Paul Rivers

Grew Up... smoking, drinking, and taking poor care of his body. Despite this, he went to college and became a successful mathematics professor.

Living… on counted time. Paul has a fatal heart condition, and has been given a month to live – unless he can receive a heart transplant. Paul has completely given up on life and bitterly accepts his seemingly inevitable death. Mary, his wife, wants him to freeze his sperm so that she can still have his child. Paul is hesitant to do this and says, “It’s like we’re trying to put a band-aid on something that’s just been bled dry.”

Profession… mathematics professor. Paul is very skilled and a hot commodity at his university. When his illness became terminal, sadly, Paul could no longer work.

Interests… poetry, redemption. Although, nowadays Paul has interest in everything.

Relationship Status… married and constantly fighting. Mary wants him to die with pride, but Paul has already given up. He admits, “We’ve been a fraud for a long time, Mary.”

Challenge… survive his illness. His only hope is for a healthy person to die and donate his organs. Paul is near the top of the list to receive a transplant, but he needs a stroke of luck to make it out of this alive. Of course, “luck” for Paul means that a matching donor must die, and that person’s family will suffer.

Personality… self-reflective, gracious for anything he can get. With death imminently approaching, Paul sinks into his vices – hoping to at least die exactly the way he wants, if nothing else. But if he is given a new lease on life, how will he handle it?