THE SACRIFICE

Kimberly hurriedly dashed down the stairs. She had no means of getting late to
her clients hearing and yet here she was still at home. Glancing at her stunning vintage
bracelet watch she got from Kevin six months ago. She knew she had ten minutes to
spare. She quickly opened her fridge only to come across the remnants of last weeks
dinner. She closed the fridge door before the guilt of forgetting her grocery shopping
duties washed over her. At times she wondered why Kevin stood by her. She gets
engrossed in her work, but she loved him for that.
She quickly made two cups of coffee. Adding two sugars and creamer on hers.
She just about to leave when Kevin called on to her. Honey! Did you forget something?
He held her elegant, grand-sparkling ring as of to make his point. She rushed towards
him. He slipped the ring on her finger and slightly brushed his lips on her forehead.
Sorry, I have to leave. Next time I will remember to have it on immediately after I
am done fixing my hair. How do I look? she asked, eagerly waiting for his answer.
Like you are about to win the case. Good luck and be careful. Oh and did you take
your pills?
Oh thats what I was forgetting. Two years ago, just after her mothers death,
Kimberly was under suicidal watch. She was now bound to anti-depressants just as she
was bound to her husband. I thought you would say that so I brought them downstairs
with me. As if to make his point, he revealed the two small pills. She took them and with
a sip of her coffee, she washed them down her throat. What would I do without you?
she said as she made her way out of the door. Kevin flashed her one of his bewitching
smiles as she made her way to her brand new Mercedes Benz.
****
The hearing was not until ten oclock. She needed an hour to debrief her client
going through the days events which left thirty minutes to get to work. Driving on a
steady sixty five on a 50 m/h highway, she impatiently honked on the cars blocking her

view. Taken aback by her husbands words, Kimberly slowed down. Be careful honey,
he always said. She concentrated her mind on something else. She disliked the sizes of
the lanes on 10th Street Avenue.
Looking forward, she missed the over speeding pickup that lost control. It plowed
straight onto the side she was driving. It all happened so quick hitting her with an atomic
bomb force. Spinning around, her car flipped over. Kimberly was held rooted on her seat
for she had her seat belt on. The tinkling of glass as it shattered pierced her ears like a
tidal wave. Her vision got blurry.
She could hear the sirens off in a distance but it never occurred to her that she
might actually make it. All she could think of was getting herself out of the door. The
pain was too much to bear. Her whole body hurt. She closed her eyes and just like that all
she could see was a shiny bright light. She heard her name but the voice was unfamiliar.
She strained her eyes but all she could see was a man in a white coat. Faint voices were
asking about her condition. She closed her eyes one last time.
*****
Kevin was the physician on duty when he got paged to the nurse supervisors desk.
He had a phone call from a detective Saroyan informing him of his wife`s condition. He
immediately got Mark his colleague to cover up for him. Dashing from the East Wing to
the Emergency room building, he prayed that she would be alright.
By his rushing, he had made his way to a different building. He couldnt think
straight. Arriving at the right building, he pleaded with the receptionists to let him get to
the operation room but all they would let him do was wait. He sat down on one of the
chairs impatiently waiting for the surgeon. The tall, dark-olive skinned man came out of
the room. The look on the doctors face immediately told him it was way worse than he
had imagined. He had never imagined that he will be the one on his side of the
conversation.

Dr. Robert Bob introduced himself and informed Kevin to sit down. Kevin had not
figured out that he was standing until the moment. In less than five minutes he found out
that his wife might not have a chance of survival due to the antidepressants. Her kidneys
were badly injured and the only way to get the drugs out of her system was unreliable.
The only way to save her will be to have a Kidney transplant. For him to be a match,
his blood type will have to be one that could transfer his blood. He will need to pass a
HLA typing test and a crossmatch blood test.
Kevin recalled his friend Martin living an hour away had means in which he could
tests all he needed. By taking his DNA tests and acquiring his wifes tests, he commenced
on his way to Martin`s house. He didnt have to get Kimberly`s DNA since her health
information was on record. Hospitals had changed due to technology change.
Health records were kept online due to new advances. He was a doctor and a spouse
so it was not hard to get a hold of the records. He knew she was blood type AB and since
he was O he could easily be a donor match.
The next step was to find out about the six important antigens that play a key role in
Kidney transplantation. Out of the possible 100 the six all come from parents. He would
find this out with her DNA. With DNA being the genetic information holder, it would be
easy to know of this.
From his med school lectures, he recalls antigens are proteins codded by the DNA in
the process of transcription and translation. The RNA Polymerase takes a hold of the four
DNA base code sequence and transcribes them in the mRNA and occurs in the nucleus.
The sequence is made of Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine, and Thymine.
Since the RNA cannot read Thymine, Adenine is coded to Uracil. After this process
the mRNA codes the sequence to the tRNA that arranges the codons in a chain then the t
RNA delivers the codons to rRNA where they are further made anti codons and translated
to make amino acids that further code for proteins.

