By Rosie K.
Anna Fitzgerald, thirteen years old, always curious about why babies were born, either
to keep the family name sake or to mold a bad marriage together. Scientists used Anna’s
mother’s eggs and father’s sperm to create a specific combination of their genes. They had
Anna in this way so she would be able to save her sister. Anna hires a lawyer so she can get
medical emancipation so she is not forced to donate her kidney. Anna is very guilty for turning
Kate Fitzgerald, sixteen years old, and older sister of Anna’s. At a young age she was
diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Kate basically lived with leukemia all of her life
and handles it very well. She gets a lot of love and support from her family that loves and cares
for her a lot. Her other siblings can also get annoyed that there not all treated equally by their
Jesse Fitzgerald, Oldest fitzgerald child, brother of Kate and Anna. He is very rebellious,
and his parents often do not know what he’s up to or where he is. He plays with matches and
intentionally burns down old warehouses or abandon houses and buildings with a friend. He
abuses drugs and a lot of the time gets away with it. Got attention till four years old then his
sister got leukemia. Jesse usually only comes home to eat and sleep and he lives in a guest
Sara Fitzgerald ,she is a mother of three teens and a wife. Sara desperately cared for her
daughter Kate since she was diagnosed. Although she clearly loves her other children, she give
almost all her attention to Kate, not giving much attention to Jesse nor Anna. Giving so much
attention to Kate it will get to the point that Sara is being callous. She does not mean to be that
way, she just feels like she automatically has to give Kate more attention.
Brian Fitzgerald is the father of Anna, Kate and Jesse. He is a firefighter who spends
a remainder of his time at the firehouse waiting to be called away on another job. Although
barely home he is a very attentive loving father to all his children. Brian can view the situation
from his kid’s perspectives. He is more understanding at times then Sara. Yet Brian can also
escapes into his work to avoid dealing with his sick daughter and the hard times surrounding his
Campbell Alexander is an intelligent attorney Anna hires to get the right of her own
medical emancipation. Caring little about anyone else, he takes on Anna’s case, as he knows
it will give him a lot of publicity. He knows it will take very little effort to win Anna’s case.
Campbell has a service dog, Judge,that you don’t know what for till the end of the book. Julia
Romano is Campbell Alexander’s high school girlfriend. They both had strong feelings for each
other, and those feelings are rekindled when they see each other again after a number of years.
Julia is also the guardian ad litem for Anna. She thinks Anna needs to have some time to think
and get away from her family and her house.
Anna is in desperate need for money and a lawyer. She goes to the pawn shop to sell a locket
of hers and has a hard time parting from it. Her locket means so much to her, since her father
gave it to her after she gave bone marrow to her sister Kate. Anna sells the locket for twenty
dollars. She knows it is worth much more and when she goes to turn around and leave the
pawn shop and take the locket with her, she drops the locket on the counter and puts the
Anna goes to Campbell Alexander’s office and she is desperate for him to defend her for the
right of her own body. She explains to Campbell that the reason her parents had her in the first
place was so that she could donate bone marrow to her older sister Kate. After all the times she
had to give her sister blood or bone marrow she has never had to give up one of her organs.
Campbell realizes that Anna is serious about the law suit and he is going to demand medical
Anna’s parents Sarah and Brain are shocked when they receive the legal papers informing them
that Anna is suing. They soon realize that they are going to need a lawyer. Sara decides she
is going to defend herself. Sara does not really believe that the case will be taken serious nor
go far, she believes that she can talk Anna out of the lawsuit. Also Sarah thinks that Anna just
wants and needs attention so she begins to feel bad.
In court Campbell makes it clear that he wants Anna out of her house since her mother will
be opposing council. The tension between both Anna and her mother result in Anna moving
out of the house to live with her father in the fire station where he works to get space from
Kate, Sarah and Jesse. These decisions are done on advice of Julia Romano, the court appointed
guardian ad litem. Julia’s job is to decide what interests are the best for Anna. Julia again dated
Throughout “My Sister’s Keeper” we see that Anna is guilty for what she is doing and questions
it. Anna would never want to hurt her family. At court we find out why Campbell Alexander
Anna’s lawyer needs a service dog. When Campbell was eighteen he got into a car accident
and now suffers permanent seizures from it. Campbell also reveals that he broke up with Julia
because he did not want to burden her with his seizers. When Julia begins to forgive Campbell
for leaving her, they begin to start a relationship again.
