Microstory 128: Donna Belmonte

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The entire population of a small town in Iowa was aware of the fact that Donna Belmonte was a medical marvel. Learning of her ability had sparked a major overhaul of their attitudes. The once dying town was reinvigorated with a desire to stay together. Many volunteered their time and energy into renovating the old and decrepit flour mill. Donna had unwittingly brought everyone closer, and formed a strong community that simply could not be broken. When she was a child, her vermiform appendix became inflamed. Though fairly important to the immunity response to disease, it was technically possible to live without, so hers was surgically removed. Later that week, she went in for a follow-up visit with the doctor who discovered her appendix to be fully intact. It had regrown. Despite hesitation from her family, the doctor began gradual and relatively safe experiments on Donna’s body. Over time, they found it possible to extract any organ from her, and it would grow back on its own before she died from its absence. Furthermore, her blood type was unlike any other seen before. Her brother insisted that they call it Blood Type K, and the name stuck. Her blood and organs were 100% compatible with anyone else’s body. There was not a single case of rejection. As the years went by, Donna was treated like royalty. She was given an unlimited allowance, the nicest house of all, and a team of dedicated guards. When she became a legal adult at the age of 16, she began to pursue her ability at full force, spending the majority of her time in surgery. A group of citizens were charged with transporting her organs across the continent, while another was responsible for making sure that no one noticed that they were all somehow coming from the same person. Amongst protests, Donna joined Bellevue at a time when it was still in its relative infancy. They promised that their resources would allow her to use her gift at its optimum level. Her neighbors were forced to accept her decision, and even ended up abandoning their homes to form new lives in the previously only hypothetical town of Bellevue, with the hotel at its center.