"MY SSISTER KEEPER (2009)" "When I was a kid, my mother told me that I was a little piece of blue sky that came into this world because she and Dad loved me so much." "It was only later that I realized that it wasn't exactly true." "Most babies are coincidences." "I mean, up in space you got all these souls flying around looking for bodies to live in." "Then, down here on Earth, two people have sex or whatever and bam, coincidence." "Sure, you hear all these stories about how everyone plans these perfect families but the truth is that most babies are products of drunken evenings and lack of birth control." "They're accidents." "Only people who have trouble making babies actually plan for them." "I, on the other hand, am not a coincidence." "I was engineered." "Born for a particular reason." "A scientist hooked up my mother's eggs and my father's sperm to make a specific combination of genes." "He did it to save my sister's life." "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Kate had been healthy." "I'd probably still be up in heaven or wherever waiting to be attached to a body down here on Earth." "But coincidence or not I'm here." "What can I do for you?" "Fourteen karat gold, hardly ever worn." "That's my sister, Kate." "She's dying." "Montana?" "I don't get it." " It looks like a whole bunch of nothing." " It is a whole bunch of nothing." " Just you and the big old sky." " Why do you like it?" "I don't know." "I like big things." "I like wide-open spaces." "Besides, it's the only place I've ever been." "That's Mom and Aunt Kelly making dinner." "Since my sister got sick, things have changed." "Aunt Kelly only works part-time and Mom quit her job as a lawyer." "Her life now revolves around keeping Kate alive." "Cooking and cleaning." "Everything steamed, organic and germ-free." " Have a good night." " Bye." "I guess you could say that we're a little dysfunctional." "But everybody loves each other, and we do the best we can." " That's not a word." " What about that language?" " Nice shirt, sissy." " Good, right?" " Hey, Mom, you wanna see our routine?" " What routine?" " Come on, Anna, let's do it." " Hey, baby, what's your sign?" " Cancer." " You're a Cancer?" " No, I'm a Leo..." " But I have cancer." " It's not even funny." " Yes, it is." " I agree with Dad." " It was pretty clever." " Boo." " Boo." "It's not funny." "It's not." "Nice." "Nice." "These your kids?" "Yes, they are." "Question is, are they yours?" "You believe that?" "Hey, sweetie, where's your locket?" "Oh, I didn't feel like wearing it today." " Eat, Kate." " I'm eating." " Is it not good?" " It's really good, Mom." "It's good to me." "I have lentils in the fridge if you want some." "I'm fine, Mom." " You're not hungry?" " I bet she needs to breathe a little bit." " Maybe you should try to breathe a bit." " Maybe I will a bit later." "Gross." " Where are you going?" " Bathroom, wanna come?" "Will you breathe on me later?" "Having a child who is sick is a full-time occupation." "Sure, we still enjoy the usual day-to-day happinesses of family life." "Big house, great kids, beautiful wife." "But beneath the exterior, there are cracks resentments alliances that threaten the very foundation of our lives as at any moment our whole world could come tumbling down." "I don't know when it started, but probably around 11 it was 103." " Hey, what's going on?" " Your sister's sick." "She's been up all night with a fever." "Kate?" "Kate?" "Hey." "You ready?" "Come on, let's go." "Are you sure you want to do this?" "You know you're nuts, right?" " I'll be right back." " All right, I'll be waiting." "When Anna Fitzgerald first stepped into my office I thought she was selling Girl Scout cookies." "Thank you." " Oh, my gosh, it's really you." " It really is." ""I'm Campbell Alexander." " I have a 90 percent success rate." " Ninety-one." "What can I do for you?"" "You've seen my commercials." "All of them." "I mean, that's why I'm here." " Hi." " Please don't touch." "Judge is a service dog." " What service?" " I have an iron lung and Judge helps me steer clear of magnets." "Please, sit down." " What is your name?" " Anna Fitzgerald." "What can I do for you, Anna?" "That is so cool." "I want to sue my parents for the rights to my own body." "Would you repeat that, please?" "I want to sue my parents for the rights to my own body." "My sister has leukemia." "They're trying to force me to give her my body parts." "You're supposed to give her a kidney?" "She's been in renal failure for months now." "No one can force you to donate if you don't want to, can they?" "They think they can." " I'm under 18, they're my legal guardians." " They can't do that." "That's what I want you to tell them they've been doing it to me my whole life." "I wouldn't even be alive if Kate wasn't sick." "I'm a designer baby." "I was made in a dish to be spare parts for Kate." "You're kidding, right?" "The kid wasn't lying." "The doctors started taking things from her the moment she was born." "Cord blood as an infant, white-cell transfusions bone marrow, lymphocytes injections to add more stem cells, and then they took them too." "But it was never enough." "You do know what will happen if you don't give your sister your kidney, don't you?" "Yeah, she'll die." "So there's a little over $ 700 here." "And I know that's not enough, but it's all I have and I need your help." "Please." "You sure you want to go through with this?" "Good for you." "It's hard to imagine now but there was a time before all this happened when the kids were just kids, and everyone was happy." "Hi, baby." " Where's your sister?" " Sleeping." "I tried poking her and everything." "Hey, Katie-Cat." "Good morning, sweetie." "Are you awake?" "How you doing?" "Rise and shine." "Anemia, right?" " Kids her age don't get mono, do they?" " Could be a virus." "I'll have to draw some blood and run a few tests." "Kate's white cell count's much lower than normal." " What's that mean?" " I don't know." "She may have an autoimmune deficiency." "Could just be a lab error." "Oncology?" "But that's cancer." "Mr. And Mrs. Fitzgerald?" "I'm Ileana Farquad." " Hello." " Hi." "So I took a look at Kate's CBC." "Her white blood count is very low." "She's also presenting with 12% promyelocytes and 5% blasts which does indicate a leukemic syndrome." "Leukemic?" "Cancer." "I'll need a bone marrow aspiration to