A touching moment occurred just before a holiday flight took off: The pilot left the cockpit to hug the woman who had previously saved his life.
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While speaking to People about the now-viral moment, Alexandria Reimold, 30, stated that she was flying home on Dec. 14 after visiting her mother in Houston when the pilot of her flight, David Whitson, shared over the intercom how he had overcome myeloid leukemia thanks to a life-saving bone marrow transplant eight years ago.
Reimold, who had previously donated bone marrow, was touched by the story and eventually realized it was about her. The woman, who became a donor while studying at Purdue University, was matched with the pilot through the Be the Match program.
“Then I heard David’s name, and I put two and two together,” Reimold explained. “I just got so excited and looked around. It’s a very funny experience to know that something is happening and for people around you to not know that it’s you.”
That was when the pilot left the plane’s cockpit to greet and embrace her.
“I was very, very excited when I saw David walk down the aisle,” Reimold continued.
@laurasellshouston Pilot announced on our flight that rhe lady who saved his life 8 years ago was on the plane. #fyp #merrychristmas #christmasmiracle #flyingfriendlyskies #houston #bonemarrow #donor #christmastime #miracles #trending #reunion #happyholidays ♬ original sound – Laura LoGiudice Texas Realtor
A fellow passenger captured the moment between the woman and the pilot and posted it on TikTok, attracting hundreds of thousands of views.
While hugging Reimold, Whitson whispered, “You saved my life.”
The Woman Who Donated Bone Marrow to the Pilot ‘Didn’t Think Twice’ About Signing Up to be a Donor
As she continued to discuss her bone marrow donation, Reimold said she had no hesitation about becoming a donor.
“It seemed like a really great opportunity.,” she said about being a donor. “The chances of matching are pretty low, so it was just one of those things — why wouldn’t you sign up for this? I had no idea what it would lead to.”
Reimold and Whitson have remained in contact since the bone marrow transplant. He even added her to his United Airlines benefits to thank her for her donation.
The pilot also told People he saw that Reimold’s flight overlapped with his scheduled one in Houston and decided to catch up with her by doing something special.
“I only had about a 40-minute window before she left,” Whitson said. “So when I landed, I contacted the captain operating the aircraft the day before and asked if he’d mind if I did this. I got clearance from the gate agents to make it happen. So I just made a little passenger address to the passengers, told them who I was and what was going on.”
Speaking about how the moment between him and Reimold has gone viral, Whitson said he was absolutely surprised about the internet’s reaction.
“Never in a million years did I think someone would throw this on the Internet, and it would go around the world,” he said. “My transplant will be eight years on Dec. 21. This is a weird time for me — eight years ago, right now, I was in the hospital getting high-dose chemo. And so it’s also a time of miracles, and if we can just bring awareness and give people a little bit of joy, I thought, you know what?”