Saterday night and I DO have a (dinner) party...

Louzanne's visit has obviously been GREAT so far!! Went out for cocktails with Suzanne and some of her friends last night! Was quite nice! Had 'Safe Sex On The Beach' (non-acoholic version of 'Sex On The Beach), and finished some funny cocktail of Louzanne! Very nice!!! Went to gym this morning, and had a great workout! Was the most fun I've had in a gym in a LONG time! Did a bit of shopping this afternoon and got some gym clothes!!!

Going for supper at my Dr Paul's house, together with Peter and Aviva. Going to be really nice!!!! Anyway, got to go now...

Stuff at the moment

I've been up since 4:30am this morning, thinking way too much about the whole getting-a-job thing. Up to now I've been totally unsuccessfull in getting a job. If I really want to I can get an accounting job, but I'm not sure if I want to do accounting every day... When you're given a new lease of life, you don't want to spend you precious days doing boring mundane stuff... I do believe that the right thing will come along at the right time, and I have experienced that when one door closes another opens. (see my blog posts on 22 January!!!!!!) The thing is, that there is a postition going open at the Organ Donor Foundation, which would pretty much be everything I'm looking for... It would mean spending my time doing the thing that I have a PASSION for. And I really believe that I would be GOOD at it. So right now I'm just trying to get an interview, which will be in 3 weeks' time. WISH ME LUCK.

Have been gymming as usual this week. Giving today a skip, as my legs are tired and tomorrow Louz and I are going to do some exercise together for the first time in 6 years or so. She's coming to gym with me, as I'm allowed to take 2 friends with during May. Can't wait to show off with my new lung-power... Louz is arriving late this afternoon. Also went for a quick visit at the hospital yesterday, as I needed to pick up some notes for blood work and x-rays for next week. (my Doc always forgets to give it to me when I'm there for an appointment, as my healthy lungs take HIS breath away!!!) Trevor is doing great, and is off the vent.

Looking forward A LOT to this weekend. Louz is staying 'till Tuesday morning, so it's going to be 3 days of FUN!!! Also having supper at Dr's house on Sat evening, with his family, Peter and Aviva. Looking forward to that a lot too! Then Louz can meet my life-savers! My dad is taking the camera with him for the weekend (has to take work-related pics), so I'll be upgrading my technology skills by taking pics on my phone and getting them on the blog. