'It's Not Personal - It's Just Business.' The Godfather

It was a little past midnight and I was fast asleep.

Jack, my twenty-three-year-son, woke me to 'Mom, I think I am having a heart attack.'

Quickly, jumping in the car and with my heart racing, we made the few minute drive to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

A doctor entered the Emergency Room and asked Jack his symptoms. 'I have a lot of pressure on my chest. I worry because my dad had congestive heart failure, an LVAD implanted, a heart transplant, and a stroke.' Jack rattled off a lot of information that would create a questionable family medical history. The doctor seemed concerned and listened so attentively. 'And, my dad died last week,' Jack added. There was such a deep sadness in the room. The compassionate doctor said, 'Jack, I am going to take care of you.'

There were a lot of tests. There was a lot of waiting. My mind would think back to the past few days, weeks, months, years. The stress my kids were under as they worried about their dad who was waiting for a heart transplant while they were working their way through school. Jack laid quietly on the bed. He told me that he had heard his dad's favorite John Denver song the day before. He said, 'Mom, I couldn't breathe. My throat wouldn't swallow.'

After several hours of waiting, the doctor and nurse came quietly in the room. The doctor sat next to Jack and took his hand. The nurse put her hand on Jack's shoulder. With his voice cracking, the doctor said, 'Jack, you have the one thing I cannot fix - a broken heart.' Jack cried. I cried. The nurse cried. The room was filled with heartbreaking, raw emotion. There was a knock on the door...

A young man entered, 'Howdy, you all owe $250.00 for your Emergency Room visit tonight. Do you have a card that I can charge that to?'

Ahhh... the business of 'Mercy.'