Almost Two Years Post-Transplant and Counting

Walking in the desert for several weeks gave me a better appreciation for what matters most: being healthy and enjoying life.

On June 8,2015, I will pass the two year mile stone for survival after a heart transplant.  Amazing.  My second "heartaversary."

My cardiologist has changed twice since June, 2013, and, as would be expected, there have been the predictable and some unpredictable troughs and triumphs.  Stay in the game as best you can, is the advice I give, if asked. 

A day at a time. That means take care of what you have and try to live in the moment.  It is harder than it sounds since so many of us are driven by our calendared future events.  The track of the past is only a history of where we have been and is no predictor of any future plans or promises.  

That is not to say that I do not make plans because I do.  But planning guarantees nothing.  You can plan the plan but not the outcome. Times, conditions and things change.  I am not prone to philosophical thinking.  These are not pearls of certitude.

I am pleased to be here to see another birthday, another heartaversary, and another cardiologist.

Some words to leave you with that are powerful to me:

     Without the organ donor, there is no story, no hope,
no transplant.
     But when there is an organ donor, life springs from death, sorrow turns to hope, and a terrible loss becomes a gift. 

                                       --United Network of Organ Sharing.