Posted on 08/06/2005 7:51:38 AM PDT by wagglebee
VIRGINIA BEACH — When Maria Alexandra Nara met Bill Arndt in 1997, they were nervous and not sure what to say. After a few minutes, the conversation flowed and their excitement was almost electric.
Today as Nara walks down the aisle toward her future husband, Arndt will be all smiles – and some tears, he admits – even though he’s not the groom.
The events that would bring the two together began in January 1996. Nara, who goes by Alex, was 22 and seriously ill. She lived in Kempsville and needed a kidney transplant. Dialysis had been part of her life since she was almost 16, her health declining as her name bounced on and off transplant lists.
“I was tired,” Nara, 32, said. “I wanted something to happen soon.’’
On Jan. 17, 1996 , tragedy struck William D. Arndt’s life. His 10-year-old son , William D. “Billy” Arndt Jr. , was handling a gun that went off accidently. Billy was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where his father and the family’s pastor prayed for a miracle .
“The doctors finally came to me and said he’d never come out of the state he was in,” Arndt, 45, recalled. “So I had to make a decision … and I decided to donate his organs.”
Nara was picked to receive Billy’s kidney.
It was the luck of the draw that she and Billy lived in South Hampton Roads, said Dr. Richard Hurwitz , chief executive officer of LifeNet, a nonprofit agency that handles organ and tissue donation in Virginia and who also performed Nara’s operation.
Nara received Billy’s kidney on Jan. 18, 1996.
She wanted to meet the family of the donor.
“I wanted to thank the people responsible for giving me a new life,” she said.
It’s not uncommon for organ donors or recipients to want to communicate, Hurwitz said. Many patients are encouraged to write donor families, but the general rule is anonymity. Donor families and organ recipients are allowed to meet only after a series of monitored letters and at least a year has passed.
When Arndt got his letter in 1997, he said he wanted to meet Nara to “see what kind of person she was.
“I wanted to see if I could feel my son’s presence with Alex. And needless to say, I was overwhelmed at how nice of a person she was, and I could feel him there.”
Their initial meeting led to others and eventually trips to Billy’s grave , Nara said.
“Bill was wonderful,” she said. “He embraced me and told me everything I wanted to know about Billy.”
The two fell out of touch in 1997 after Arndt moved to Maryland.
Nara said she wanted to stay in touch, but she also wanted to be sensitive to Arndt’s loss.
''I just didn’t want to be a burden.”
And she wasn’t.
Arndt, who now lives in Moyock, said Nara’s presence in his life had a healing effect, and he was more than excited to hear from her earlier this year. Nara was engaged and wanted Arndt at the wedding.
Not only did she request Arndt’s presence, but she wanted him to speak before they exchanged vows. Once Nara found out Arndt had a young daughter, she asked if Michaela Arndt could be her second flower girl.
“It was all so awesome,” Arndt said. “I thought the speaking part was great in February when she asked, but I’m not so sure now because I’m still trying to write down some of my notes.”
Nara said she’s not quite sure what he’s going to say.
“Whatever he says, I already know I’ll be a mess,” Nara said.
Arndt said he plans on telling the wedding guests that the experience has been an emotional roller coaster, but he’s a better man for it. He said he wants people to know how much he cherishes the gifts of life and love he has received over the past nine years.
“And that’s what I’ll end with,” Arndt said, “I’ll tell them we’re here because of the gift of life and from the gift of life comes the gift of love.”
What a wonderful man.
Ping.
You may like this.
Sweet Story Ping...
Oh man ... you should have put a tissue warning in the title
Beautiful story .. thanks for posting it
It is a great story. And organ donation is a great thing. The only problem is doctors who seem willing to take a knife to some humans after they are conceived--see abortion, embryonic stem cell research--or will gladly off some before they die--see Terri Schiavo. If I thought I could trust 'em, I'd sign the donor card...
Alex Nara is proof positive that God can make something good out of something bad. May God bless her marriage, and bless Mr Arndt and his family.
Wow, what strong people...God bless them.
Wish more folks would see life for the gift that it is. :)
And to think, all this time I never knew you had a soft spot. :)
Shhhh~!
You swore you wouldn't tell.
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