Meet the Man who saved my life

Still High

I am still floating from last Monday in Manhattan and the meeting with my kind and generous bone marrow donor.

I am still letting those emotions wash over me, sometimes in the foreground, sometimes on center stage in the theater of my remembering.

Soon I will need to fit the encounter into the rest of my life, make plans, move on.

But for now it still lives on top of a mountain, untouched my the mundane, casting its transcendent light in all directions.

For now I am still soaking it all up. And loving it.

Meeting my donor

I am just back from an incredible fundraising event in NYC for Ezer Mizion, the amazing international bone marrow marrow registry that found my donor. The are an incredible force for good, a wonderful non-profit.

I was the keynote speaker at the gathering.

Amazing amazing amazing. Emotionally wasted and physically exhausted from the fabulous time.

I MET MY DONOR- a young very conservative, very orthodox, very religious man of 23, newly wed, an Israeli rabbinic student, quiet and loving. A wonderful person who talked about how his world was changed by his life saving gift

Despite our near identical genetics, we don't very much look alike, although our coloring is similar, He is small boned, delicate, with a serious and caring demeanor. We both of course come from eastern European stock, but our family backgrounds are very different. We spent hours together talking at this gorgeous 7 story townhouse on the upper east side of Manhattan.

The 50 or so people there were all friendly and interesting and very generous.

Everyone said that my speech went very well. I was crying so it was hard for me to judge. My wife and daughter, Heather were also crying. All the men in the room were crying. Everyone was crying. Then they surprised me and brought out my donor, and I cried more and everyone cried way more. Lots of crying.

We raised a ton of money last night for Ezer Mizion. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that thousands of lives will be saved.

Meeting my donor wasn't like getting married or seeing your child for this time, but it was up there.

I am a very lucky man.

It was a very special day, full of love and healing.

More later. I need a shower and a nap.