confirm but it seems that Kate could have what is called acute promyelocytic leukemia." "I'm sorry." "Respiration's normal." "St. Joe's doesn't know shit." "You remember when the chief's son was playing with Jesse and broke his left arm?" "They put a cast on his right." "I'm not gonna let her die." "You know that, right?" "I'm not." "Hello?" "We heard her coughing but she wouldn't open the door." "Your mom kicked it in." " Kicked the door down?" " Yeah." "I haven't gotten in touch with them, she's lost a lot of blood." "We need to get platelets and fluids into her." " I don't want her going into shock." " Her age and weight?" "Fifteen, she's about 90 pounds, she's allergic to penicillin." "One-hundred over 68." "Okay, Base Camp, Rescue 11." "We have a 15-year-old girl, approximately 90 pounds." " BP is 100 over 68." " Jesus Christ." "All right, let's get her up." "Yeah." "There you go." "We're just gonna bring you downstairs." "Nobody's saying anything but seeing everybody together lets me know that this is serious." "Our family is kind of disconnected." "Dad's relatives are wealthy and distant, and Mom's side drives her crazy." "So besides Aunt Kelly we never really get to see anybody except on holidays or disasters." "Kate's leukemia is back." "She's no longer remissing." "We've looked at her smear, and her leukemic cells are showing at 23%." " How many is bad?" " Any." "What about chemo?" "It's an option, but Kate doesn't seem to take it very well." "And her cancer may be too far along." "So you need more bone marrow?" "Yes, but the leukemia isn't Kate's biggest problem now." "She's lost the function of her kidneys." "They've quit." "They're gone." " Not a match?" " No." "We're her parents, don't we have to be?" "Everyone inherits two sets of chromosomes containing HLA genes." "Unfortunately, there's only a 1 in 200 chance that parents and their children will be perfect histocompatible HLA matches." "What about Jesse?" "I'm afraid not." "It's possible that a donor will crop up on the national bone-marrow registry." "I thought you said getting a transplant from an unrelated donor was dangerous." "I did." "But Kate's situation is time-sensitive, and sometimes that's all we've got." "I'd like to suggest something completely off the record." "Many times one sibling isn't a match, but another is." "Have you considered having another child?" "Not to be forward but umbilical blood can be an incredibly effective tool in treating leukemic patients." "It's like a miracle." "Well, how would you know that the new child would be a match?" " We could make sure of it." " In a test tube?" "Yes." "With preimplantation genetic diagnosis, it would be a 100 percent match." "A donor child?" "It's not for everybody." "And legally, I can't even officially recommend it." "But like I said, cord blood would be invaluable." "Well, we gotta do it." "We gotta try." "That was it." "Grown in a dish, they would have an in vitro child." "A perfect chromosomal match who would be Kate's genetic savior." "Remember that time where we strapped that fabric on her feet?" "Someone here to see you." " Sara Fitzgerald?" " Yes." "You've been served." "What is that?" ""Petition for medical emancipation by... "" "What does that mean?" "" The ability to make future medical decisions independent of parents not to be forced to submit treatment including donating her kidney. "" "Anna, what is this?" "Is this from you?" "Yeah, I got a lawyer." "You're suing us?" "Well, honey, what the hell is going on?" "I don't want to do it anymore, Mom." "You don't want to do it anymore?" "That's it?" "You don't want to do it?" "No." "Guess what?" "Neither do I and neither does Kate." " Please." " It's not like we have a choice." " That's the thing, I do." "I do have a choice." " Really?" "Is that so?" " Yeah." " That's your sister." "Have you forgotten?" " No." " Do you know what's gonna happen?" "Yeah." "Believe it or not, Mom, I actually thought about it." "Sara." " Have you lost your mind?" " What is she doing?" " What the hell were you thinking?" " What the hell is she thinking?" "I don't understand..." "Let's hit it now, go." "Fitzgerald!" "Your wife called, she said to give her a call, it's important. 911." " Just telling me now?" " I'm not your secretary." " Get your own frigging calls." " Goddamn it, Gus." "All right, let's hear it." "What's going on?" "Okay." "Forget about the fact that the operation is dangerous, or that it would hurt or that I might not want to have something cut out of me." "But if I only have one kidney, then what happens to me?" "What if I need it?" "And am I really never allowed to play sports or be a cheerleader or get pregnant?" "Can't drink." "What if I just want to live a long time?" "Sweetheart, you're gonna live a long time." "Yeah?" "Then tell me this:" "What if the transplant doesn't work?" "What then?" " She's your sister." " I know that!" "But I'm not like you, Mom!" "I see the other kids, I see what they do." "They go to parties, the beach." "I don't understand why you didn't say something earlier." "When?" "When should I talk to you about it?" "You're never home." "You leave me here with her." "Excuse me?" "You've never had to do anything you don't want to do, and you know that!" "I always wound up doing everything, didn't I?" " You spoiled shit!" " Stop yelling!" "Everyone be quiet." "We said she gets the table, she gets the table." "Go ahead." "Remember how the doctor said if I did the operation I would have to be careful for the rest of my life?" "But I don't want to be careful." "Who wants to live like that?" " Anna, listen..." " I'm important too, Mom." "I'm important too." " Hey, now..." " Let me go!" "Mom needs to cool off a bit." "She's a little upset." "Yeah, I heard her." ""Get her out of here." "I don't want to look at her face anymore. "" "I looked at my daughter and wondered how it got from there to here." " Hey!" " Hi!" " The truth, the truth." " Okay." "All right, so, what do you think?" "A bit more salt." "A bit more." "From the moment we decided to genetically conceive I suppose this was the eventual outcome." "It was our fault." "We went against nature and this was our comeuppance." "But have we really pushed her too hard?" "Have we forced her into helping her sister?" "All those little encouragements and rewards, were they real?" "Or did we just want what we wanted?" "She was so