陌生人無私的禮物引發一段佳緣

A stranger's selfless gift leads to love

陌生人無私的禮物引發一段佳緣

There are always a lot of people to thank on a wedding day, but the bride-to-be at a church outside Chicago had one person to thank over all others: a total stranger who made it possible.

婚禮這天會有很多人需要感謝，但這個在芝加哥城外教堂的準新娘要特別感謝一個人：這個讓她活下來的陌生人。

Several years ago, out of the blue, 27-year-old Heather Krueger was diagnosed with stage 4 liver disease. Doctors said she had just a few months to live.

幾年前，27歲的Heather Krueger出乎意料被查出肝病4期。醫生表示，她的生命就剩幾個月了。

"They immediately told me I was going to need a transplant," Heather said. There was not much time to find a donor.

“他們當時建議我進行肝臟移植，”Heather回憶道。但沒有時間去找現成的捐獻者。

"By that time I could really feel my body shutting down," she said.

“那段時間，我明顯感到身體機能在逐漸衰弱，”她說。

Enter our hero. Chris Dempsey is a code enforcement officer for the village of Frankfort, Illinois. He said he was in the break room one day when he overheard a guy talking about this woman who needed a liver donor.

就在這時，我們的英雄上場了。Chris Dempsey是伊利諾伊州法蘭克福鎮的法律執行官。他說自己在偶然在休息室聽人說起有個女人需要肝臟捐獻。

"I spent four years in the Marine Corps and learned there never to run away from anything. So I just said to myself , 'Hey, if I can help, I'm going to help,'" Chris said.

“我在海軍陸戰隊呆了4年，明白沒什麼需要逃避的。所以就告訴自己，‘如果我能幫上忙，就要去行動，’”Chris回憶道。

Keep in mind he had never met Heather, but got tested to see if he was compatible. And when he found out he was, they finally met for the first time.

這時的他和Heather從未見面，只是去檢查過自己是否符合捐獻條件。當得知自己符合時，他們纔有了第一次會面。

"We had lunch together, discussed what the whole process was going to be," Heather said. He even treated her meal!

“我們一起吃了午餐，談論着整個意志過程會是怎樣的情況，”Heather說。這頓飯還是Chris請的。

Not long after, they checked into the University of Illinois Hospital. The transplant -- which involved removing about half of the donor's liver -- went off without a hitch.

不久，他們一起住進了伊利諾伊大學醫院。移植手術需要切掉捐獻者一半的肝臟，但整個過程非常順利。

Afterward, Chris and Heather remained close. They got so close, in fact, that he was at her wedding last weekend.

這之後，Chris和Heather走的很近，他們關係已經親近到Chris上週去參加了她的婚禮。

He had to be, really. Because what is a wedding without a groom?

他也不得不去。因爲婚禮上哪能少了新郎？

And so it was, that year-and-a-half after giving her part of his liver, she gave him all her heart.

所以這纔是故事的結尾，他爲她捐獻出自己的一半肝臟之後的一年半時間裏，她爲他獻出了自己全部的真心。

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