[英]安杰拉斯特吉尔/Angela Sturgill
我上七年级的时候，在镇上的一家当地医院做义工。夏天，我自愿每周工作30～40个小时。通常，我都跟吉莱斯皮先生在一起。从来都没人探望过他，也没人关心过他的情况。大多时候，我总是握着他的手，跟他说话，帮他做一切需要做的事。他成了我的一个亲密朋友，即使他的反应仅仅是偶尔捏一下我的手。他一直处于昏迷。
我和父母去度假，离开了一个星期。我回来时，吉莱斯皮先生不见了。我没有勇气去问护士他的去向，我害怕他们也许会告诉我，他已经去世了，所以许多问题都没问。我继续利用八年级的时间自愿待在这里。
多年以后，我上高三时，在一个加油站注意到了一张似曾相识的面容。当我认出他时，眼中充满了泪水。他还活着！我鼓起勇气，问他是不是叫吉莱斯皮先生，是否昏迷过五年。他的脸上流露出不确定的表情，他回答了“是”。我解释自己是怎样认识他的，在医院里我花很多时间跟他说话。他的眼中顿时充盈着泪水，他给了我一个我所得到的最温暖的拥抱。他开始告诉我，他昏迷时，能听到我说的话，能感觉到我一直握着他的手。他觉得陪在他身边的人完全是一个天使，而非人类。吉莱斯皮先生坚信是我的声音和抚爱使他活了下来。
之后，他告诉我他身上发生的事，以及他昏迷的原因。我们都哭了，相互拥抱着说了再见，又踏上了各自的路。
虽然自此以后，我再没见过他，但他使我的心每天都充满快乐。我知道，在他徘徊在生死边缘时，我起了特别的作用。更重要的是，他使我的生命有了巨大改变。我永远无法忘记他，以及他为我所做的事：他使我成了一个天使。
When I was in seventh grade，I was a candy striper at a local hospital in my town.I volunteered about thirty to forty hours a week during the summer.Most of the time I spent there was with Mr.Gillespie.He never had any visitors，and nobody seemed to care about his condition.I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him，helping with anything that needed to be done.He became a close friend of mine，even though he responded with only an occasional squeeze of my hand.Mr.Gillespie was in a coma.
I left for a week to vacation with my parents，and when I came back，Mr.Gillespie was gone.I didn’t have the nerve to ask any of the nurses where he was，for fear they might tell me he had died.So with many questions unanswered，I continued to volunteer there through my eighth-grade year.
Several years later，when I was a junior in high school，I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face.When I realized who it was，my eyes filled with tears.He was alive！I got up the nerve to ask him if his name was Mr.Gillseppe，and if he had been in a coma about five years ago.With an uncertain look on his face，he replied yes.I explained how I knew him，and that I had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital.His eyes welled up with tears，and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever received.
He began to tell me how，as he lay there comatose，he could hear me talking to him and could feel me holding his hand the whole time.He thought it was an angel，not a person，who was there with him.Mr.Gillespie firmly believed that it was my voice and touch that had kept him alive.
Then he told me about his life and what happened to him to put him in the coma.We both cried for a while and exchanged a hug，said our good-byes and went our separate ways.
Although I haven’t seen him since，he fills my heart with joy every day.I know that I made a difference between his life and his death.More importantly，he has made a tremendous difference in my life.I will never forget him and what he did for me：he made me an angel.