RNA is different from DNA in many ways. DNA is the center of all genetic
information and happens to be hereditary whereas RNA aids in protein synthesis. The
antigen will be made through the process of protein synthesis. Half of the antigens in our
body come from each parent. This is passed down just as a trait via DNA.
For him to be a match, his six antigens have to be completely different from
Kimberly`s. This HLA type tests would take days and days of thorough studying and
testing. Luckily he had the best pathologist as a friend. During this period, he cross
matched his blood with Kimberly`s and just as he was hoping, it was negative. Her blood
was non-resistant to his. Fortunately, his six antigens were completely different from
her`s. He had made her a promise, he vowed to save her life and he finally could, little
did he know that fate had a plan for him.
******
Dr. Camille Brennon had made Kimberly her most important patient. It was not
because she was any special than all the other patients but simply because he knew
something was wrong. Her body was not reacting well to the stabilization and not to
mention her vital signs were only getting worse as time passed by.
Of Corse the changes may have been brought by the high level of antidepressants in
her blood streams, but she suspected that her patient was suffering from cancer. She tried
talking to her colleague, Dr Bob, but he seemed to think she was exaggerating. Every
conference meeting she called was all in vain. She thought that she had no choice but to
prove them wrong.
With help from her personal assistant, she got hold of what she needed the most,
Kimberly`s records. After a few tests it was evidently clear that the patient had several
heart tumors. The electrocardiogram tests would not lie on the patients cardiovascular
movement. After informing her colleague, he was doubtful but he indeed believed her.
They knew she had a few months to live and the only way she could get through this
was through a transplantation. The only issue was how to get a donor since a month was

not much of a notice. As much as none of them wanted to believe, time was their new
enemy. After further evaluations, they discovered that her cell DNA had been altered due
to the drugs in her bloodstream. An organisms DNA affects how it looks, behaves and its
physiology, so a change in the DNA can cause changes in all aspects of its life. The
antidepressants had caused the cell to break down thus interrupting the cell cycle. When
fixing this, a mutation occurred causing an imbalance in the cell cycle. The cells rapidly
grew and accumulated around her superior vena cava.
The two doctors called Kevin to inform him of the situation with no idea that he had
news for them. All three doctors shared information with each other and the plan was
made for Kevin`s transplant. The only solution to the heart tumors was 3D Bioprinting.
This was a new procedure to all doctors and it was risky.
In two days Kevin had given up his kidney and was getting ready for his heart
printing. He knew that it would be the first time it has been performed but there was no
stopping him. Doctors had discouraged him on having the procedure soon after his
kidney transplant but he never cared. The Bioprinting process can be tailored to produce
tissues in a variety of formats from micro-scale tissues contained in standard multi-well
tissue culture plates to larger structures suitable for placement onto bioreactors for
biochemical conditioning prior to use.
A bioprinter was used to design Kevin`s heart tissue. The multicellular building
blocks from his cells build a large target tissue. Bioink is dispensed from the printer by
the use of a scaled layer approach. Bio-inert hydrogel components are used to support the
tissues as they build up. They provide fillers to create the void spaces found in the heart.
The doctors fill up the heart with stem cells that rapidly grow.
Kimberly had not woken up, and neither had Kevin left her side. He was going to
stay next to her no matter what. She woke up two weeks later from her comma. She was
mumbling but finally awake. After getting her a glass of water, he looked at her in
dismay.

What none of the doctors had anticipated was that there would be effects to their
action. Due to a mistake in the procedure, she had rapidly growing cells that rejuvenated
and replaced so quick.
Dr, Camille Brennon had secretly made an extra copy of Kevin`s heart. The
technology she had a hold on was bad but helpful. She was learning more on the heart and
ended up publishing on it. He had no means of fighting her since his medical bills were high
enough.
*******
SECOND ENDING

Kimberly hurriedly dashed down the stairs. She had no means of getting late to her
clients hearing and yet here she was still at home. Glancing at her stunning vintage
bracelet watch she got from Kevin six months ago. She knew she had ten minutes to
spare. She quickly opened her fridge only to come across the remnants of last weeks
dinner. She closed the fridge door before the guilt of forgetting her grocery shopping
duties washed over her. At times she wondered why Kevin stood by her. She gets
engrossed in her work, but she loved him for that.
She quickly made two cups of coffee. Adding two sugars and creamer on hers.
She just about to leave when Kevin called on to her. Honey! Did you forget something?
He held her elegant, grand-sparkling ring as of to make his point. She rushed towards
him. He slipped the ring on her finger and slightly brushed his lips on her forehead.
Sorry, I have to leave. Next time I will remember to have it on immediately after I
am done fixing my hair. How do I look? she asked, eagerly waiting for his answer.
Like you are about to win the case. Good luck and be careful.
What would I do without you? she said as she made her way out of the door. Kevin
flashed her one of his bewitching smiles as she made her way to her brand new Mercedes
Benz.

