Yes! I'm Living Life

I have a lot to catch up on since my last post. I've been helping my baby sister for the past couple weeks. She had her second baby on February 9th. Andy weighed 6 lbs 10oz and was 20 1/2 in. long. She also has a two year old sweet baby boy, Joey. He is my heart and now I have two babies to fill my heart with joy. This is one of the many things I've wanted to do since I've had my transplant is to be able to spend time with my baby and now I have two babies to spend time with and spoil. It feels great to be able to play in their backyard pushing Joey around on his tricycle and in his swing. My middle name is Louise so he calls me Aunt Lu. It is so sweet to hear him call my name. I'll be going home this weekend to give my sis a chance to see how things go without a third hand, lol. I know she'll be fine, I'm just not looking forward to leaving. I've had the best time with my babies and spending time with my sis.

I am still doing great since my last appointment at Duke. I'm still loving food again, maybe too much ;). I'm getting strong again and feeling better than I can ever remember feeling. The weather has been wonderful the past week. It has been in the mid to upper 70's and I have spring fever! Last year all I had planned was hospital stays and trying to survive from one day to the next till I got a transplant and this year I can plan on fun things to do again.

Also since my last post, my friend Kerry got her call on February 3rd for her new lungs, liver, and pancreas! What blessings God gives us! Kerry is doing great. She has had a few setbacks, but that is to be expected. I can't wait to see her at the end of March when I go back to Duke for my 9 month bronch. Awesome! Time flies because it will be eight months on March 1st since my transplant. I have been truly blessed and am thankful to God everday for my breath of life. Please keep me and all of my transplant friends in your prayers. Save a life. Become and Organ Donor.

I Love My Life

I feel so thankful to be living life like I've never lived before. All my life until July 1st 2010, I've always had hours of breathing treatments before I could even think of functioning. Without the meds to open me up, I was useless. Even after taking meds to open up to get the day started, I still had to take more in the evening or else there was no having any kind of life after five. Anyway, it still amazes me how I can breathe now without those meds. I do take a handful of pills at different times throughout the day, but that is too easy compared to life before. I'll soon be 7 months old because my life started over on july 1st. I am so blessed. After months of setbacks I finally feel like I am getting back to my old self. Part of my meds have been discontinued and thanks to that food and drinks are tasting like they should again. I hated eating because nothing tasted good. I lost close to ten pounds when my liver was giving me problems. In addition to food tasting terrible I was also nauseated so I ate even less than normal. Now that my liver is functioning normally again, I can't get enough to eat, lol. I am grateful for my donor and the selfless act they gave in order that others could have a second chance at life. I pray everyday that my friend Kerry will soon get her call. It will come, we have to have patience and trust in God's will. I know that is easier said than done for Kerry since she's the one waiting. I know how she feels and like Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part.

I'm looking forward to going home to MS friday. I won't have to come back till March for my 9 month bronch provided everything continues to finally go in the right direction. Please say a prayer for Kerry that she will get her gift of life by Valentines Day if not before.

More from me later : - )

A Whiney Rant

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I've just been bummed out. So far so good with my lungs. The problem I'm still having is the pain in my pelvis down to my knees, in both legs. It won't be long before I go back to Duke, the 20th, so hopefully they can give me some answers. I'm tired of still feeling like an invalid. I can't exercise much because I can hardly walk so I feel like I'm not getting much out of it. I have these wonderful new lungs and I can't even enjoy them to the fullest. I want to go shopping, visiting friends, out to the movie, or just being able to walk at a normal pace instead of a snails. I know it will get better, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "when this is fixed what else is going to fall apart". I'm thankful to be alive, but I'm still not living yet. I'll get there eventually.

Ok, I'm finished whining now, on to happier news. Christmas was great. Our family decided not to exchange gifts because of all the expenses we have all incurred due to me living in NC. I couldn't help myself and bought all of my family a Duke tshirt, lol! They were like "we said no presents" and I said "don't get excited, it's not much". I liked my newphew's the best. He's 2 and was so cute in his Duke tshirt.

Today I am looking forward to going out to eat with my family. We are going to Long's Fish House and I have been craving that place before we got home to MS. It has been open as long as I have been alive and it is the best. The coleslaw alone with crackers could be a meal in itself it is so good. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Yummy!

Holiday Season

I hope everyone is having a great (or tolerable) holiday this year. I'm happy to be home, but it just doesn't feel like Christmas to me. I guess I never got into the Christmas spirit this year. Chronic pain can do that to you. My hips are hurting. I would expect the fractured one to be hurting because it is still healing, but the other hip is hurting too. I'm managing. I just feel like I am a lot older than I actually am. Hopefully when I go back to Duke in January they can give me something to ease the pain on a daily basis without narcotics!

