“I would not be here if it weren’t for him. I don’t know how to express to him how brave he really is.”

But marrow recipient Alice Masticola of Louisville, KY, did find a way to express her gratitude — with hugs and tears of joy as she met Jerry Arreola, a 21-year Postal employee who helped save her life — not just once but twice.

Masticola was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001. She received her first transplant in 2003 — after the National Marrow Donor Program Registry found Arreola as a match. Two years later, she received a t-cell donation.

“I’m just so happy to have more time with my daughter and family,” she said.

Arreola, who is from San Antonio, TX, registered as a donor in 1994 after learning of the need for minority donors. “It’s a great feeling to be able to help someone,” said Arreola, urging other USPS employees to join the registry. “It’s also an honor.”

Masticola and Arreola met for the first time yesterday as part of yesterday’s kickoff of the 2006 “Delivering the Gift of Life” campaign — and the celebration of a huge milestone.

Emotions ran high as Vonzell Solomon sang a hero’s tribute to Jerry Arreola, Alice Masticola and her daughter.