little when all this started." "When did she start wanting to make her own decisions?" " It's okay." " I want my daddy." " I want my mama!" "No, please!" "Mama!" " It's okay." "I know." "Mommy!" "I guess the answer is now." "What do you mean, you don't know?" "She won't talk." "You know, maybe she just wants to be considered." "Take the credit that it's her decision, I don't know." " Maybe it's not crazy." " What, you don't want her to do it?" "I didn't say that." "But it's against her will, so how does that work?" " Do you hold her down, or do I?" " Don't be dramatic." "You gonna take her ankles, I'll take her wrists?" " She's not a baby." "You just can't trick her." " I know." "So then what?" " I don't know." " You want to sedate her?" "Get handcuffs, tell her we're going to get ice cream again?" "Because if we do, every day for the rest of her life she's gonna look at us like we forced her, like we used her." " And she'll be right." " For chrissakes, Brian, I didn't do this." " Whose side are you on?" " Side." "What sides?" "Are there sides now?" "She doesn't want to do it." "Your 11:00 appointment is here." " I don't have an 11:00." " Wait, you can't go in there." "Get your hands off me." "Mr. Alexander, I'm Sara Fitzgerald, Anna's mother." " It's okay, Gloria." " Are you sure?" "I don't mind calling security." "No, no." "Thank you." "What can I do for you, Mrs. Fitzgerald?" "The legal age for emancipation of a minor is 14 in the state of California." "It's the law, you might want to check it." "Anna's 11, you're three years early." " I'm aware, she's challenging." " She can't." " She's too young to stand." " I'm filing for her as guardian ad litem." "As what?" "A family independence agency?" "I have 15 years as a volunteer member of the ACLU in addition to which I have this power of attorney signed by your daughter." "This will never hold up." "It's not even legal." "Anna doesn't want to do it anymore." "And 11 years old or not, she has rights." "And so long as she wants to move forward, I am going to help her." "Why?" "What's your interest?" "This isn't a case for you." " There's no money." " What's my interest?" "Eight hospitalizations in 11 years six catheterizations, two bone-marrow aspirations two stem-cell purges." " She was helping her sister." "Not to mention the side effects, including bleeding, infections, bruising." "Filgrastim shots." "Those are growth hormones, am I correct?" " Something like that." " Drugs for nausea, opiates for pain Ambien for sleep." "Not exactly the proper medication for a preteen." "Every procedure had its risks and complications." "Anna understood that, she was okay with it." " Really?" " Yeah." "At 5 years old." "Oh, my God, you're good." "You're really good." "You know, I've seen your commercials, right?" "I mean, who hasn't?" "I always thought you were some headline-seeking hack but you have real talent." "You almost had me believing that you cared about Anna." "Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you." "Mrs. Fitzgerald, did you ever say to yourself:" ""Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I took it a little too far?"" "I'll see you in court." "You gotta get up." "You haven't been out of that bed in two weeks." " I'm tired." " You can do it." " It's a beautiful day outside." " No." "It's sunny." "It's gonna be good for you." " I'm too sick." " You're not too sick." "You're depressed." "I'm not gonna feed you antidepressants they're gonna just make you more numb." "Now, get up." " No!" " Hey, baby?" " You want to tell me what's really wrong?" " I'm tired." "Don't you get that?" " I'm sick, and I'm tired, and I'm ugly." " Stop it." "Don't you dare tell me that I'm beautiful, because I'm not." "Don't you dare tell me that nobody's gonna stare at me, because they will." " Oh, God." " I'm a freak." "Come here." " Okay, that's it." " It's okay." "Mom?" " Thanks, Mom." " Mom, Mom." "This is it." "I know I'm going to die now." "I suppose I've always known that." "I just never knew when." "And I'm okay with it." "Really." "I don't mind my disease killing me." "But it's killing my family too." "While everyone was so worried about my blood counts they barely even noticed that Jesse was dyslexic." "Look at this place." "You see all these kids around here?" "They got a football team, this Olympic-style swimming pool." " Horses." " They got horses." "Massive playground here." "Look at that Tarzan rope into a lake." "There's kids everywhere." "You're gonna have a great time there." "What?" "Come on, you know this is gonna be like a vacation for you." "I'll try harder." "It's not about that." "Hey, look at me." "You know how sometimes when you see things, they are a little mixed up?" "This place is special because they have teachers there that will show you how to straighten it out." " Okay." " And I can't do that." "Okay." "You're gonna get so good at math." " It's gonna be a year, that's it, all right?" " Just till your grades are up." "If you don't like it, you come right home." " Okay." " All right." "I'm sorry, Jesse." "I'm sorry I took all the attention when you were the one who needed it the most." "Dad, I know I took your first love from you." "I only hope that one day, you get her back." "Mom, you gave up everything for me." "Your work, your marriage, your entire life just to fight my battles for me every single day." "I'm sorry you couldn't win." "And to my baby sis, who was always so very little I'm sorry I let them hurt you." "I'm sorry I didn't take care of you." "It was supposed to be the other way around." " Hey." " Hi." "I got you something." " Is that me?" " Mm-hm." "I'm not done with it, but..." " De Salvo?" "I thought she was on leave." " She was, she's back." "Your Honor, clearly Miss Morangez is afraid for her life." "At this time, the plaintiff requests a continuation on the restraining order." "Stand, please." "Mr. Morangez, by order of this court you are no longer allowed within 1000 yards of Mrs. Morangez or her residence." "You understand how far a thousand yards is?" "Judge De Salvo had a very public nervous breakdown after her 12-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver." "She had taken a six-month leave of absence to deal with her grief and this was the first time I'd seen her back in court." "You're going to jail." " Okay, next case, please." " Thank you, Your