CHINEDU, a man made for others

t would look like Chined

that clung to dignity even when the body betrayed it. One that smiled gently through unbear

error, had taken a toll that couldn't be reversed. His kidneys, once strong and functioning, were now in complete failure. Stage five. The final st

e didn't understand. And more than anything, we learned how fragile life could be. One dec

the hum of machines, the tired eyes of nurses who had seen too much, it all beca

came a battl

to his fragile veins, it disappeared almost as quickly as it entered. Rejected. Consumed. Like trying to fill a broken jar with water. Eight

atched as he faded

hame pooling quietly in my throat. I had never begged before. Not like that. But love will do that to you. Love will kneel in public

e, my brother is dying. We need

,stopped. Gave. Sacrificed part of themselves for someone they had never met. Each unit

ter how you stre

fy, his once-bright eyes hiding beneath tired, swollen lids. His strong, proud frame seemed to melt into the hospita

never stopp

ly. Even when food turned his stomach and sleep became war. He held on, not for him

ngle overhead bulb. I sat beside him in the stillness. His breath was shallow, but steady.

, his voice raspy like wind over dry lea

se I stayed. What

use they didn't run away from his smell. We both laughed-a quiet, broken

d more about how we were copin

be okay. "Don't forget the dream," he told me. "The schoo

what do you say to a man whose body is betrayi

rejected food, rejected medicine. There were nights when all we could do was sit around him, helpless.

o cry out. Where the room felt heavy, thick with unspoken grief. Where the only prayers left were made o

ove, someone so good and full of life, fade in front of y

spirit-oh, i

e stayed gentle.

you eaten?" Still reached for hands to hold. Still smiled at the nurses. St

ad made the fatal mistake. "They're human," he said once. "Pe

Even as the cos

. A hospital where no one would be misdiagnosed or neglected. He talked about it in whispers now, but his eyes still lit up

nce. A soft defiance of pain and despair. A man who had every right to be bitter, choo

s, through sacrifices that stretched us beyond what we thought we could bear. Bec

ere defined by love. By community. By the strength of a man w

t was his heart. A heart made for others. A heart that never