This is my mother-in-law Mary. She is a sweet woman, has a warm smile and is quick to laugh. And, she has cancer. It is the day before Thanksgiving and I am at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center watching as a stranger’s donated stem cells drip from an IV into her veins. This biological cocktail delivers healthy new stems cells, and it can save her life.

It would be easy to fill my head with concern, with worry and to overlook the spirit of this holiday.  But all I want to do today is thank this anonymous donor – this man from overseas, this man we will likely never meet, this man with love in his heart for a complete stranger.   Thank you for your selfless act of generosity. Thank you for giving us hope.

A Rabbi recently told me that the purest form of love is showing up for someone when they are sick. I want to thank you for being that person.

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