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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I'm now on my 2nd full day of testing at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ. Things have been pretty intense the last couple of days. I had heard that they really put potential donors through the ringer and they weren't kidding. To me, the psychiatrist was the hardest part. Her job is to bring up all of the most horrible parts of your past and see how you react to that. Then, to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't donate a kidney to someone. I understand that they have to do that to make sure that I'm not crazy and can handle the pressure.
For now, I don't have any answers. I feel like everything has gone fine so far. But, the tests results won't be in until later in the week. I wanted to add a few pictures that were taken last night when I went to Masud's house to meet some of their closest friends. 
Well, I finally made it to Pheonix. I'm sitting in my hotel room. I met Masud, Sharmin, and their two little boys today at the airport. I spent the rest of the evening with them. We got a rental car, my hotel room, and then went out to dinner. We all had a great time! Here's a picture from dinner below: 
I have to start by telling what happened when I got off the plane though. They were all waiting for me right outside the security checkpoint. When I came around the corner, I could see this tiny woman running towards me. She way crying. It was Sharmin (Masud, the recipient's, wife). Sharmin and I hugged for at least 3 minutes. Behind her was Masud, Fahib (10 yr old son), and Maheeb (4 yr old son). Fahib handed me a teddy bear with a Arizona tshirt on and said, "Thank you so much for coming!" Of course, Masud and I hugged. Then, I hugged the little one. He's adorable. He reminds me a lot of my little one. 
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