****
The hearing was not until ten oclock. She needed an hour to debrief her client
going through the days events which left thirty minutes to get to work. Driving on a
steady sixty five on a 50 m/h highway, she impatiently honked on the cars blocking her
view. Taken aback by her husbands words, Kimberly slowed down. Be careful honey,
he always said. She concentrated her mind on something else. She disliked the sizes of
the lanes on 10th Street Avenue.
Looking forward, she missed the over speeding pickup that lost control. It plowed
straight onto the side she was driving. It all happened so quick hitting her with an atomic
bomb force. Spinning around, her car flipped over. Kimberly was held rooted on her seat
for she had her seat belt on. The tinkling of glass as it shattered pierced her ears like a
tidal wave. Her vision got blurry.
She could hear the sirens off in a distance but it never occurred to her that she
might actually make it. All she could think of was getting herself out of the door. The
pain was too much to bear. Her whole body hurt. She closed her eyes and just like that all
she could see was a shiny bright light. She heard her name but the voice was unfamiliar.
She strained her eyes but all she could see was a man in a white coat. Faint voices were
asking about her condition. She closed her eyes one last time.
*****
Kevin was the physician on duty when he got paged to the nurse supervisors desk.
He had a phone call from a detective Saroyan informing him of his wife`s condition. He
immediately got Mark his colleague to cover up for him. Dashing from the East Wing to
the Emergency room building, he prayed that she would be alright.
By his rushing, he had made his way to a different building. He couldnt think
straight. Arriving at the right building, he pleaded with the receptionists to let him get to
the operation room but all they would let him do was wait. He sat down on one of the
chairs impatiently waiting for the surgeon. The tall, dark-olive skinned man came out of

the room. The look on the doctors face immediately told him it was way worse than he
had imagined. He had never imagined that he will be the one on his side of the
conversation.
Dr. Robert Bob introduced himself and informed Kevin to sit down. Kevin had not
figured out that he was standing until the moment. His wife was not in much danger. She
had survived the accident with a concussion that was bound to heal in a few days. But the
doctors had discovered that she had multiple heart tumors. Kimberly carried a gene that
was passed down from her parents through her DNA. This gene affected her tenth
chromosomes affecting her to have an imbalance in the cell cycle causing a mutation that
led to multiple cell division. This cells accumulated around her pulmonary vein and she
needed surgery as soon as possible. The change in her gene caused an imbalance in the
DNA sequence reducing the production of her proteins. Her body was deteriorating day
by day.
Through the process of translation and transcription proteins are made. The RNA
polymerase takes a hold of the four DNA base code sequence and transcribes them in the
mRNA and occurs in the nucleus. The sequence is made of Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine,
and Thymine.
Since the RNA cannot read Thymine, Adenine is coded to Uracil. After this process
the mRNA codes the sequence to the tRNA that arranges the codons in a chain then the t
RNA delivers the codons to rRNA where they are further made anti codons and translated
to make amino acids that further code for proteins.
RNA is different from DNA in many ways. DNA is the center of all genetic
information and happens to be hereditary whereas RNA aids in protein synthesis. The
antigen will be made through the process of protein synthesis. This is passed down just as
a trait via DNA.

******

The doctors decided that they would operate on her as soon as possible. The date
was set the next morning. They cut the heart tumors and found her pulmonary vein. The
procedure went as planned with no issue at all. But a month later during checkup, another
tumor was gradually growing around her superior vena cava. What Dr. Brennon never
mentioned was that she had carelessly not disposed of her tumor.
The surgeons cut the next tumor and this time out of curiosity, the doctor took the
tumor just to compare cultures in her lab. While doing so she discovered that Kimberly
had her heart tumors start out as sarcomas. The cancerous cells were being transported in
the bloodstream from a different location.
She contacted her fried in London working on some studies. After explaining the
situation she knew that she had to send the samples. What never occurred to her is the
fact that the samples would never come back to her. It had been a month and she had not
heard from her friend. Contacting her was a huge problem. Camille was at home
watching the news when she saw her friend.
Apparently Brennon had been wrong about her friend. She had discovered a way to
prevent the sarcomas but used Kimberly`s tumors. Out of guilt, Dr. Brennon confessed
this to her colleague who advised against informing Kevin. Kimberly had gotten weak
and passed away. With no way to shine the light, she kept her mouth shut.