My Aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious 1 disease．
Aunt Edith doesn’t 2 defeat easily．She began 3 medical reports in the library and found a(n) 4 in a magazine about a well-known heart 5 , Dr．Michael Debakey, of Houston, Texas．He had saved the life of someone with the same disease．The article 6 Dr．DeBakey’s 7 were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t pay 8 ．But could he 9 her of someone whose fee she could pay?
So Aunt Edith wrote to him．She 10 listed her reasons for wanting to live：her three children, who 11 be on their own(自立)in three or four more years, her little-girl dream of traveling and seeing the 12 ．There wasn’t a word of 13 －only warmth and humor and the joy of living．She mailed the letter, not really 14 an answer．
A few days 15 , my doorbell rang．Aunt Edith didn’t 16 to come in; she stood in the hall and read aloud：
Your beautiful letter 17 me very deeply．If you come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation．
Signed：Michael Debakey
That was seven years ago． 18 , Aunt Edith has been around the world．Her three children are happily married．For her age, she is one of the 19 , most alive people I know－all because of an open-heart surgeon who knew how to honor his profession, and how to 20 his own heart．