On courage
A little girl was suffering from a rare and serious
disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a
blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who
had miraculously survived the same disease because
he had developed and antibodies needed to combat the
illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked him whether
he was ready to transfer blood. He hesitated for only a moment, then took a
deep breath and said, “Yes, I’ll do it if it will make my sister healthy.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister. He smiled as
seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his
smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,
“Will I start to die right away? Please save my dear sister.”
Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was
going to have to give her all his blood.
- Dan Millman
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of
fear.
- Mark Twain