Honor." "Four-eight-five-seven-two." "I'd like to see counsel in my chambers, please." " Good afternoon." " Good afternoon." "What's with the dog?" "He's a service dog, Your Honor." "Well, please make sure he behaves himself." " I just had these carpets cleaned." " Yes, ma'am." "Good to see you, Sara." "I wasn't aware you were practicing." "I wasn't planning to, Your Honor, but the complainant is my daughter." "What's this about, counselor?" "Mrs. Fitzgerald's youngest child wishes to be medically emancipated from her parents." "There's no legal definition of medical emancipation not in the state of California." "It's one of those New Age terms that Mr. Alexander has latched onto." "Yes, I'm well aware of Mr. Alexander's reputation." "He once tried to sue God in my courtroom." "Did sue, Your Honor." "Jerome Dylan v. The Diocese of California." " And I won that one." " I remember." "So?" "So Mr. Alexander wants you to change the law." "An 11-year-old can't be emancipated, at least not legally." "My client is not seeking to be emancipated." "She loves her parents and wants to live at home." "She doesn't wanna be cut open anymore." "Yes, I read the complaint." "What is it exactly that you're after?" "Limited termination of parental rights." "All right." "Very smart." "Very creative." "I assume you have precedent?" "Yes, Planned Parenthood v. Danforth." "Mature minor doctrine:" "Smith v. Seibly." "Agrello v. Florida." "And defense is moving for summary dismissal?" "Yes." "Today, if possible." "Anna's too young to make a decision of this size on her own." "She doesn't understand what it is she wants." "She's 11 years old." "She changes her mind every five minutes." "You know how young girls can be." "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry." "I..." "Mr. Alexander?" "The best interests of the child, Your Honor." "All right." "Well, I need to see Anna." "Is she here?" "Yes, but I was really hoping to keep her out of it." "Keep her out of it?" "Mrs. Fitzgerald, you just told me your daughter doesn't fully understand what she wants." "If you want a decision today I need to find that out." "Do you have a problem with that, counselor?" " None whatsoever." " All right." "Well, please send her in." "Thank you, Your Honor." "And Sara?" "I'm awfully sorry about Kate." "Thank you." "Hi." "Hi." "You can sit down if you like." "Want something to drink?" "I've got 7UP, Dr. Pepper or apple juice." " 7UP, please." " 7UP." "Thank you." " So you know why you're here?" " Yup." "Pretty scary stuff, huh?" "Well, I don't really like everyone being mad at me." "I meant having to take care of your sister all the time." "No, I don't mind." "I like it." "You guys get along okay?" "Of course, she's my sister." "But all those operations, it's gotta be pretty crazy, right?" " No, no, no, stop, stop, stop!" " Okay, okay." "Quietly, girls." "This is a hospital, this is not a sorority." " I need a urine sample." " But I don't have to go." " Well, drink something." " And I'm not thirsty." "Listen to me, young lady, I don't like a lot of back talk." "Drink, don't drink, I don't care." "But you just better fill it." " What a bitch." " Right?" "I'll fill it." " Nice and warm." " No." " You ready?" " All set." "Oh, wait a minute." "Looks a little cloudy." "I think I should filter it again." "Much better." "What do you think?" "You are disgusting." "And so are you!" "Look at me, crying like an idiot." "You're not an idiot." "I see idiots every day." "You're not even close." "You okay?" "Where did you go?" " Can I ask you something?" " Shoot." "What was it like when she died?" "Who, Dina?" "Yeah, I mean, what did it feel like?" "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have said anything." "Sometimes I just think things and then say them." "Did you know Dina?" "No." " No?" " She was older than me." "I mean, I saw her on the TV and everything, but I didn't know her." "Yeah, you're..." "Yeah." " I'm real sorry." " Don't be." "There's no shame in dying." "All rise." "I am going to rule against summary dismissal." "Please clear my calendar and schedule a hearing for first thing Friday morning." "Thank you." "Hello?" "She's usually blowing me off, but eventually..." "Girl, you need a day at the spa." " Yeah, I don't see that happening..." " The beautician, the mani, the pedi the whole thing." " Hello, Kate." "One to 10, how's your pain?" " Six." " Six?" " All right, let's take care of that." " Got a minute?" "She's feeling pretty good today." "Sara, these lucid moments are gonna get briefer and further apart." "Kate's in system failure now." "Body defenses are at zero." "The fevers Kate's been getting, it's infection from the dialysis." "And it's not just in her arm or leg, it's in her blood." "I wanna see how." "I'm sorry, Sara, this is it." "We're at the end." "Dr. Chance?" "What is it, princess?" "No good, huh?" "No." "How long?" "It's hard to say." "But if nothing changes not too long." ""Not too long"?" "Not too long what?" " Will it hurt?" " No." "I'll make sure of that." "Listen, I don't wanna hear talk like that, okay, honey?" "You just stay strong enough for surgery, okay?" "Okay, Mom." "Sara, let's take a walk." "Let me introduce you to someone." "This is Miss Swearingen, our home health aide." " Hi, how are you?" " Good, how are you?" "I'm good, thank you." "Have you spoken to the Make-A-Wish people?" "What is this?" "What is this, the "quality of life" speech?" "Mrs. Fitzgerald, you might want to consider taking Kate home." " No." " Making her comfortable managing her pain." " No hospices." "What?" "You think we should take Kate home to die?" "What do you want me to say, Sara?" "It's an option." "Look, I know you don't listen to anybody, but it's our job to tell you." "Death is a normal process of life." "You need to acknowledge that." " No, I don't." "Who is this broad?" " Have you spoken to Kate?" " You know what she wants?" " I don't care what anybody wants." " We're doing the operation." " What operation, Sara?" "You have an unwilling donor." "The hospital won't even allow it anymore without a court order." "You think we don't know what's going on here?" "Your daughter is dying, and you might want to spend some quality time with her." " Lookit, sister..." "I did it." "They look wonderful." "Don't touch them." "I gotta go." "Going to work." " Bye." " Bye." "I'll be back." "Hey, Mom?" "Do you know that Minnesota is known as The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes?" "Well, Montana's got, like, a million times that." "No, I didn't know that." "Hi." "Hello." "What are you here for?" "The free cocktails." "Right." "Happy hour." "I'm Taylor." "AML." "Kate." "APL." " A rarity." " Yeah, right?" " You're in remission?" " Today, anyway." " Chemo?" " Yeah." "So, what do you do when you're not here at the hospital?" "Nothing." "Just wait for something that makes me come back." "Well, then maybe we could hang together sometime?