"Making the Decision"

I decided to change the title of my blogs so that people searching on the internet could read about my experience. I have found a lot of comfort in reading about other people that have gone through a similar experience. There is a ton of good information out there. I feel that it helped me make my decision to do this.

Even though it wasn't hard for me to decide to donate my kidney to a stranger, it's a big decision for some people; especially when you're donating to a stranger. You definitely have to have the support of your family and friends. It's not really something that I talk to my parents much about. It's a conversation that I dreaded having. I knew that they would be worried. I was not looking forward to trying to convince them that I had NOT lost my mind. Surprisingly, they were ok with it. They're concerned, just as I would be for my kids. I understand that part.

I feel that if they knew this family like I've grown to know them, they would know why I was doing this." This are some of the nicest, most genuine, people that I've met in a while. I guess b/c they are so gracious. I never did this to get any kind of thanks or gratitude from anyone. I am doing it simply to help another human being. I'm mainly doing it b/c they have two little boys that won't grow up to see their father without a transplant. How could I not help?

I'm so glad that she wrote in her original email that she had two boys (most of the first emails came from the recipient's wife). That's what drew me in to this family as opposed to the handful of other families that had written me. For those of you that don't know, I met this person on LivingDonorsOnline.org. It's a site that has message boards where you can list your blood type and offer your kidney to anyone that matches. The site will then send you emails if someone tries to contact you. When I first signed up, I got a lot of emails. I am A+ which is a very common blood type. When I opened my email the next day, I had about 15 emails from different families begging for my help. It was heart wrenching. I had to decide which family I wanted to write back. I couldn't make that decision so I wrote all of them back asking what the first step would be. I "took" the one that answered my question. I was looking for that feeling that it was right. I immediately felt this when I got her email. The only thing that I asked was that she send me pictures. I wanted to see who I was talking to. Of course, I sent her pictures of me. After that, the rest was easy.

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