FEELING GOOD AND THANKFUL

Well, 2011 has gotten off to a good start.  I am feeling well, and am trying to get back into blogging.  I am doing good and enjoying my daily life. I did have some pretty strange head trips to deal with last year.  I guess there were alot of things that were floating around in my head, and they just decided to stick around for a while. Issues that needed to be dealt with, like when you have a zit that needs to be popped.  Well I am thankful that the "zit" has popped, the issues are gone, and I am prepared to deal with any more "zits" that may come my way. I don't want to come across as not being able to handle things, but when you go through a life changing illness and then a major organ transplant, things  are different.  I have learned to enjoy dealing with things that come my way.  I am able to look at life in  totally different way.  I have learned to not stress over things I have no control over,  to not be hesitant talk to someone if I need to, and not to be afraid to share my life experiences with others.
 
I feel that I am beginning to get back to normal, and that feels good.  I am very thankful that I can enjoy things in life that I have taken for granted in the past,  just simple things like sitting on the front porch with my coffee, listening to the birds, and just living. I don't feel like there is a rush anymore.

One other thing I have been really trying to do daily is exercise.   I can usually get up in the morning and get my exercising done.  When I think back to my first release from the hospital in 2007, I had lost almost 95 pounds.  I am not going to say how much of it I have gained back, but I will say that I feel healthy. (I did break a kitchen chair two days ago when I sat down in it).

After our trip to Ohio, I have realize a few things.  One, I wouldn't be this healthy if it were not for my wife.  She says she nags me, but I tell her it is a good nag.  Two, for a while I didn't think I would be around to see my daughter grow into being a woman.  She has more than amazed me, and I am proud of her. The third thing I have realized is that family can be more than "blood family".  We have some pretty amazing friends both in Ohio and here in Arizona who are Family.  Monica and I love you all.

We were looking at some pictures and Monica found one of the roto prone bed that I had to be in for a week or so back at Scottsdale Health Care.  Although it is not me in the bed, it will give you some idea of what the bed looked like, so I am going to try to upload it.. There is actually a funny story about that bed.  I guess when I was in that bed, I was hooked into it with these cushioned arms, then I was turned to the prone position, facing the floor.  I just had my trach and was bleeding from the incision so I couldn't be placed prone at first, at least that is what the night shift nurse told Monica.  When she came in the next morning, all she could see was the flat part of the bed, no sheets, blankets, or even me.   She was a bit afraid to ask what happened to me.  The nurse, tried her best to not laugh, but said that I was able to face the floor, that I had stopped bleeding.  Monica was very relieved to hear that, and not that something had happened to me.  By the way, I think from what I understand, being in this particular bed is what helped my lungs. 

So, Hopefully as the year progresses, I will keep up with the writing.  It seems like we can not say Thank you enough to our family, friends, medical staff, my donor and their family, and mostly to God and His plan.  Thank you for for giving me another chance!

4 years...

Hi, this is Monica, Marty's wife. Today is a day of reflection for me. There are so many things going on in my head. First off, 4 years ago today, Marty was admitted to Scottsdale Healthcare for what we thought was a bad cold. He came home 6 months later, only to be readmitted a day later for another 3 weeks, and then admitted another two times before the end of Sept. 2007. If you are interested, you can read about his hospitalizations and his health journey written in previous posts.

I guess I just want to again say thank you to EVERYONE who had a part with his healthcare, his rehab, his transplant, just everything. Thank you all so much. So many people worked to save his life.

Thank you too for the prayers and support, I always knew that God was going through this with us, but as I look back today, I am even more aware of it. He has a plan!
In a way, it has been such a long journey and then again, time seems to have flown by.
Thank you all for your love and support given to us these past 4 years.

Two years!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. Things have been pretty crazy at times.
Today is the two year anniversary of my lung transplant. I am so very thankful to have this second chance at living. Today I think of and say a prayer for my donor and their family. What a selfless decision that my donor made. As my life continues, the donor family may be experiencing many different feelings today. If you are reading this, please say a prayer for that family.

Right now, I am going through my two year medical testing, full PFT'S, blood work, CT of the lungs, dermotology, eyes, colonoscopy(yuck), and and EDG. I am very happy to say things are going well so far. I am realizing that the heat is a bit more difficult to handle though. Thank God for A/C.