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Can I get your phone number?" "Okay." "Thanks." "Thanks, Mom." "I'm Taylor, by the way." "Sara Fitzgerald." "Nice to meet you." "Okay, Taylor." "You're out of here." "555 0173." "Well, I gotta go." "I'll call you, Kate." " So, what do you think?" " Girl, that boy is fine." "I know, right?" "So do you think he'll call?" "I don't know, baby, I..." "Hello?" "Okay, I just wanted to make sure you didn't give me a bogus number." "The radiation, which ultimately put Kate into remission worked its magic by wearing her down." "Taylor Ambrose, a drug of an entirely different sort worked his magic by building her up." "I don't think that we can actually make it tomorrow so do you mind picking her up?" " I can totally pick her up." "Hi." "How are you?" "No, just eating dinner." "You?" " Who was that?" " Oh, that's her new boyfriend, Taylor." "What?" "She has a boyfriend?" "They go to Borders together and read books." "And it's really dorky." " Do you wanna see a picture?" " Yes." "Hand me the bag, please." "The chicken." "Watch the chicken, please." "He's actually a really good kid." "I like him." "Thank you." "Oh, wow." "He's, like, really good." " Cute, right?" " Yeah." "Hey!" "You did good, Katie!" " What's the matter?" " Nothing." "She's home." "I can taste your Cytoxan." "I'm sorry." "No, it's okay." "I kind of like it." "Besides they told me yesterday I'm relapsing." "I start chemo next week." "Maybe it'll save me a dose." "I had a really good time." "Me too." "Are you awake?" "I am now." "So how was it?" "Was it great?" "We kissed." "You kissed?" "What was it like?" "Was it sexy?" "Was it gross?" " Was there a lot of tongue?" " No." "It was nice." "How did you know what to do?" "I don't know." "I just did." "He has scars on his hands from graft-versus-host." "I could feel them when we were holding hands." "Was that weird?" "It was kind of like we matched." "Hello." " Hi." " Hey." "How far into it are you?" "Just started." "A hundred bucks says you won't make it till 3 without tossing your cookies." "You're disgusting." "Such a slacker." "Don't you have anywhere to be?" "No, nowhere." "And what are you doing?" "You're trying to weasel your way out of the bet?" "I'm trying to spare you." "Although..." "Okay." "Okay." "Here." "Sorry." "What are you talking about?" "Tomorrow it could be me." "Here." "No." "Trust me, you need it." "Trust me." " Fun date, huh?" " Hm." " So you had French fries for lunch, huh?" " You're disgusting." "And you lost the bet, pay up." "I don't have any money." "I'll pay you in sexual favors." "That's..." "That's just great." "Why don't we ask your mom about that?" "Keep it up and your next date will be during a bone-marrow aspiration." "Just joking." "Yeah, I hope so." "I hate you." "I really hate you." "Hey so the hospital it throws this dance for sick kids." "It's really dorky." "It's done like a regular prom." "With a band and tuxes and punch spiked with platelets and last year I went stag and it was really dumb." "But I was thinking well, you're a patient and I'm a patient, and maybe we could..." "We could go together." " It's a little low, don't you think?" " You look like a banana." "I think it's very nice." "Very modest." " And it does cover up a lot of cleavage." " Really?" "Will it cover this?" "Oh." " Kate." " Let's go." "You're angry." "Doesn't mean you have to take it out on the world." "She's a bitch." "Did you see her looking at my scarf?" " Maybe she liked the pattern." " Really?" " Yeah." " That dress sucked anyway." "It was awful." "You know what?" "I'm not going." "I'm never gonna find a stupid dress anyway." "Don't you think that every girl going feels the same way?" "I don't care about any other girl." "I just wanted to look good, really good, for one night." "What?" " Are you ready?" " Okay, ready!" "Come here." "Hurry, quick." "She's coming down." "Oh, my God." " There she is!" " Oh, my God." "That is just so beautiful." "Look how beautiful." "Doesn't she look beautiful?" "Wait, stay right there." "Don't come down." " Honey, you look so beautiful." " No, she looks pretty." "Okay, wait, wait, wait, stop." "Can you just come down?" "I wanna see your guys'..." "Wait." "Kate, go back up the stairs for a second." "I wanna see you coming down with your hands." "Can you look this way, Taylor?" "Excellent." "Wait, hold on, hold on, here we go." "Wait, I wanna get a Polaroid too." "Hold on." "Kate?" "Can I see your face?" "Oh, excellent." "Okay, right there." "If you guys wanna stand right there." "There we go." " Ready?" "Okay, yes, stand right there." " I didn't get enough pictures." " One more, okay?" " You're kind of blocking it, sweetheart." " Can you just step...?" " I got it." " Kelly, you're in the picture." " Mom." "I can't see them." "Listen, you guys stand like you're at prom." " You know..." " Yeah, let me see that corsage." " Sweetie, but can I just see...?" " Say cheese!" " There we go." "Excellent." " Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "Oh, sweet!" " That's so..." " Stop." "Yeah, looks good." "I like it." "Mom." "Mom, please." "It's enough, okay?" " I need to document this moment, okay?" " No, wait." "Just in front." "There you..." "Oh, my God, that's so cute." "All right." " Kate, Kate." " Oh, my God." "Okay, let me just get a Polaroid of it too." "Wait, you got some." "Sweetheart." " Hey, hold on." " Oh, honey." "Do I look pretty, Daddy?" "You ready?" "Have some fun." "I love you, Daddy." "Honey, turn around." "Can I see...?" " Right there." " Taylor, Taylor." "Do you wanna get out of here?" "Yeah." "Where?" "I know a place." "Oh, my God!" "Oh, my God, I'm gonna fall!" "I'm gonna fall." "Taylor!" "You ever think about dying?" "Not really." "You're not scared?" "No." "If I didn't have cancer, I never would have found you." "So yeah, I'm glad