FAIRPORT, N.Y. -- The highlight of a New York City girl's trip to Niagara Falls this week included a special stop in Fairport.

“Whenever my mom or dad talked about it, I always cried a little.” said 12-year-old Sarah Rubinfeld.

In 2007, then one and a half year old Sarah was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

“I just fell to the floor crying. It was stunning, and just terrible.” Her father, Jason Rubinfeld said.

A cancer that suppresses the formation of healthy blood, she needed a bone marrow transplant to possibly save her life.

Fairport native Rachel Compton, who had joined the Bone Marrow Registry ten years earlier, received a call that she was a match.

As a nurse who works with sick children herself, Compton says it was an easy decision.

“I didn’t even think about it. Didn’t even think about it twice," Compton said. "I knew I had to do something.”

Then came the wait. By law, Compton wasn’t able to hear anything about her recipient for a year, and then only if the parents okayed it.

“She wanted me to understand that the possibility of her not surviving was very high, and that I needed to not think about it, and that was hard.” Compton said.

But the transplant worked. And though they live in the New York City area, Jason Rubinfeld says they just had to meet their daughter’s savior.

“This is the person we have to thank every day for you being here, and there’s no greater gift anyone could do for me.” Rubinfeld said.

Fast forward eight years, and Compton has been keeping up with Sarah’s growth on social media. But earlier this week, the two were reunited. And for Sarah, nearly a decade later, it was an unforgettable moment.

“It was really scary. I was anxious at first. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Stand in the corner, probably.”

 “It’s surreal," Compton said. "I see her laughing, and I see her talking, and I see her hand gestures, and talking about school. And it’s amazing to me.”

While Compton does admit the donation is a little uncomfortable, she says she’d do it again in a heartbeat and that everyone should look into being a match.

“Look at Sarah. Sarah can be anything she wants. She can be the next President of the United States, she can be a Congresswoman, she can be an author, anything she wants," Compton said. "And that opportunity would’ve been taken away from her, if she didn’t have the ability to find a match.”

And as for Sarah's vacation?

“I never really said this, but I just want to say thank you for saving my life.” Sarah said.

To learn more information about joing the National Marrow Donor Program, visit https://bethematch.org/