The Lives You Touch

A friend of mine (whose husband is a double-lung transplant recipient) forwarded me a video clip today. It was from ABC News and she had this to share about it.

I want to share this ABC news clip of a man who belongs to our lung transplant support group. It completely captures all the joy and heartache of the experience. You may want to have a tissue handy--I've watched it several times, and I still can't get through it without one. Please feel free to pass this on to others, as every ounce of organ donation awareness helps. There are still far too many who are waiting and dying on the list.

Video link: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4065610

She was right, my eyes did tear up and even though we are well aware of the gift of life given to my own husband, the importance of organ donation awareness came alive in me once again. It is for that reason that I ask that you please watch this video now and pledge to continue this great awareness cause throughout the New Year!

God bless and Happy New Year!

Angel Cove Christmas Blessing

During the holidays, it is easy to remember what blessings truly are. Our blessings this year include another a great year of health for my husband (without an ounce of organ rejection), the ability to travel overseas for 17 days to Europe with him, and the love and comfort of a great family.

It is easy to remain fixed on the bad things that have happened throughout the year and lose sight of the many blessing that have unfolded. Why not change focus and not allow the bad stuff to clutter your mind? Why not think about the blessings that have come upon you and the blessing you have been to others in your life? Take a moment now and count the blessings of 2007; for tomorrow is Christmas and the true day of blessings!

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas to you and your family!

Slight Complications

Not to fear, everything went well during my husband's outpatient surgery to remove his Medi-port. He was in and out of the general surgery office within 45 minutes; one less port and a few stitches.

The thing that bothers me is when doctors send you home with no instructions or any idea on what you can expect. They simply told Greg to keep his bandage on until it falls off and the stitches would dissolve on their own. So what kind of panic do you expect a patient to feel when they get home and their bandages are soaked through with blood?

Since Greg and I are pros at this, I simply told him to keep an eye on it and if it started to bleed outside the Tegaderm, then we will need to clean the wound area ourselves and get some fresh bandages. That was exactly what needed to happen because he woke up the next morning with blood pooling behind the Tegaderm. Needless to say, he panicked and wanted to do back to the doctor right away. I, on the other hand, convinced my loving husband to have us clean the area first to see if ho badly the wound is bleeding under the dressing. Luckily, it was no longer bleeding and with some fresh bandages, he was good as new.

But this still goes back to the point I made earlier. I hate it when doctors don't tell you more than take some Tylenol and let it be. Luckily we have done a lot more "nursing care" at home for Greg's ailments in the past that it was a walk in the park to clean up the area and apply new bandages. We knew exactly where to clean, how to make sure the preparation area was sterile, and the proper bandages that were needed.

If only doctors would communicate possible complications and what to be on the lookout for, they would greatly decrease the amount of anxiety and frustration their patients (and families) feel. (sigh)

Surgery Day

Years ago, Greg had a Medi-port placed just below his left clavicle bone because he was getting sicker by the day. For those that don't know, ports are usually placed when doctors believe there will come a time that they will no longer have access to good blood vessels to take blood or give medications through an IV line. This port made it easier for the hospitals to give Greg his regular IV treatments without having to place a line in his arm or leg. Hence, it was freedom.

It has been over a year since he had to last use this artificial medical device and I am happy to announce that he will be having outpatient surgery this afternoon to have it removed once and for all. Greg is healthy enough that he no longer needs to have this device. One small step for man. One giant step for an organ transplant recipient!

Why have it removed? Well, he decided, even before his transplant, that if he did not use it for a year it would get removed. Plus, a patient is also supposed to flush the port once a month and well, uh, my husband hasn't flushed it in a year. (shakes head in disbelief) Therefore it now needs to be removed because it is most likely clogged anyway. I think it was just my husband's way of making sure it gets removed once and for all.

So please keep him in your prayers today. :)