Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future."
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That picture is of my best friend, Bobbette, and her kidney donor, Courtney. It was taken a couple days after we all realized just how firmly in God's hands we were being held.
You see, Courtney lives in my hometown of Slidell, LA. She moved there not to long ago. It's not a big town, nothing really notable about it. She lives less than a mile from my grandparents. Last summer, her sister, Leanne, moved there and began working at First United Methodist Church. I spent the first 18 years of my life being raised in that church.
I randomly sat down a few chairs away from a man in the waiting room on the morning of Bobbette's surgery. He has a bag from the Komen 3 Day in Dallas under his chair. It belonged to his fiancee', who was donating a kidney that day. It was Phillip, Courtney's fiancee'. Courtney is a 3 Day Walker.
Courtney got the blog I wrote last December with the info on getting tested to be Bobbette's donor from Leanne, her sister. Leanne began following me on Twitter last summer because we are both Komen 3 Day Walkers. I walk on Team Betty as part of Remember Betty. We walk in memory of Betty Wood, mother of Danny Wood from the New Kids On The Block. There are dedication plaques on the doors of the hospital rooms at Vanderbilt. Bobbette's room was dedicated to a lady named Betty.
When the New Kids On The Block reunited, Bobbette was the one who got me to go to the concert. It was at one of the shows we went to that I heard Danny speak about Team Betty and decided to get involved.
Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids On The Block retweeted the blog from last December hours after it was written. Vanderbilt was overwhelmed with calls from fans wanting to be tested to be living donors. The number of people receiving organ transplants just from those calls is in the double digits. It does not include bone marrow, plasma or blood donors, nor the people who have chosen to donate after their death.
If God has a plan that puts together kidneys, small hometowns, reunited boy bands and breast cancer walks in to one package, I promise you He has a plan for your life.
4 comments:
Absolutely beautiful, Abbie. Thank you for taking care of my sister, Philip and Bobbette. We are all confident that God had a huge hand in all of this. It's been a pleasure to be part of this!
Ive been reading about Bobbette and her journey since I saw someone RT a link awhile back. Her story has touched my heart and I'm so happy to hear that she received her transplant. Her story hits extremely close to home because right now I'm waiting on a kidney transplant and doing dialysis. I think what you've done for her to find a donor is amazing. Its an even more amazing thing that a complete stranger donated her kidney. Give my well wishes to Bobbette in a speedy recovery!!
Amen!
Kristi
God certainly has a plan... I begain, only in December, tweeting. Just at the same time Abbie's blog started circulating via retweets. Not only have I been following this truly amazing series of events unfold. I was also lucky enough to have met both Abbie and Bobbette in the weeks leading right up to Bobbette's surgery. Abbie's dedication as a friend is in a word AWESOME. Although she feels that she's no hero, she was simply doing what friends do for one another, she has inspired so many people to get involved in so many charitable events. In my eyes, that is the definition of Hero. Bobbette is the most amazing brave person I've ever meet. So thankful and upbeat! However, I have not met Courtney and even so she ranks right up there. What a thoughless act of kindness! We should all take note, adjust our attitudes and pay it forward. For if we do it will all come back to us in ways we can never imagine. I'd like to thank these amazing women for all they have done. I would also like to thank NKOTB, Donnie Wahlberg personally for the gift of friendship he has allowed me to have with them. Because of his, not looking the other way, I/We can all remain friends.... To me that really is a blessing.
Careyann
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