothers went to hospital but only to have the operation postponed because of Victor's infections. However, Tony never thought of backing out. After each disapointment, he announced: 'We are coming back!'. He even got Vincent a T-shirt that read 'I'M NO QUITTER!'

Finally, surgery was scheduled. The operation was harder on Tony. Doctors had to remove part of his ribs to get the kidney out. His recuperation took longer than Victor's and he had more pain.

Victor wrote: 'Because of Tony's unselfishness, I have a chance to see my four children grow up. I will never know my brother's pain, fears and feelings. All I know is the love we share. How can I tell him thanks? I can only tell everyone that I have the greatest brother in the world.'