Feeling fat!

Still trying to pound down the calories.  I'm eating everything I can along with nutrition drinks.  You know things are strange when Ensure drinks are beginning to taste good and I can do without Cokes. It is working as I have been able to increase my weight from 117 lbs to 128 lbs.  I'm going in the right direction with 140 lbs as my goal.  I feel as good now as I have before the operation.

Life is tough but I'm going to be tougher!  Life is also good and I appreciate everything I have.

Just a side note...The Doctors and Nurses at the Univ. Of  Utah are fantastic and Dr. Barbara Cahill and staff at the Pulmonary Clinic #3 are so professional and caring. Dr. Raman, Kelly Peterson Short, Tauna Maughan;  they're all exceptional people and treat you like family.  I also owe so much to Dr. Beth Scholand for helping me get this transplant!  I owe my life to these people.

I wrote a heartfelt letter to the donor family following the protocol the hospital requires to protect privacy.  I do not know who the donor was and it is up to the donor relatives if they wish to contact me.  It is such a sensitive thing given the fact that my life was extended at the cost of another life being lost.  I just want them to know how much I treasure this extension of my life.

Maybe some day...

See you all soon.

Dancin' The Night Away

Just one of the many nights since Christmas Eve 2011 that Dad has been able to enjoy with his granddaughters because of this generous lung transplant.  Events like this don't pass without all of us thinking the same thing:  that despite all of the financial and health challenges, all of the struggles to recover, all of the frustration with accepting new norms, that each and every day is a miracle ..... and each and EVERY picture with Grandpa now is priceless!

Good News!

I haven't posted very often and that's probably good news as things are moving along without any major problems.  Also, most of the good posts come from my family, especially my beautiful daughter, Jani and she has been more than busy moving into a new home in St. George.

Just a quick update.  Wait a minute! First I need to thank all of you, my friends, who have stayed in touch and helped in so many ways through this health challenge of mine.  It means everything and I am really blessed to have such great friends and family.....worth fighting for.  Every day is a gift.

I met with Dr. McKeller a few weeks ago and the news was good.  The lung is working fine and also the heart is able to function more freely.  The pericardial sac around the heart apparently has eased or something, allowing the heart to function better.  Music to my ears.  It did beg the question however as to why I am so fatigued and unable to sustain any effort without gasping for air.  Looking at my weight which has been dropping (117lbs) he said that's easy; you have very little muscle to perform the functions you're asking your body to do.  I had to admit, I haven't been eating enough.  I can see how someone can become anorexic as I have had little appetite.  They threatened to put me back in the hospital unless I start eating better and Thar's all I needed to hear!  I am know on a 2000 calories per day  with protein drinks and such.  This past week I have gained 5 lbs.  Not much, but at least it's going in the right direction and even feeling stronger.

Well, enough about me.  Hope all is well with you and I am always looking forward to seeing any of you whenever and often.  Until the next post.

Still Pushing Himself

Carter snapped this picture of Dad doing his morning push ups while they were in St. George last weekend. What a stud!

Breath Of Heaven

As I was out running some last minute errands today, the Christmas song "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant came on the radio, and it brought back a flood of memories of last Christmas Eve and my Dad's lung transplant.  I remember hearing this song on Christmas Day, driving home from the hospital and how the words to the chorus had taken on a new meaning to me as I thought of my sweet dad lying in a hospital bed, trying to breathe with his new lung.  I'm overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude that he is still here with us one year later.   I'm so grateful for the donor, their family, the doctors and so many of you who have helped him and our family in your own special way.  But mostly I'm grateful to God, for his son, for their mercy and for the "breath of heaven" that our family has constantly felt surrounding us this past year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chorus:
Help me be strong, help me be, help me
Breath of Heaven, hold me togetherBe forever near me, breath of HeavenBreath of Heaven, lighten my darknessPour over me Your holiness for You are holy

Read more: AMY GRANT - BREATH OF HEAVEN LYRICS 

Goodbye Coach Majerus

Like any good, red-blooded Ute fan, Carter made sure he and Dad made it to the Huntsman Center tonight to honor the memory of Coach Rick Majerus. If Bryan and I weren't living 300 miles away we'd be right there with them enjoying our beloved Cracker Jacks and Red Vines with Dad in the familiar comfort of the Huntsman Center. We've all enjoyed countless basketball games with Dad over the years and feel so blessed that he's still here with us today almost one year after his transplant surgery.

He's been slowly improving over the past few months from his heart surgery and we'll hopefully continue to see the swelling go down in his lower body. He still tires easily, but is as determined as ever to building up his strength to be able to do some of the things he loves to do.

Pictures like this one are priceless to our family now. Lets hope we'll see many more "Ute" family pictures in the years to come. Thanks for the memories and may you rest in peace Coach Majerus. GO UTES!!

He's Home!

Dad was finally released from the hospital yesterday! They have pulled the two drains and will monitor how he's doing over the next couple of weeks to see if this latest surgery did the trick. We're watching for swelling in his lower body, rapid breathing and the extreme fatigue he was feeling before the window pericardial surgery and hoping that those symptoms don't come back. If they do, then we'll discuss options with his doctors at that time.

Dad has loved hearing from so many of you and for the many hospital visits he received over the past few weeks. Jan and Anne Bagley, Jim and Beau Carlson, Lynette Randall, Jay and Tammy Minick, Keith Wallace, Gail and TC Conlin ..... the list goes on! Thank you for your encouraging words and prayers. Thank you to the sweet neighbors and members of my parents ward who have brought in meals and checked in daily with our Mom. Thank you to the wonderful nurses and doctors at the U who are always so compassionate and patient with all of us. And thanks to Dads lung donor and their family for making all of this service and compassion possible, and for giving my Dad a second chance at a beautiful life.