I Was Dying While My Mother Played Savior Novel – My mother gave my heart transplant slot to someone else. The surgery went smoothly. Reporters even came in for a special interview. “Dr. Carson, we’ve heard your daughter has been waiting for a heart transplant for three years now…” My mother cut them off without hesitation. “As the daughter of a physician, she’s understood since childhood that medicine is about compassion and putting others first.
She fully supports my decision.” But I couldn’t help recalling what she had told me three months ago about the donation going wrong and I’d need to wait a little longer. And yet now, right in front of me, the patient recovering from surgery was tearfully thanking my mother. “Dr. Carson is basically my second parent,” the woman said emotionally. “She even waived my medical fees and brought me home so I wouldn’t feel alone…” To make room for her, my mother had told me not to come home for over half a year. Watching them hug on stage felt like a knife to my chest.
A sharp pain exploded in my heart. I stood up, reaching for my medication, and the reporter suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me onto the stage. My mother frowned when she saw I wasn’t smiling. In front of everyone, she announced that she had formally acknowledged her sponsored student as her goddaughter and told me to call her my “little sister.” My blood boiled. When I spoke, my voice sounded terrifyingly calm. “If you’ve found yourself another daughter,” I said, “then I’ll step out of this family.
I wouldn’t want to interrupt your touching mother-daughter reunion.” …… I slammed the microphone down and turned to leave. The moment I did, my mother grabbed my arm. “Serena needs long-term rehabilitation after surgery,” she snapped. “You’re my daughter. Acting like this in front of reporters—do you have any idea how this will look when it airs? Do you know how much damage it could do to her recovery?” I stared at her in disbelief. So that was it. My pain meant nothing to her.
She was only afraid my outburst would hurt her goddaughter’s reputation. My father, Robert, rushed over too, pulling at my other arm. “There are cameras everywhere,” he hissed. “Where’s your dignity? Even if you’re miserable, you should at least finish pretending in front of the press.” They forced me back in front of the cameras and demanded that I apologize to Serena. The three of them stood there hand in hand, like a perfect family.
I felt like a stranger who had accidentally walked into someone else’s happiness. Something inside me finally snapped. I stomped hard on the ceremonial banner the reporters had brought for my mother. Then I grabbed her trophy and smashed it clean in half. My mother charged toward me, her hand raised, and froze midair. “How did I end up raising such an ungrateful, heartless child?” she shouted. I looked straight at her. “Heartless?” My voice rang clearly through the stunned silence. “When my myocarditis flare-up, you said it was common and told me to go sit in the ER and get an IV on my own.” “But when Serena’s blood work fluctuated even slightly, you contacted a top specialist team in Beijing overnight.” The room went completely silent.
Camera flashes went off nonstop. My mother panicked and tried to stop me. “Annalise, let’s talk about this privately.” “Privately?” I laughed, tears sliding down my face without warning. “Three years ago, when I was lying in the ER, shaking in pain every time my heart beat—who came to see me?” “The doctor recommended hospitalization. You said beds were tight and should go to patients who were worse off.” “Now I finally understand.” I looked past the cameras to Serena.
“That so-called ‘bed shortage’ was to save resources for the daughter who ‘needed more care.’” My father lunged toward me, trying to grab my arm. I shook him off. “And you!” I shouted. “I’m your biological daughter!” “You knew my heart wouldn’t last another year, and you still agreed to give a compatible heart to a stranger?” “Are you saying this girl, who can’t even afford her treatment, is some secret child you and my mom had on the side?” Smack. My mother’s slap finally landed. “Enough!” she yelled. “Apologize to Serena right now!” “Apologize?” I laughed bitterly. “I’ve been rushed into the ICU multiple times, on the brink of death, and couldn’t even get a private room.” “Your colleagues begged you, said they could make arrangements for me. You refused and said you couldn’t play favorites.” “So why is it okay to make exceptions for an orphan whose condition wasn’t even worsening?” I couldn’t understand it. Even if my mother truly believed in selfless devotion, wasn’t it a doctor’s duty to save lives? I was the one whose life was running out.
Why did I always have to be the one to give way? “If you care about her that much,” I said coldly, “then let her be your daughter.”