The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Last Sunday, spurred by Deacon Roy Reider’s sermon on prayer, Jeff and I discussed answers to prayers, particularly those that are answered - but not quite in the way you’d hoped or intended.  Jeff said he used to pray that he would become a good speaker and be able to address a large group of people on a topic he knew something about and that would be interesting to an audience.  He laughed and said he felt he could speak about his bone marrow transplant experience to an audience of any size.  He said this fell under the category, “Be careful what you pray for.”  Jeff has an opportunity to test this skill. 

Our plans to meet Jeff’s donor, Nicole, and her family over the Labor Day weekend have been foiled.  We were making plans to meet half way - a six-hour drive for Nicole and a six-hour drive for us - near Raleigh, NC, for a camping trip.  Nicole’s family are outdoorsy plus Jeff hasn’t been camping since his transplant and has decided he misses it.  The idea of the meeting taking place in a quiet campground was appealing. 

Nicole emailed to tell us that she and her husband are buying a house and settlement is August 29^th.  She was very disappointed to postpone the meeting but we are, of course, very happy for her family.  We immediately began looking at dates in October.  We could not camp over the weekend of October 19^th since we are committed to the Light the Night Walk but we were otherwise available.  Nicole would be traveling to Boston in October so she thought maybe a meeting could be arranged around that trip.

Our plans have been foiled again.  The meeting will not take place in Raleigh or Boston or Morrisville but in Paramus, NJ!

On Friday Jeff received a call from Barbie at Gift of Life.  Barbie asked Jeff if he would be willing to meet Nicole and, together with Nicole, lead the Mel Cohen Memorial 5K for Gift of Life on October 6^th!  They would have an opportunity to say a few words and they are to exchange signed photos of each other.  Gift of Life will pay for Nicole to fly from Atlanta and stay in Paramus for two nights and for Jeff to stay one night so they can attend the event and then have an extra day to spend together.  Barbie had already spoken to Nicole who gave her a “yes!”

Jeff thought it was a 5K walk (no problem) only to realize that the event is probably a run and that Nicole will probably leave him in the dust.  He thought he could train in the next two months so that he could jog at least part of it.  On second thought, he decided that since he sometimes cannot feel his feet, running was probably not a great idea.  He plans to buy new sneakers – finding shoes that don’t hurt his neuropathetic feet is tricky – and then walking more regularly in preparation for the event.

We emailed Nicole and arranged a phone date and then emailed our kids to share the good news. On Saturday we waited for the prescribed time for Nicole’s call – I was a little giddy, Jeff more reserved.

Nicole’s enthusiasm was heartening.  It was exciting that Gift of Life’s invitation firmed up our meeting plans so nicely.  We wondered how they chose Jeff and Nicole for this honor.  Nicole said she’d asked Barbie that very question and was told it was her interest in running, possibly because she asked at the time of her donation, “When will I be able to run again?”  I wondered whether it was also because Jeff shares a diagnosis of MDS with Mel Cohen, the man honored by this event.  Mel Cohen was, evidently, a great guy who worked in social services for 30 years (how did he get MDS? I wonder).  Use the Gift of Life link at right to read more about Mel Cohen and this event.

We are a little concerned that our fundraising efforts for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society may be diluted a bit because these two events are only two weeks apart.  We will rely on the generosity of our friends and family and see what we can do for each of these worthwhile organizations.

Prayers of thanksgiving for Gift of Life’s invitation to Nicole and Jeff and for the good work they do in matching patients and donors.