Thanks, Mom!

Mother's Day is coming up soon. So make your plans to honor your mother. Might I humbly suggest, in lieu of needlepoint cushions saying "Moms Mean Love" or whatnot, that you consider joining the National Marrow Donor Thanks Mom Campaign? www.marrow.org "What better way to say “Thanks, Mom” for giving you life? Share that gift of life with another!"

Here's how to join the registry: marrow.org/Join_the_Donor_Registry You'll be sent a cheek swab kit to send back, from which they will be able to type you and potentially match you. Online registration costs $52 to pay for the tissue-typing. It's that freakin' easy, y'all.

My donor saved my life. She didn't have to. Probably had a hundred more important and seemingly-interesting things to do with her time and 52 bucks. That's a chunk of lattes, a bill payment...or even a nice needlepoint cushion for a special lady. But she did it, and now I'm here. Another Mother's Day with my Bambina. Courtesy of a stranger who said, "What the hell; why not?" My immune system is hers; every blood cell I grow is hers. My stem cells, the building blocks of my whole world, are hers. She is as much a part of my life as my own family, because I'm living and breathing because of her. A person who was under no obligation to sign up for anything, but did it anyway.

When I finally do get to meet my donor, I WILL kiss her, germs be damned. And I just might kiss her mother too.