Mom

On this particular night, I think I need to take a minute to talk about someone else who I want to make sure isn't forgotten.

My mother.

Eleonora Pagura, my mom, gave me my first kidney in 2005.  She gave me life, first of all, but then she gave me seven years, four months and about two weeks of non-dialysis living in my 20's.  This is a gift that I will never forget or downplay.  Even though my blood disease caused her amazing kidney to fail inside me, she bravely took this challenge on without a hint of fear.  Most of my courage comes from her.  She is an epic person to me, and I just want to make sure that in all of this new excitement she isn't forgotten or overlooked.

Mom, thank you for my late twenties and early thirties.  You gave me countless parties, late nights, and dance classes.  You gave me energy to do my thesis and start the beginning of my career.  You gave me time to enjoy amazing food and alcohol that I loved experiencing and days I could spend with friends.  You gave me late night talks in theaters and loud dangerous dance clubs afterwards.  You gave me the ability to travel to Italy and meet the amazing family we have there.  Your kidney allowed me to be healthy enough to marry Matthew and dance all that night, and you helped me be the kind of woman he would want to spend his life with enough to experience the very thing you did... just to save me.

For all of this I will forever be thankful to you.  Your gift was the most important of my life, and I will always have a piece of you.  That means so much to me.

I love you, Mom.