Even though I was complaining above, I am very thankful to be home for Christmas this year. The past two years I was in the hospital and feeling like CF was robbing me of my life again. Our family Christmas was Monday and I was so glad to see my sis, bro, and my baby! It was a fun filled day, especially watching my nephew (my baby) opening his presents. It's always good when we can all get together.

I am thankful to God for giving me a second chance at life. I am always praying for my donor and donor's family. I am grateful that even through all the setbacks I've had, none have involved my lungs much. They are still working great!

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas and Have A Happy New Year!

Enjoying The Home Life

We finally made it home on Sat. Dec. 4th. It was a looong drive, but we made it in 10 1/2 hrs. We only stopped twice and drove straight through. It wasn't a bad ride, it just took forever, lol. We arrived very early in the morning, but mama had been saying how she felt like a kid waiting for Christmas, referring to us coming home. I went to their house and woke them up. I went to mama and whispered, "Merry Christmas" and she said "Oh my baby's home". She reached over and shook daddy and said "Our baby is home" and he about jumped straight up out of the bed. Mama's specialty is cooking and she offered to cook breakfast at 5:30 in the morning, but I told her to go back to sleep and we would eat later. We had brunch later in the morning. It was great to be back with my family!

I had a bronch on the day we left which was before the results came in. The reason for leaving before we got the results was that my dad was having surgery for prostate cancer the following week and I intended to be there. I had even re-scheduled my appointments so we could leave earlier than planned. Daddy's surgery went well and he is recovering at home, doing better everyday. He won't have to take chemo or radiation because the whole prostate was removed and not just the cancer itself. My family has truly been blessed. Even with all the things that have happened to us, it could always be worse.

I worry about my friend Jess and the suffering she is enduring now. She is currently in the hospital at Duke. She has had Gastro problems since her lung transplant back in April. It makes it a total bummer because it's right at Christmas. I hope she gets out of the hospital before then. I miss you Jess! Love You Cysta!

Being at home has been wonderful. After six months away from home makes me feel like my new home is brand new all over again. The results from my last bronch had no rejection so I don't have to go back to Duke till Jan 20th. I get to enjoy the holidays with my family. A week after getting back home we got a new puppy. We named her Niki, she's a solid black Shih-Tzu. She is a little chomper. She loves to chew on everything she can get her little teeth on, but she's also a cute little fur ball that I can't resist. I still get sad thinking of the two little dogs we had to give away back when I was so sick with bad lungs. I found out later, after transplant, that I can have an inside dog I just have to be careful about certain things. I can handle that. I like having a furry companion because when Philip goes back to work I certainly won't get bored with my four-legged friend, lol!

I was invited to a Christmas Luncheon today from the office that I used to work at. It was really nice to still be considered a part of the work family. I used to sell Avon so when I quit working there I still came by to deliver Avon and visit with everyone. They have all kept up with my transplant process and some of the ladies had a fundraiser for me. They are now in the process of doing another fundraiser for me. They are awesome ladies and I am Thankful to have them as my friends.

Well, that's all I've got to report for now. I'll post again soon. Love To All!

Time Is Standing Still

I know we are going home to MS today and I have been up since 3:30am in anticipation of it I suppose. I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. It's just not getting here fast enough, lol. It's six o'clock now so I mananged to waste away part of the time. I can't eat anything because of the bronch so I'll just compute and watch tv. Philip is asleep. I mention that because he has had his days and nights mixed up. He usually stays up till 4am or later then sleeps most of the day. That will come in handy when he's driving us home tonite. We are driving straight through. A 12hr drive. Road Trip! I'm game. If it will get me to my home, I would ride 24hrs straight. I would plan to help drive, but my license expired back in October and I don't want to risk going to jail instead of making it home to MS, lol. Note to self: Get license renewed ASAP. I still can't believe today is the day!!! Come on Friday evening!

Going Home

Praise The Lord my time has come. I am finally getting to go home to Mississippi tomorrow! I am sooo excited. I didn't want to make it public until after my clinic visit today. Please pray that the bronch I'm having tomorrow doesn't show rejection because that would mean I would have to come right back up here and be admitted to the hospital for another round of ivs. The main reason for wanting to get home is my Daddy was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he is having surgery next week. Please pray that everything goes well. I may have to come back up here next week or the next, but I'm going to be home for his surgery. If I'm not showing rejection, I won't have to come back for at least 4 weeks. I haven't earned my 3 months yet because of past rejection. I have to have 2 clean bronchs before I can stop coming once a month. It's better to be safe than sorry I always say! It's only a 13hr drive, lol! I haven't been home since June! Six months is a long time to be away from family and friends. Please pray for our safe travel tomorrow. I'll update as soon as I get settled back into my own surroundings!!! Did I mention I'm excited!