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


..............................................................................................................

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Fun in Pittsburgh

Hi! We had a great trip to Pittsburgh. My research appointment went well and my Pulmonary Functions were up from 68% to 78% (hooray!). We had a lot of fun at the show and Scott got to meet the two lead members of Cracker, so awesome for him! Here are some pictures from last night.... Me Before the Show
CRACKER!

Me at the Show


Scott with Johnny the guitar player




Scott with David the lead vocalist
I hope your week is going great. It is hard to believe tomorrow is Friday already! Love you all! Nancy




Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Busy Day

Hello! I have had a very busy day, trips to the hospital for bloodwork, twice to K-mart for prescriptions and to the dentist (no cavities, hooray!).

Scott and I head to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a research appointment. Tomorrow night Scott's favorite band, Cracker, is playing at the Hard Rock Cafe there, so we will be catching their show after my appointments.

I hope you are having a great week! Nancy

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sunday

Hello! I hope you are having a good weekend. The weather has been gorgeous here, so we were able to camp out in the camper (we just took it down back behind the house) and that was a lot of fun. Hannah was a little scared at bed time, her bed is at one end and ours is at the other, but she had Cracker snuggling with her, so she finally settled down. I think we will sleep down there again tonight if the weather holds out.

We attended a wedding yesterday. I am always so moved when I go to a wedding with Scott. It brings me back to our wedding day (almost 13 years ago!) and I just get choked up. The bride at this wedding was so thrilled she looked like she was going to float right out of the room, what a wonderful thing to see!

That is all that is happening here. I hope you have a safe and blessed Memorial Day! All my love, Nancy

Thursday, May 21, 2009

A Beautiful Day!

Hello friends! I am sorry I have been out of touch for a few days. I had a couple of bad anxiety days and didn't feel like doing anything at all. That seems to have passed and I am feeling better. I was able to attend Hannah's Open House at school the other night. It is fun to see all the wonderful things the kids have accomplished during the year. She is signing up for band next year, so we got all of the information about how to rent a flute, that is the instrument she has chosen.

I have been walking each day and though it doesn't seem to get easier, I know it is strengthening my legs and giving me a little more energy, so that is reinforcing. I have also been attending a Bible study on Fridays and that has been a nice way to get out of the house and share my faith with a group of wonderful ladies.

We have had a couple of beautiful warm days, so I have enjoyed being outdoors a bit. We are planning to camp out on Friday in the grove behind our house, so that is a fun adventure to look forward to.

Well, that is really all I have to report. I hope you are having a wonderful week! Love, Nancy

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Hannah went swimming!

My daring and crazy daughter went in the 64 degree pool today. Scott opened it yesterday and she couldn't wait to get in. Her lips were blue, but she was loving it. I sat and watched in my sweats and felt cold, I don't know how she could stand it.

Hannah spent the night at a friend's house, so Scott and I had date night. We tried a new local restaurant and then watched the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I enjoyed the movie a lot, though it was sad and long, it didn't end until 11:00, VERY late for me!

I hope you are having a relaxing and blessed Sunday! Nancy

Friday, May 15, 2009

Here I had promised to tell you about my day on Tuesday, and then I got waylaid and never got to it. So, I will backtrack to Tuesday. Scott had to take a trip to see some customers and asked me to ride along. We had a great time and were gone all day. We went to Wellsboro, home of the "Grand Canyon of the East" and took a drive to the overlook which was quite lovely. In Wellsboro there is a famous diner that is an old railway car, so we had to stop for lunch there. I had a yummy cheeseburger and sweet potato fries, my favorite! So, it was a relaxing day away from the house, which I needed.
I am trying a new antidepressant starting today. The mood altering effects of my transplant meds are still giving me a lot of trouble. I am not sure what my current purpose is. I know God has a plan for me and that it is GOOD, I just wish it would happen soon. I want to minister to others and just don't have a solid grasp on what that will look like in the future with my decreased immune system. Please pray that God's guidance will lead me in the direction I need to go and for the patience to wait until the time is right.


I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing Hannah playing her "washtub" bass. She had to make an instrument for music class, so she and Scott had a blast putting this together and then playing it. I think it made a hit at school as well.
Okay, I need to stop procrastinating and get outdoors and walk. It is a beautiful 70 degrees out, I shouldn't be wasting the day in here. Hope you are all having a wonderful Friday and that you have a terrific weekend! Love, Nancy

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

No rejection!

I am happy to be able to report my bronch came back showing no rejection, hooray! That is always a worry I am glad to have behind me. A little later I'll tell you about my day yesterday, I'm just waiting for a picture.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mother's Day!

I am happy to report that I had a wonderful Mother's Day! I was in bed by 7:30, they wore me out, but it was a GOOD day. We did buy some plants for our garden and then we had a lovely dinner with Scott's mom and dessert with the whole family. I am greatly blessed!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to wish all of you mothers and grandmothers a very happy day! We are going to go shopping for some flowers for our garden, that should be fun. Scott made me pancakes and I have been spoiled all morning.

I want to wish a special Happy Mother's Day to my cousin Cara. Here is her beautiful new baby girl Isabella.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Crazy Trip

Hello!

We are home from Pittsburgh and after some bumpy times are doing good. My bronch. went fine yesterday and the doctor said my lungs look good, I won't know if I am in rejection for a couple more days.

I say it was bumpy because my diabetes decided to act up on this trip. I had an extremely low blood sugar in the car on the way (I am talking sweating til I was soaked, being unable to see, and twitching violently). Luckily, we were just coming into Erie, PA, so Scott got me some pop and skittles and kept his cool while I freaked out. He was en-route to the Erie hospital when my sugar finally came up enough for me to gain back some control. It was SCARY! I have been low before, but never so close to losing consciousness. Then, it happened again at dinner, not as bad, but enough to make Scott lose his appetite, poor guy.

After two rounds of lows I was wiped out, so I was in bed by 7:00 at Family House. Scott woke me up at 9:00 to take my evening meds and however I sat up, I triggered a pinched nerve in my back and spent most of the night standing or walking around the suite, that was the only way I could get any relief. When we registered for my bronch. at 7:00 a.m. I had only about 3 hours of sleep, so they probably could have done the procedure with my own sedation (but I am certainly glad they didn't!). I slept all the way home in the car.

So that was our eventful trip, may the rest of this week be dull.

I did want to send out a BIG congratulations and I love you to Cara and Brian Gibbs who just gave birth to a baby girl, Isabelle Grace! I am so happy for your family!

With love and prayers, Nancy

Monday, May 4, 2009

It's time to get in shape.

Well, I have decided I'm sick and tired of being exhausted and unmotivated, so my goal for this week (and many more to come) is to exercise each and every day. I started off with a bang, walking with Scott at lunch, now I just have to keep the momentum up, even when my body is whining NOOOOO!

I received word that my white count is finally high enough to have the Bronch., so we will head to Pittsburgh tomorrow and I will have it on Wednesday.

Things are improving, just not as quickly as I would want them to, how I pray for patience!

Hope you are all well! Love, Nancy

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Cracker got a hair cut!


Just wanted you to see how cute Cracker looks with his new hair cut. Poor puppy he was shivering on his bed this morning, he doesn't know what to do without his long hair. No more hair on all of the carpets, hooray! This is a sure sign that summer is coming.


Love to you all! Nancy

Friday, May 1, 2009

Quick Post

My Bronch has been tentatively rescheduled to Wednesday because my white counts are too low again. I continue to improve and am mostly struggling with the anxiety being caused by my Prograf (anti-rejection drug).

Hope you are all well! Nancy

The Miracle of Transplantation

Pause the music player before watching.