It has been a very busy year for us, we have done some traveling to visit family in Kentucky and Ohio, taking a road trip. We were able to drive on some of old RT. 66, seeing some of the landmarks. I will try to upload some photos, but the comupter is not really cooperating.

So, at this two year anniversary, I am thankful to God for allowing me to continue on this planet, I am thankful to God for putting such wonderful people into my life(Dr.'s, St. Joseph's hospital, church family, friends, support group family, my wife and family) Everyone has been so supportive with words of encouragement, prayers and financial support through the NTAF.
Thank you all, especially a big thank you to my donor.
Please register to be an organ donor.

HAPPY NEW YEAR A LITTLE LATE

Hello everyone... this is Monica, Marty's wife. It has been such a long time since he has posted anything, I thought I would help out a little bit. Usually he dictates, and I type, but not tonight. We Hope that everyone had a nice Christmas and New Year. Ours was pretty uneventful. We did get to watch Jonathan open his Christmas gifts via Skype, very different, but at least we got to see him.
Marty is doing pretty good, just trying to keep healthy and live life. He is having some rollercoaster blood pressures that are not cooperating with the medications. This is keeping him home more than usual, he doesn't want to get light headed or dizzy if he is out. But other than that, his transpant clinics, lungs, breathing and everything else is going well.

Yesterday we went to Tempe Town Lake, they had a fishing thing going on. There were community organizations that had booths set up giving out information. The reason we went is to show support for Donate Life Arizona. It was pretty encouraging to meet the three people working at the booth. Two were a married couple, she is a 10 year double lung transplant survivor. The other lady is the mother of a young man who was an organ donor, her son died as a young adult. She was so encouraging to us, and even had a look of happiness and joy on her face, at meeting another "transplant person" It just took me off guard. I have never knowingly met a family member of a donor. I was not expecting for Marty and I to have the reaction that we did. As we walked away from the booth, we both were a bit quiet and had tears in our eyes. God has truly been so good to us though this whole experience. He has placed so many wonderful people into our lives, so many people we would have never gotten the oportunity to meet.

Some other things have happened to bring the reality of how precious life is into our lives. A dear lady, who may not even know how much she and her husband have been a support and encouragement to us, lost her husband this past month. We met them though St. Josephs Transplant Support group, We are so thankful for the wonderful family we have there. The reality of how precious life is, has become so real to both of us already in this new year.
Oh, I kind of got off track with the rest of our fishing day... As we were walking around looking at things, Marty heard drums. For those of you who don't know, Marty plays the drums and hasn't really gotten back into it since the transplant. Well, that changed yesterday. The drums he heard were from a drum circle, set up as part of one of the informational booths. He looked at me and said,"do you mind if I join in?" He ended up playing different drums for about 30 minutes. I have not seen him smile and look that happy in a LONG time. I was having so much fun watching him have fun. It was great. God had us be there, originally just for the Donate Life Booth, but also blessed Marty with playing the drums again. What a great day. Maybe a little too much being in the sun though.....but worth it.

H1N1 Virus is GONE

Even though I had not been extremely ill with the swine flu, It was enough to knock my socks off. Each day I did what the transplant nurse coordinator said; REST, DRINK FLUIDS, REST, DRINK FLUIDS and GO IN FOR NASAL WASHES AND so on..... Well, she called yesterday and said my test from Wednesday was clear. Thank you God and all of the people who have been praying and sending "positive vibes". I still have to be cautious when around large groups of people, but I don't feel like a prisoner(a feeling I brought on myself)in my home any longer. It is kind of strange that I felt that way to begin with, since usually I am happy just to stay at home. I guess when I am told to limit going out and having contact with people, I made it an issue. Although I am still rather tired, I am able to start voluntering at the food bank again. Since I have not been there all month, I am really looking forward to getting back.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Swine flu

Just a quick post to remind everyone to wash..wash... wash your hands. Marty's test results came back today... SWINE FLU. He is doing well and even seemed to be feel much better this morning. No Temp, less coughing, and just a little sore throat. But I think just hearing the words SWINE FLU has had an effect on both of us. Blood work on Wednesday and another nasal wash on Friday. St. Joseph's transplant team are very proactive thankfully. His transplant coordinator, Tracy, gave us 7 days worth of Tamiflu pills. What a savings that was. Thank you Tracy.