Today, I went and took a look at the blog and realized that I had not done a single post since last year. I guess that can best be attributed to a busy year and a very uneventful one health-wise for Shirley.
Prior to her transplant, during an orientation session they explained that once immunosuppressed, minor things to other people become major issues. We were told that we could expect multiple short-term hospital stays as part of our new norm.
I'm happy to report, however, that not only has Shirley stayed out of the hospital (not counting visiting friends and family who were patients), but she hasn't even had a cold. In fact, the most eventful thing I can think of related to her health this year was our grueling 7-hour drive back from her most recent check-up in Seattle last December!
As Shirley's strength continues to build, we took up walking this past summer as a means to get some exercise. We took our severely overweight dog, Molly with us and she helped control the pace. But over time both Molly and Shirley increased their endurance to about 3 miles. The colder winter weather brought us all back insides but yesterday Shirley mentioned looking forward to resuming our walks as the days warm.
We are so blessed by modern medicine; the generosity of the family that made the decision to donate their loved one's organs; the skill and care of all of Shirley's medical staff; and the continued prayers and good wishes extended by family and friends far and wide.
Happy New Lungs Day!