I'm sick." "Me too." "You okay?" "Yeah." "It's been three days, Mom." "He won't return my calls." "I leave messages and he won't call me." " Did you guys get into a fight after the prom?" " No." "Well, maybe he's busy, you know?" "Maybe he went out of town for an emergency?" "Maybe it has nothing to do with you." "We did it, okay?" "We did it and now he won't call me back." " You did it?" " That's right." " What do you mean, "did it"?" "You did "it" it?" " No, but we did some stuff, okay?" " "Stuff"?" "What kind of stuff?" " Mom, I don't wanna talk about it with you." "I just told you because I'm mad." " Alice." " Yeah, Sara?" "Taylor, have you seen him?" "What?" "I was sure somebody had told you." "Stop the bus!" "Stop the bus!" "Stop!" "Tell him to stop that bus!" "Hey, stop the bus, dude!" "Come on!" "Goddamn it!" "When I got home I wondered how much trouble I'd be in." "Buddy?" "What are you doing up?" " Can't sleep?" " I just..." "I can't sleep." "Look, I'm gonna go to the hospital, spend the night with your sister." "You wanna come?" "All right." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Sure, let me just..." "I'm gonna get a coffee, get yourself ready." "Hey, bud." "Everything okay?" "Yeah." "What?" "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "You really think you're gonna win?" "You really expect the judge to take Anna's kidney against her will?" "Well, there's precedent." "There's Hart v. Brown, Masden v. Harrison Strunk v. Strunk." " I know." "Besides, the court should just mind their own business." "Why?" "What's your point?" " Don't start that shit." " What?" " I'm your sister." " What shit?" "I'm behind you, no matter what." "I'll do whatever, and I do." "I'm just not sure you're seeing the big picture." "What big picture, Kel?" "Spit it out." "I know it's important for you to feel like you never gave up." "I mean, who are you if you're not this crazy bitch mother fighting for her kid's life, right?" "But there's, like, a whole world out there." "You don't see any of it, nothing." "Sooner or later, you..." "You gotta stop." "You gotta let go." "I can't." "How's she doing?" "She's exhausted." "Dialysis really wiped her out." "KATE I wanna go to the beach." " What did you say, baby?" " She wants to go to the beach." "It's the damnedest thing." "She's been talking about it all day." "Dad, he's here." "You have to count to what, five?" "Well, you're not counting." " You gotta count." " One, two, three, four, five." "Okay." "All right, sweetheart." "All right, you beat me." "How's our girl?" "Well, she wants to go to the beach." "The beach, huh?" "I'm not sure that's a bad idea." "She is not gonna be any sicker at the beach than she is here." "It might even be good for her." " Not too dangerous then, huh?" " I don't think so." "She was dialyzed yesterday and she has no scheduled treatments until Friday." "Um, how do I do this?" "I mean, just get her up and walk her out of here, or?" "Discharge her for the day." "The insurance company will definitely not approve this so we'll have to re-admit through emergency." "But if she happened to be there at, let's say, 7:00 I just might be there to meet her." "Okay." "It's one day." "Kate's been through the wringer, so if it's not gonna make her any worse I say take the kid to the beach." " Hey, Dad, what's going on?" " Hey." "What?" "Oh, my God!" "Get your stuff." "March in, march out." "One minute." " Hey." "What's going on?" " We're going to the beach." " You're going to the beach?" " Get your bikini." " Kate?" "Kate, what are you doing...?" " Mama, please." "Don't..." "Wait a second, what is she doing out of the hospital?" "Brian!" "Brian!" "It'll kill her!" "Give me the keys, I'm taking her back to the hospital." "Give me the keys, Brian!" "Let..." "Give me!" " Are you insane?" "You trying to kill her?" " I talked to Chance." "I don't give a shit who you talked to!" "You are killing her!" "You understand?" "Take her to the beach, you kill her!" " Come on." " No, please." " Come on, sweetie." "It's okay." " No, please, please!" " Don't do this." " See how upset she is?" "See what you're doing?" " I'll call cops." " Do what you gotta do." " Last 14 years I've let you have it your way." " Last 14 years have been about saving her!" " Today is not about you." " You want to undermine that?" " It's about Kate." " It is." "She wants to go to the beach." " Lf you'd like..." " She's gonna die!" " Better come, if you don't, I want a divorce." " A divorce?" "Great!" " Good." " You got a fucking divorce!" "We're divorced, Mommy and me are divorced." "Sit in the car." "In the car." " No." "Anna!" " In the car!" "Brian." " Give me the keys!" "This is ridiculous!" " Stop." "You're gonna regret this, Brian." "You understand?" "You're gonna regret this!" "Brian!" "Katie, sweetie, you gotta go back to the hospital!" "I don't suppose there's any way around this without a hearing?" " I'm afraid not, Your Honor." " Any housekeeping issues?" "Open motion?" "Rule of witness?" "Okay, let's get started." "The court calls Dr. Kenny Chow." " The doctors talked for what seemed like forever." "They said that Kate was a miracle." "She should have never made it past 5 years old." "They talked about the psychological benefits of donation and how losing my kidney would affect the quality of my life." "They all said that nothing was their fault, and it was a very complex problem." "When put to the test most everyone thought that I should give Kate my kidney." "But they also said that I was too young to understand the situation fully." "And none of them could say at what age I would be able to understand." "All in all, they were like me, pretty confused." "But can you tell us one single benefit that Anna has received from any of these procedures?" "Yes." "She got to save her sister's life." "The court calls Brian Fitzgerald." "Hello?" " Hey, it's me." " Hey." "What's going on?" "I don't know if I can do this anymore, sissy." "It's gonna be okay." "Do you hear me?" "I promise." "Who you talking to?