You've Been Given the Gift of Life, Give it Back!

Welcome friends and family!

Thank you for visiting my blog. It documents my amazing journey from pre to post double lung transplant. I am a 37 year old mother and wife with Cystic Fibrosis who has been more greatly blessed than I could ever imagine possible!

It has been a bumpy ride, but God has given me strength, love, friendship, and, FINALLY, health. My prayers have been answered, my miracle was granted, and I want to share the joy of my new life with you.

If you are a first time visitor, please take a moment to watch The Miracle of Transplantation video below. To me, pictures speak a thousand words.

My entries begin in April of 2008 and my double lung transplant was December 10. Scroll down to my blog archive and you can read from the beginning or jump around. If you are looking for a specific topic, you can use the search engine.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or feedback, I would love to hear from you!

I hope I can help you to experience the love God has for each and every one of us!

May God Bless You with Miracles in Your Life! Nancy


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Saturday, December 13, 2008

IN MY DAUGHTER'S SMILE THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD IS LIFTED!

What can I say...it's truly a miracle!!  I will never forget seeing my Nancy's smile for the first time knowing she is breathing on her own and the smile that lights up my world is back on her face and I can't stop crying!  

Nancy's Mom kept the camera for me to take off my gown and gloves to return here to spread the good news and in my rush I forgot to get it from her! 

 Oh what a Christmas this will be for all of us!  As soon as I return from ICU with the camera I'll share my daughter's incredible smile with all of you...it's worth the wait, it's worth the joy, it's worth the love she expresses without saying a word, it says it ALL!  I feel as though the weight of the world has just been lifted from my shoulders and I just can't stop crying.  DAD's out there,  it's okay for a man to cry, and if it isn't I really don't care what anyone says or thinks, and neither would you, if you were in my shoes!

Love,

Nancy's Dad

Vance

14 comments:

Blomquist Blog said...

Oh Vance,

Cry all you want. I am crying with you during this WONDERFUL moment! Praise the Lord. Nancy is so strong and I can't wait to see that smile on her face. Her smiles have always given me strength and hope!

God Bless you Vance, Ann, Scott, and Hannah for this magical moment. I know it is going to be one of many for Nancy as she continues to amaze us all.

Please give her hand a squeeze for me and tell her that I love her. We are rejoicing in our home right now!

We love you all!

Love,

Debbie

Anonymous said...

I cannot imagine the joy and relief that Nancy feels as she took her first breath and I'm sure that her beautiful smile shows it!!!!!!! I am sooooo excited that she is breathing with her new lungs...God is so good!

Let the tears flow, tears of joy are the best kind...you are truly an amazing daddy!

I'm thinking of all of you...

Please tell Nancy I love her and am just so excited for her!

Love,
Lara

Anonymous said...

SUCH GOOD NEWS AND HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR JUST THIS ENTRY FROM YOU.........

Judy Stohl said...

Vance - I am sitting here crying as I read your post as I have all the other ones. We are so happy for you. You have become dear friends through this trial. We are so happy for Nancy and for all of you. I hope we can meet you soon. We will keep praying.
Judy (Cammi's mom)

Anonymous said...

like everyone, have waited for the good word and now the new life begins. thank you for all the sharings!! much luv.
Claire (North Carolina)

Judy said...

We are all crying with you, Vance - tears of JOY!!

We love you all and continue to offer our prayers of thanksgiving for this miraculous week!! We continue to pray, too, for Nancy's recovery and that God watches over all of you in the days ahead.

Love to all of you!!

Judy and Dick

Cammi said...

Nancy - YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!! I am so happy that you are breathing on your own with CLEAR and HEALTHY lungs! You are doing SO great! We are SO HAPPY for you!!!!

Thanks for the updates, Vance! We love hearing Nancy's progress throughout the day!

Becky said...

I am crying too!! Me too! CRY CRY CRY! ONLY Nancy could go through what she has and still look amazingly beautiful! GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!

Unknown said...

We are crying, too! And our son Lance (who moved to Joseph in May and attends St. Patrick's) cried when we told him, as he has been praying for her just as all of us at St. Patrick's have been! There will be a real celebration tomorrow morning at St. Patrick's when we take in this photograph and your post, Vance! If you hear echoes of a shout back there in PA, know they came from Oregon!

We are so praising God through our tears! What a wonderful Christmas for all of you! GOD IS GOOD!

Our love and prayers remain with you,
Jan and Dan

Anonymous said...

Nancy--You look fabulous!! We all have giant smiles on our faces! We love you sooooo much! God bless you Uncle Vance cry as much as you want--I think we all share in your joy! We love you all so very much--thanks for the updates. God Bless,

Bridgette &Rob
Jii, Will, Joe and Delaney

Anonymous said...

Dennis (Cammi's Dad)
It is a miracle! Nancy looks so much better. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

I check the blog every few hours for news and cry tears of joy with each update. You can't know how excitng this us unless you have lived with and loved someone who has CF.

God bless Nancy and thank you Vance for keeping the rest of us informed of her progress. What a beautiful picture...Dennis

Anonymous said...

The best possible news! I was so hoping that the respirator tube would be out today, and that must be such a great relief for Nancy. I wasn't expecting to see a photo of her grinning up at us! I am on tenterhooks for every update, so thank you so much for keeping us informed, though I'm sure you must relish being able to shout it to the world that Nancy has her new lungs and is going to finally start feeling better!!

Love to Nancy, and to all of you,
Claire

The Basye-Arland Crew! said...

Oh Nancy you will look wonderful! I am so happy to see that beautiful smile, and to read such wonderful reports!! I am so thankful that you are doing so well! We are so proud of you! You are such an amazing person! Thanks Vance for all the wonderful reports! I wish I wasn't so far away, I'd hug you all!!! What a wonderful christmas this will be! Just know that you are so loved, and we are sending many hugs, much love, and saying many prayers! What a wonderful family you all are!!

Love, and hugs to you all!
MaryBeth

Anonymous said...

Nancy, Vance, Ann,

It is with great relief that we've followed these events over the ever extended months you've had to endure waiting for this to happen. It it also with great honor, that we would give the family of the donor, knowing what they're enduring right now as well. The Deaf as a Post Lunch Bunch has the greatest lover for Vance, and for all the others invovled. While we're all older & have had many trails of our own, a dlb. lung transplant is probably not on any of our lists, so we can only extrapolate the difficulties. We just know that all is getting better now & wish you & all your family the best at this holiday season. We hope you'll be our guest at lunch here in Jackson one of these days. In the interim...from Wyoming to Pittsburgh, what a holiday. wf

The Miracle of Transplantation

Pause the music player before watching.