An unemployed Estonian whose reunion with his long-lost son from Russia tugged heartstrings in the Baltic state Tuesday thanked donors who chipped in so he can meet his grandchildren. 'My whole body started to shake when I learned Tuesday morning that I have the money to spend Christmas in Russia with my son and grandchildren,' 57-year-old Urmas, who did not reveal his surname, told reporters. In an emotional broadcast Saturday by the Estonian public channel ETV, Urmas was reunited with 37-year-old Andrus, tracked down and invited to Estonia by a missing persons show. Urmas said finding his son and learning he was a grandfather had made life worth living again. 'My entire life collapsed 28 years ago when I found a note reading 'Please forgive me' on the table and learned that my wife, whom I had met while serving in the Russian army, had left me to go back to Russia with our nine-year old son,' he said. 'I sent letters to her and our son, but all I got back was a note that she had met a new man, had a new baby and asked me to stay away. Later we lost contact,' he added. Urmas -- one of the tens of thousands out of work in Estonia's deep recession -- had said he would do anything to earn the money to travel the 6,350 kilometres (3,900 miles) to his son's home in Komsomolsk, near Russia's Pacific coast. A group of Estonians quickly launched an Internet appeal. Scores of small-scale donors responded. 'I don't wont a penny more than the tickets cost and hope whatever is left from the money collected for me will be used to help others meet their long-lost loved ones,' Urmas said. 