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Mrs. Fitzgerald, how old was Anna when she started donating to her sister?" "She was a newborn." "And at 5, she started donating lymphocytes, is that correct?" "Mm-hm." " What does that involve?" " Giving blood." " Did Anna agree to that?" " No, she was 5." "So you didn't ask her if they could stick the needles in her arm?" "I asked her to help her sister, and she agreed." "Really?" "Didn't two nurses have to hold Anna down because she was fighting so hard?" "Mm-hm." "So she didn't completely agree, now, did she?" "Mr. Alexander, it's just us chickens." "No showboating, please." "I'm sorry, Your Honor." "Force of habit." "Mrs. Fitzgerald, how old was Anna the next time she was hospitalized?" " When Kate was 9, she got a..." " That's not what I asked." "I want to find out what happened to Anna when she was 6." " She donated granulocytes." " And what's that?" "More needles?" "Yup." "And did you ask Anna if she was willing to donate the granulocytes?" "Her sister needed them." "She was the only match." "But did you ask her?" "Mrs. Fitzgerald, answer the question, please." "No, I didn't." "We talked about it a lot, but no, I didn't ask her permission." "Next was the bone-marrow aspiration." "Could you describe that procedure for us?" "They put needles into Anna's hips." " Into the bone?" "Big needles?" " Yes." "Mm-hm." "Using your hands, would you indicate to the court the size of those needles?" "It's a tough procedure, am I right?" "Anna had to be hospitalized afterward." " Yes." " For how long?" "Six days." "There were some complications." "I see." "You add it all up, it's not so innocuous, is it?" "It's tough to hear it all hashed out that way." "I don't see the point." "Court's well aware of the family's medical history." "Of Kate's history, Your Honor, but not of Anna's." "Fair enough." "Proceed." "Mrs. Fitzgerald, looking back and only taking into account Anna's well-being do you think it's reasonable to conclude that you might have taken this too far?" "Looking at only Anna's situation yes, it is." "But I have to think about my entire family." " But Kate comes first?" " Kate's sick." "So this is a triage situation." "Compromising one child's health on behalf of the other." "Where's the line?" " For Kate, it's life or death." " Not for Kate, for Anna." " She's why we're here." " That's a trick question." "Because Anna isn't the only person in this equation." "And if we were looking at it only from Anna's situation, sure, it is brutal." "I mean, who wants to be stuck and poked and prodded by needles?" "And you can look at me and you can say how awful I am for doing that to my child." "You know what?" "It is awful." "But it's not as awful as putting your child in the ground." " You stand up for your family." " It's my job." " And you stand up for Kate." " I do." "But the real question is:" "Who stands up for Anna?" "Nothing further, Your Honor." "Mr. Alexander, does your dog have to go to the bathroom?" "No, Your Honor, but I may need a recess." "I'm afraid that's out of the question." "I wanna finish today." "Next witness, please." "The court calls Anna Fitzgerald." "I mean it." "If you can't control your animal, I'll have him removed." " Quiet, Judge." " Excuse me?" "No, no, I was speaking to the dog." "The dog's name is Judge." "I don't care what his name is, I want him quiet." "Raise your hand." "Do you swear to tell the truth, whole truth, nothing but the truth?" " Yup." " Please state your name for the record." "Anna Fitzgerald." " Hey, Mom." " Hi, sweetheart." "You wanna tell us why we're here?" "Why you're doing this?" "For medical emancipation." "That's not what I mean." "You love your sister, right?" "You know she's sick." "Why won't you help her?" "What are you doing in there?" "Come on, Kate, just let me in!" "What's going on?" "It smells like booze in here." " Having a little party." " A party?" "Yeah, a going-away party." "See you, Mom!" "Goodbye, fucking hospital!" "Damn!" "What are you doing?" "I'm going to see Taylor." "What?" "No!" "No!" "No!" "So you're here for medical emancipation?" "Right." "Yes." "Is that it?" " Is that the only reason?" " That's the only reason." "Are you sure?" "Hold, please." "Mr. Fitzgerald, is there something you wanted to say?" "I don't know, is there?" "Hey." "Okay." "All right, that is the last time." "If you do not control him, I'm going to have the bailiff remove him." "I mean it." " Your Honor..." " Not another word, counselor." "Proceed, please." " I just want to be in charge of my own body." " No, you don't." "Down." " You want me to do something about this?" " No, leave it." "It's kind of interesting." "Okay, so you want to be in charge." "Yeah." "It's my body, I want to be able to make my own decisions about what to do with it." "No." "No, I know you, Anna Fitzgerald, and that's not it." "It doesn't add up." "For a week now you've been avoiding the question." ""I can't tell you. " "I'm sorry. " "I don't wanna talk about it. "" "You've been walking around like nothing's wrong while your sister rots in that hospital!" " I don't wanna do it anymore." " I don't believe you." " You are hiding something, Anna." " I'm not." "People give their kidneys to total strangers." " You'd better start talking right now." " I'm talking!" " You start telling me the truth." " I am!" "You're not." "Because if you are, I don't know you." " Jesus Christ, Anna, just tell them." " You shut up!" " Tell them!" " You promised me you wouldn't do this!" "Tell them!" " God, you people are so stupid!" " You promised!" " Kate wants to die!" " Stop it!" "She's making Anna do all this because she knows she's not gonna survive." " That's a lie, Jesse!" " Oh, no, it's not!" "Kate's dying and everybody knows it." "You just love her so much that you don't want to let her go." "Your Honor?" "But it's time, Mom." "Kate's ready." "That's not true." "Kate would have told me." " Your Honor, I..." " Mom, she did tell you." "She did." "She told you a million times." "You didn't wanna hear it." "Mr. Alexander." "Mr. Alexander." "Right then, I understood the real reason why Campbell Alexander took on my case." "It wasn't for the notoriety." "He was an epileptic." "He knew what it was like to not have control over his own body." "Anna?" "Sissy." