Our chairman and I were at a conference together. We arranged to meet for breakfast with our CFO and corporate attorney. I said "Jackie doesn't have any more time, she needs a transplant NOW, and I can't get her in without a down payment of $68,000. Can you help me?" The answer was a surprising "Yes!"

Of course, the CFO starts figuring out how to make this work with the law suit and all, but the key was I would be able to get Jackie in. We just knew this was our only hope.

I was floating. I called Jackie to tell her the good news. It was mixed good news for her. She was naturally scared of the treatment -- who wouldn't be scared of something that kills 5% to 10% of the people that get it? But, she was also relieved. We didn't have the money, but we could probably have triple mortgaged our house, cashed in retirement plans, and borrowed still more. But, Jackie had said that she wouldn't let me do that. She wasn't about to bankrupt Lauren and me to finance her medical treatment.