It was a fairy tale meeting for Brooklyn resident Raymond Thompson when he met his future wife, and love of his life Mylen, in an AOL chat room connecting over –professional wrestling.
They got married and had a daughter, and when life seemed to be perfect, Thompson received a terrifying call in 2016, “She called me at work and said, ‘Babe, you need to come home right now,’” he recalled. “She said, ‘I can’t feel my right side. It’s numb.’”
It turned out that Mylen had developed kidney disease needed to be on dialysis 3 days a week and was waiting for a donor for a new kidney. Thompson was not going to just be sitting waiting for a kidney to save his wife’s life, and inspired by Rob Leibowitz, who secured an organ transplant by walking around Disney World with a t-shirt that said, “In need of kidney,” he too decided to do something similar.
So he wrote a simple sign and attached it to his backpack which read, “In need of a kidney for my wife, B+, 917-442-6202.” He wore it everyday and everywhere he went hoping someone would read it and help his family.
Here is a photo I took at my Target yesterday and can't stop thinking about. pic.twitter.com/gbzF47AqCy
— Lilit Marcus (@lilitmarcus) December 22, 2018
His mom Donna Thompson wrote, “He is doing great for his wife,” and added, “I am praying every night for my daughter-in-law to get through with her kidney and to feel much better to take care of her daughter.”
CNN Travel editor Lilit Marcus noticed it while she was picking up her prescriptions at Target, and clicked a picture of him and shared it on Twitter. She recounts, “Unsure what to say, I quickly snapped a photo. And then he was gone.” The response she got from social media was surprising to her and Thomspon, because celebrities such as Zach Braff and Evan Rachel Wood began sharing it, too and resulted in Thompson getting many phone calls.
The Black Man who walks NYC looking for a kidney donor for his Wife
The story of Raymond Thompson who walks NYC streets everyday to try and find his wife a kidney donor.
Posted by Black Global Village on Monday, November 19, 2018
Thompson says, “Ever since, it’s been crazy,” he said. “People have been calling, text messages, all day every day and night, so most of my time I’m just there replying.” Thompson has not started any GoFundMe campaign because he says they have enough money for the transplant and that they are only looking for a kidney.
We pray and hope Myelen receives the kidney as soon as possible, and is healed completely.