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Don't worry." "It's just the new medicine getting ready for the kidney." "You in pain?" "Pain?" "My whole life is a pain." "This is the end, sissy." "It just gets scarier from here on out." "Mom's gonna chop me and cut me till I'm a vegetable." "Two cells in a Petri dish that she shocks with an electric cord." "You'll be all right." "It's over." "Time to go." "I need you to do me a favor, sissy." "What favor?" "You can release me." "Are you certain you don't wanna take the rest of the day off?" "Oh, no, Your Honor." "I'm fine." "Anything for a recess, right?" "So, Anna, for the record." "Did you tell Kate you would stop being a donor so that she could die?" " Yeah." " And what did she say?" "Mom and Dad are gonna kill me." "What am I supposed to tell them?" "Tell them you're important too." "Tell them you wanna play soccer." "Tell them you wanna cheerlead." "They'll never believe me." "Yeah, they will." "And you wanna know why?" "Because it's the truth." " Oh, boy." " I know." "You scared?" "No." "I know I'll be okay." "What do you think happens?" "I mean, where do you go?" "I don't know, baby." "But who knows?" "Wherever it is, maybe I'll run into Taylor." "Will you wait for me?" "What?" "If you go anywhere crazy, will you wait?" "I mean, how will I know how to find you?" "If you're ever lost or scared go to Montana." " Montana?" " Yeah." "That's where I'll be." "Okay." "What did she say, Anna?" "She said, "Thanks. "" "All right, I think I have enough information but before I make my decision, I'd like to visit Kate, if that's all right." "It's hard to say." "It takes from anywhere between 24 and 48 hours or so." "WOMAN Radiology therapist to Room 231." "Radiology therapist to Room 231." " Hey, sweetheart." "How you feeling?" " Hey." " Hi." " Hi, sweetie." " Hi." "Hey, you look good." "You do." " Hi." "Look, I got you this book, okay?" "It's full of guided meditations, visualizations, healing stuff." " Really good for you, okay?" " Okay." " Hey." " Hi." " Keep fighting." " Okay." "A lot of living to do, okay?" " All right, promise me?" " Promise." " Promise?" " Promise." "Hey, you let the cat out of the bag, you naughty boy." "I didn't know what else to do." " I'm sorry." " Hey." "Hey, you know what you did?" "You know how brave you are?" " How about some pizza?" " I'm up for that." " Definitely." "Definitely." " Yeah." " Good timing." " I'll get the pizza." " Yeah, Anna wants a slice." " I'm just gonna pass it out." " There's cheese..." " There's an idea." "And pepperoni and everything." "You guys want cheese, right?" " Anna wants a piece." " Of cheese, pepperoni?" " I want pizza and 7UP." "Thank you." "You've just gotta tell yourself you're gonna get better." "Tell your brain to heal yourself and work on it while you're sleeping." " Okay." " I'm not kidding." " No, I will." "I promise." " Okay." "Subconscious mind is a really powerful thing." "Yeah, you know, it's like this lady I saw on TV." "She would talk to her cancer cells and ask them to go away." "And eventually they did." "I did not make this up, this is true." " "Go away, cancer cells. "" " Yeah, like that." " "Out. "" " Speaking more sincerely than that." " What about that prisoner story?" "Prisoners are in there for 10 years and practicing their invisible golf swing." "They practice, and see it in their mind so by the time they get out, boom, they're scratch golfers." "It's true." "I've even heard about those mothers the ones who get supernatural power and they can lift up a car and save their babies." "It's amazing." " Miracles happen every day." " That's right." "This world isn't made up of science and medicine." "There are powerful things out there that none of us can understand." " Read the book." " There's more over here." " We'll read the book." " I promise, I'll read the book." "Sorry, guys, everybody's gotta go." "Visiting hours are over." " Seriously, out." " We just got here." "We just gotta eat." "I'm personally starving." "See you really soon, okay?" "Come on." "Hey, guys?" "I love you all, but could you go home?" "I need some time with Mom." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Let's go." "Come on." "You don't wanna talk?" "Nope." "Are you mad at me?" "I'm not mad at you, I'm just mad." "You gotta get some rest, okay?" "You be strong for surgery." "I made this for you." "What is it?" "It's everything." "It's us." "It was a good one, wasn't it?" "The best." "Remember that summer when I went away to camp?" "And I was so scared that I'd miss you guys." " Yeah." " Before I got on the bus you told me to take a seat on the left side right next to the window so I'd be able to look back and see you there." "I remember." "I get the same seat now." "It's gonna be okay." "It's gonna be okay, Mom." "I promise." "My sister died that night." "I wish I could say that she made some miracle recovery but she didn't." "She just stopped breathing." "And I wish I could tell you that there was some good that came out of it that through Kate's death we could all go on living." "Or even that her life had some special meaning like they named a park after her, or a street or that the Supreme Court changed a law because of her." "But none of that happened." "She's just gone a little piece of blue sky now." "And we all have to move on." "A few days later, I got a surprise visitor." "Hi." "Somebody here wants to see you." "Hey, Judge." "Hello." "I brought this for you." "We won." "You still have to do your homework and go to bed when your parents tell you to but you're now officially medically emancipated." "Ninety-percent success rate, right?" "Ninety-one." "Well I suppose I should go." "Thanks for stopping by, Mr. A. It was really good to see you." "You too." "If there's ever anything else you need you know?" "Okay." "Judge." "Life is different now." "A lot has changed in the last few years." "Mom went back to work, rebuilt her practice and is now making a very nice living." "Dad took an early pension and now spends time counseling troubled inner-city youths." "And Jesse's doing best of all." "After Kate died, he turned his life around." "He went back to school and got himself a scholarship to a fancy art academy in New York." "And even though we've grown up and moved away every year, on Kate's birthday, we all take a vacation together and it's always to the same place." "I'll never understand why Kate had to die and we all got to live." "There's no reason for it, I guess." "Death's just death, nobody understands it." "Once upon a time I thought I was put on Earth to save my sister." "And in the end, I couldn't do it." "I realize now that wasn't the point." "The point was, I had a sister." "She was fantastic." "One day, I'm sure I'll see her again." "But until then our relationship continues."