When Debbie Brown was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on March 3, 2013, her world came crashing down. She hoped that her sisters would be a perfect bone marrow match to do the stem cell transplant, but unfortunately, they were not.
Finally, about one year after the diagnosis, Brown found her perfect match: Lori Ketteler from Colorado.
"I can't think about her without getting emotional. She saved my life," Brown told USA Today. "How do you repay that? How do you ever show the gratitude you feel?"
Brown wanted to thank Lori and requested her donor's information, which is only given out if the donor allows for the release of her info. Ketteler agreed, and the two women began talking on the phone. Finally, Brown asked if she could meet Ketteler in person.
"She was telling me different things about herself and she told me she was getting married," Debbie explained. "And then she just immediately said, 'Do you want to come?' And I was really surprised, so I was like, 'To your wedding?' I just didn't imagine that's how it would happen and she said, 'Yeah!' So, now here I am."
Almost 18 months after Brown received a bone marrow transplant, she finally met Ketteler at a downtown Denver restaurant on Friday. The emotional and heartwarming moment was all caught on cameras.
Although Brown doesn't know how she'll ever repay Ketteler, she hopes their story will inspire more people to donate.
Let's get their beautiful story out to the world, and please SHARE this on Facebook!
