Jul 8, 2009 10:11 pm US/Eastern
N4N: Family Meets Their Lifesaver
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A South Florida man who needed a life saving transplant met with the complete stranger who gave it to him. The emotion shortly followed as the two hugged for what felt like ten minutes in front of a crowd of people crying tears of joy; the two are now connected forever thanks to modern medicine.
They met for the first time at a luncheon in honor of Cathy Meyer, a woman from North Carolina. Family and friends of the bone marrow receiver, Dario Martinez, expressed their excitement at the first meeting between Martinez and Meyer, his donor.
"What do you say to someone who saved your life other than, thank you?" Dario Martinez told
CBS4's Jorge Estevez.
"I am overwhelmed. This is wonderful. You obviously had a lot of support," said Cathy Meyer, as she looked at the crowd of Martinez's family members at Don Shula's Steak House in Miami Lakes.
Martinez had plenty of support from his wife, who was by his side months ago when Martinez told CBS4 his survival through a type of Leukemia depended on a bone marrow transplant.
"I am just waiting for a miracle," said Martinez months before receiving the bone marrow transplant. Luckily,
Neighbors 4 Neighbors stepped in to help.
"We were able to financially support his family in a time of need. In addition, our story was able to give him a voice and help him find a bone marrow donor and expedite his citizenship process," said Nicole Maristany, producer for
Neighbors 4 Neighbors, who oversaw the case since the beginning.
Martinez is grateful for all the support.
"They covered this and it created a movement. The whole community got involved. The government and many things worked out and I am here today," said Martinez.
The bravery goes to Meyer, who performed the ultimate selfless act by donating her bone marrow to Martinez—a complete stranger until now.
"I did what I did because I thought it was the right thing to do," said Meyer, who doesn't feel she is a hero. In fact, she only says she was out of work for a day and the process was a piece of cake.
And now his family witnessed a happy time which they can remember forever. "Once you are on a journey like this, you don't take anything for granted," said Martinez, who was one in 12 people who received a transplant that day and is the only survivor.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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