A Very Brave Little Boy

This is a story set back in 1910. This was a time when blood transfusions were not common. Ten year old Jimmy had a young sister who was six years old.

There was an accident young Jimmy’s sister had fallen off her bicycle and had seriously hurt herself, she had cut a large artery in her leg and she was bleeding a lot. There was much concern and when the doctor arrived she was slipping fast.

The doctor worked fast and he used hemostats to clamp the cut ends of the artery but they knew her heart was failing.

The doctor and family were desperate, the doctor turned around and looked at young Jimmy and said “Jimmy will you give your blood to save your sisters life?”

Jimmy swallowed hard and then he nodded his little head.

The doctor then laid Jimmy on the kitchen table and began withdrawing the blood from one of his veins and he then injected the blood directly into Jimmy’s sisters vein.

This continued for the next thirty minutes and the family with the doctor watched the little girl anxiously and prayerfully.

The doctor noted her heat beat by keeping his stethoscope over the young girls heart.

Finally the doctor noted that the young girls heart beating had showed that she was over the crises, he wiped the perspiration off his head and turned around and he noticed that young Jimmy was still on the table. Jimmy was tense and trembling.

The doctor asked “Whats the matter, Jimmy?”

Jimmy said through clenched teeth, “W-w-when do I die?”

The doctor then realized that young Jimmy had misunderstood the request for his blood and what it really meant. Little Jimmy had imagined that his little sister had needed all his blood. Jimmy had swallowed hard and with a little hesitation at the doctors request, had silently agreed die for his little sister.

When the doctor reassured Jimmy that he only needed to remove a small amount of blood, he had tears in his eyes.

This is a very touching story, a story of the ultimate love for somebody and the innocence and love of a young boy.

– Found in one of Dale Carnegie’s books.