The Waiting Room Silence

     We sat in silence for exactly two minutes and thirty-six seconds.  The only reason I know this is because I was watching the clock for that entire length of time.  Suddenly, the doors into the waiting room flew open.  We had been waiting to see what had happened to Jonah for the past two and a half hours, but the last fifteen minutes had seemed like an eternity compared to the rest of it.  When the nurse had come out to tell us the doctor would be out to talk with us shortly, the time slowed.  During that time I had noticed many things about the room I was finding myself in, but it wasn't necessarily my surroundings, but rather the people.  Some of them may be waiting to welcome babies into the world or others waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery.  Kegan and I on the other hand, were sitting to find out if Jonah's accident had ended worse than anyone would have ever intended.
     "Are you Jonah's friends?" The tall, black doctor wearing a white lab coat and blue scrubs asked us in a calm tone.
     "Yes!"  We said in unison practically jumping out of our seats when he asked. 
     "He is okay for now but his kidneys aren't functioning like they should be since the car was on top of them for that length of time.  He explained to us while we sat there in dismay by what had happened.
     They had been at a party at the lake and Jonah disappeared, but no one had seen where he went.  Kegan and I were just at the party to socialize and have a way to spend our Saturday night.  All of our friends were there, so we decided it would be fun to just go and hang out.  When Jonah had gone we went to look for him and saw that missing from the enormous abundance of vehicles was his SUV.  Since neither Kegan or I had been drinking, we headed back to town to see where Jonah gone. 
     The black sky filled with brilliant stars that composed the constellations perfectly was lit up by the full moon.  Heading back to town I could see the fields of green being highlighted by the light radiating from the moon.  The headlights of Keagan's car shone brightly on the road and suddenly a moment of horror came over me.  I saw a car on its top laying in the barrow pit.
     "STOP! STOP! STOOOOP!" I yelled grabbing for the door handle so I could get out, and right then all my emotions came over me and I immediately started to cry when I saw that it was Jonah's car.
     "CALL 911!" I screamed to Kegan.  All I remember after that was seeing flashing lights, shattered glass all over the pavement, and the fire crew using the jaws of life to get Jonah out.  I know there was more, but maybe blocking it out is my way of staying semi-sane, and now we're sitting here talking to the doctor in this white washed room with generic hospital posters and sitting in chairs that looked like they had been here much too long.
    "They are to the point where he is going to need a transplant." The doctor told us referring to Jonah's kidneys. 
     "I am going to give you two some time to take this all in." He said and then walked back through the doors back into the world of
     Kegan and I just sat there looking at each other in complete shock.  Neither of us knew what to do and since Jonah's parents were on vacation we felt like we had to be there for him until they could get a plane back home.  Jonah, Kegan, and I had been friends since we were freshmen and I had never seen either of them cry, but we had never really been in a situation together that would lead to that.  As we were sitting there I could see the rears swelling in his eyes and it made me break down even more than I already had been.  
     I knew sitting there and doing nothing was not the kind of person I am and I started thinking of all the things I could possibly to for Jonah.  As I was sitting there I was examining Kegan's aqua blue eyes and structured face I knew exactly what I was going to do.
     "Kegan, I think I am going to do the test to see if Jonah and I are a match."  I said grabbing his hand as he looked at me in a confused manner. 
     "I know it sounds crazy, but I would do anything for you two.  I have two healthy kidneys and he obviously is losing the function in both of his. I have to do it." 
     "Okay, well..." Kegan paused, "if you're doing it, then so am I." He told me pulling me out of my chair and hugging me.
     We went to the receptionist and asked her if she could call the doctor back.  When he came back out, it would be a life changing moment, not only for Jonah, but possibly one of us.  We were waiting for the doctor again and deep down, I hoped it was me that would be a match because Kegan played sports all the time and I didn't want him to lose that in his life. 
     "Hello kids, I was told you wanted to talk to me again," the doctor said to us as he pulled up a chair and sat in front of us.
     "We want to have the test done to see if we are a match for Jonah." I told him as I looked over at Kegan who was smiling because he knew that us doing this for Jonah was perhaps going to save his life.  The doctor explained the procedure to us and we both knew it was exactly what we needed to do. 
    The next morning we both took the test right away so we could get the transplant in motion immediately if one of us did match.  It was a lot scarier than I ever would have thought, but Jonah is my best friend and the thought of losing him makes my life feel as though it would be incomplete. 
     The doctor told us he would continue to be stable until we found out the results of the tests.  Waiting to know was the most nerve wracking time of my life and finding out that I had been a match was the greatest news I had ever received.  Saving my best friends life was nothing short of a miracle.