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Heartbreak

December 27, 2025 7 Comments

By Bud Pharo

The email from donor services sat unopened for weeks.

For two years, I tried writing to the family, but the words never came. What do I say to the family of the young man who died so that I might live?

Finally, I sent this brief email: ‘I may never know of your loved one, whose heart now beats in my chest, yet every day I celebrate his life-giving gift while deeply grieving his loss.’

Their reply: ‘Please do not grieve, but be like him; live fully, love deeply, and take care of his precious heart because losing him broke ours.’

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stella says

    December 27, 2025 at 9:34 am

    Lovely words.

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      December 27, 2025 at 5:00 pm

      Thank you Stella.

      Reply
  2. Vivian says

    December 27, 2025 at 10:19 am

    Yes…

    Reply
  3. Mary says

    December 27, 2025 at 10:45 am

    Beautifully written capturing the array of emotions ?

    Reply
    • Bud Pharo says

      December 27, 2025 at 5:01 pm

      Thank you for the kind words.

      Reply
  4. Toni Brayer says

    December 31, 2025 at 10:29 am

    Touching. Very nice!

    Reply
  5. Bud Pharo says

    December 31, 2025 at 11:54 am

    Thank you, Toni.

    Reply

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