Ties That Bind

A young girl named Sarah receives a heart transplant from a boy her age, and her mother sets off to find out more about the kid who saved her daughter's life. But years later, Sarah's not sure she wants to know. Prologue: Katya and Alla are introduced to each other shortly after moving from Russia to a small town outside of Flint, Michigan. The mutual friend who introduces them figures they're both from Russia, they'll obviously hit it off. They don't. But because they're the only native Russian speakers each one knows nearby, they maintain an awkward friendship for years. (6 minutes) Fred And Barney: Jonathan Goldstein's story about trouble in the Town of Bedrock. One day, when he's backing out of his driveway, Barney accidentally runs over and kills a dinosaur that belongs to his neighbor and best friend, Fred. In the ensuing series of phone messages (performed by Jonathan [as Barney] and contributor David Rakoff [as Fred]), the two friends air some long-simmering grievances in their friendship—which might end it altogether. (14 minutes) This story first aired on Jonathan's CBC radio show, Wiretap. Lucas And Sarah: When Sarah was 10 years old, she got a heart transplant. Soon after, her mother decided to find out more about the person who saved her daughter's life. She discovers the donor was a little boy her daughter's age, and that he'd been murdered by gang members who mistook him for his older brother. The two families begin to connect—everyone but Sarah, who's not at all sure she wants to know anything at all about the boy or the family that lost him. Reporter Jill Wolfson tells the story. (21 minutes) Lucy And The Bike Girl: Lucy, a 28-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis, meets the "Bike Girl," who has the same disease, in an Internet chatroom. They are both, against the advice of friends and doctors, trying to get pregnant, and they find that they have a lot in common. They quickly become friends, but can never meet in person, because the Bike Girl carries a bacteria in her lungs that is toxic to anyone with cystic fibrosis. (9 minutes) Hillary Frank wrote this story, which is a mixture of reported facts and fiction. It was inspired by the Third Coast International Audio Festival's 2007 public audio project, "Dollar Storeys," for which Hillary produced a three-minute version. David And Andi: Dr. David Kalenberger is the head of a fertility clinic in Oklahoma City. Andi Knox is a waitress at Galatoire's restaurant in New Orleans. Andi and her husband have been trying to get pregnant, and had been going to a fertility clinic that was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. One week when David and his wife, Jennifer, are in New Orleans, a friend takes them to Galatoire's, and introduces them to Andi, mentioning that Andi has been trying to get pregnant. Out of the blue, Jennifer suggests that Andi come up to Oklahoma, stay with them, and undergo fertility treatment at David's clinic. They assume she'll never take them up on it. She does. Reporter Scott Gurian tells what happens next. (4 minutes)