Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
Today is my first Mother's Day without my mom but I feel she had a hand in this truly remarkable weekend.
Most of you do not know but we flew to Washington, D.C. yesterday to meet Matt, Jeff's donor, and his family. We returned home today with memories for a lifetime.
Let me back up and fill you in on some details. Remember, Matt is in the military and was to be stationed in Hawaii till 2010. Around the beginning of April, there was talk of a transfer to the D.C. area for a year. Then a few short days later, the decision was changed to a position in Europe. Matt and his wife need to be in Europe the middle of May and had planned to spend a few days with his parents in a D.C. suburb.
Mary Jo, Matt's mom, and I visit via email and phone at various times. I asked about the possibility of taking a small amount of time during Matt's visit home to have the chance for a face to face meeting. We all had to wait until the military gave Matt some actual dates for passing through D.C. and yesterday was our golden opportunity.
Jeff and Meridith drove to Minneapolis on Friday afternoon while we left after school to head to StL. Then around 8:00 AM, we each flew from our cities and met in Chicago. After a brief layover, we continued on together to D.C. arriving at 2:00 PM.
Mary Jo and her husband, Gary, graciously opened their home to us for a delightful evening of talking in person with the man who saved Jeff's life. Matt, his wife and daughter plus two of his siblings and a niece completed our family circle. We all shared hugs, pictures, questions and answers. It was wonderful to know they were just as anxious to meet Jeff. Back when I had all of you praying for "the donor", his family was praying fervently, too.
Matt's daughter, Stephanie, was telling us about how the military newspaper had written an article about Matt's donation. You could hear the pride in her voice about what her dad had done. Marcia, Matt's wife, was also very giving of the time Matt had to be gone from their home at 2 different times for the testing and donation process.
We learned that at Jeff's six-month post transplant date, Matt received a short note (from either the hospital or the bone marrow foundation) saying "the recipient is doing well". Also, every six months, Matt gets an email questionnaire checking on his own health since the donation process.
Yesterday's weather in the D. C. area was gorgeous and the blooming flowers were beautiful. A perfect setting for the day. The icing on the cake last night was Gary giving a night tour of downtown Washington, D.C. The lit up monuments are absolutely spectacular.
This morning, the four of us left around 8:30 AM. We retraced our flights to Chicago and respective cities, landing around Noon. After some shopping (and Ted Drewes for us!), we have arrived back to our homes safely.
Jeff and Matt have now completed the circle. Our families have grown bigger with learning connections that are amazing. The chance of saying thank you in person that was a dream -- is now a wonderful memory.
Mary Jo and I both commented that this was a Mother's Day like no other and one to be cherished. Our sons were together and both are doing well. We know all your prayers over the years got us to D.C. for this whirlwind weekend . We thank God and you!
love,
Marcia