Brian figures out that Jesse is the one starting all the recent fires Brain that he and his men have
to put out. When Brian confronts his son, Jesse begins to tell his father that he felt guilt for not
being the perfect donor match for Kate. Since Jesse felt like he could not rescue his sister he felt
like he had to destroy instead. Jesse from there begins to clean up his act.
Zanne is Sarah’s older sister. Zanne is a high-powered women with no children that focuses
on her career. Sara who could have been a successful attorney like her sister but gave it up to
become a full-time mom. Zanne is there for the family and give both Sara and Brian comfort
and support. She watches Jesse and Anna when Sara has to go to the hospital with Kate and
when Brian goes to work. Sara and Zanne have a unique bond with each other.
The year is 2010, Kate discusses the family grief. Also, after Anna’s death, Brian believed he
could see Anna in the night sky when he looked out of his telescope on top of the fire station.
Sara thought Anna would come back to her as if nothing ever happened. Her mother cried
and her father kept away. Kate explains she began to hate herself. She blamed Anna’s death
on herself. Kate stayed sick for a while after the kidney transplant, but suddenly got better.
The Dr. told Anna medical explanations. Kate believed that it was because someone had to die
and Anna took her place. Kate believed if she started to live her life it would ease some of the
pain. Kate always wondered if Anna was watching every move her family would make. Like
for instance they stayed close to Julia and Campbell and even went to their wedding. Or if she
ever saw Jesse’s graduation from the police academy or the drug bust he helped or witnessed
Brian’s drinking problem and how he eventually got better. Kate was also curious if Anna knew
that she teaches dance now to little girls. One year after Anna’s death Sara returned home
with a roll of development film. The film is from Kate’s high school graduation. One of the last
pictures on the roll of the film showed Anna. Kate and Sara started at the picture puzzled and
until they memorized every detail. Kate is worried that one day it will be hard to remember
Anna. She knows that she can always lift up her shirt and feel the scar from Anna’s kidney. She
says she takes Anna with her, wherever she goes.
Campbell’s dog is going crazy spinning like a helicopter making tight circles around the court
room. The judge tells Campbell to control his dog and he completely ignores him. In the court
room Anna spills that someone convinced her to have the law suit for medical emancipation.
Her parents eyes hammered on to Anna, Julia let out a small gasp and Campbell Alexander put
his hand over his face with disappointment. The entire court room goes quiet when Campbell
asks Anna “who convinced you?” Sitting in her seat she folds her hands onto her lap and she
hears a large bang. When she looks up she notices that Campbell is on the floor and his dog
Judge is just standing there besides Campbell with a look on his face I told you so.
Campbell vomits on the court room rug and starts to coughs his way to consciousness in the
judge’s chamber. Brain helps Campbell change and get situated. When Julia walks in Brian goes
to see if the boys of his fire station filled out a report yet. Julia sticks her hand out for judge to
sniff it and she sits down besides Campbell. He tells her it happen since he was eighteen after
dinner at a country club with his parents on his way to go back to her house. Campbell also tells
him that he will have seizures for the rest of his life and that why he has Judge. Anna meets
Campbell in the men’s room so they can talk. Campbell tells Anna that part of why he took her
case was because he knows what it is like to not have control over your own body. Back in the
court room they proceed with the questions about who made her do this and why. Anna simply
says, Kate wanted me to kill her. Reframing what happened, one day she explains the Kate tried
to kill herself with pills. Then Anna realized she tried before.
In the court room Anna gets the right for her own medical emancipation. On the way to the
hospital Anna rides with Campbell Alexander. She has had been medically emancipated for
a whole half hour now. It’s a raining hard out that day like that day on New Year’s Eve when
Anna was born. At a bad intersection Anna and Campbell Alexander got into a t-bone crash with
a ford-150. The little BMW had no chance against the truck and it plowed through the car’s
passenger side, as if the BMW was made from paper. Anna got a fatal head injury. A respirator
keeps her breathing, she’s brain dead. The doctors ask Sara and Brian if they want to do an
organ donation. Now that Campbell can make medical decisions he looks at Sara and Brian and
says theirs a girl up there that needs that kidney.
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