Thank You!

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on this last week and our fundraising efforts. Many times I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming or not.

I want to tell you how thankful I am for your support to make sure my family is by my side while I recover from my transplant. I am so humbled by how many people have reached out and given so selflessly to us. I have witnessed the amazing human spirit this last week and I am so thankful to have all of you cheering me on during this process. My family and I truly could not do this without you.

You have all gone above and beyond to make sure we know you care, and so many times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor because of all your generosity, ensuring our financial needs were met for when that call comes. Tom and I thank you all so much, and my parents are so grateful for your support.

Your Help Is Needed

I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who has contacted me, and who is praying for my family and I during this time. Your messages have not gone unnoticed, and I appreciate all of the love and support that has come my way.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help, and as much as my prideful self would love to say we don't need any help, we do indeed need some assistance for this transplant.

A surgery of this magnitude has a long recovery process that involves a lot of monitoring of my new lungs and my body as a whole. After the transplant has taken place and I am deemed "healthy enough" to be discharged from the hospital, Tom and I are required to live within 30 minutes of the hospital, and that must include the awful traffic we have here in the Bay Area. Right now we live over an hour away. This means that we will need to relocate to temporary, fully furnished housing accommodations when I leave the hospital. The doctors have given us an estimate of 3 to 4 months living near the hospital. This is necessary partly in case an emergency arises, but also because I will have to be at Stanford at least 3 days a week for those initial few months. I will be participating in another pulmonary rehab program after transplant to get my new lungs and body back in shape. I will also have doctors appointments and blood tests on a weekly basis.

Listed

It's been a while since I last posted, but my material was limited and I have not been feeling the best lately. However, I now have a lot of news ...

On Wednesday, October 16th, 2013, I was officially listed for a double lung transplant.

Over the last few weeks I have slowly come to the realization that I am ready. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make because a successful transplant is in no way guaranteed. It comes with huge risks, and some people don't make it off the operating table. However, the life I live now is not much of a life at all. My body and disease are my sole focus these days. This is not a life, it's not even close to being alive. My brain is still trying to get used to the idea that my body is failing me. So here I am, tempting my fate, standing on the edge of the cliff waiting to jump. All I can do now is wait for the phone call that could come at any time, day or night, to say they have new lungs for me.