"Kidney Donation-Part 5: I've arrived!"

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.

I had met a guy about my age on the plane. He was sitting next to me. We talked and I told him the story about how I was flying to Pheonix for medical tests b/c I was donating my kidney to a stranger. He was in awe. I think I ended up talking him into considering it himself. It's a very personal decision; that's for sure. Well, he walked with me off the plane and to the place where I was to meet this family. I think he was making sure everything was ok. I thought it was sweet. He stood there while I hugged all of them. I think when he saw her cyring, it made his decision. I could just see that look on his face.

Well, I'm going to make this one short. It's past midnight Shreveport time. So, I'm pretty tired. I'll write more each night to let everyone know how the tests are going. Keep praying for all of us.

Melissa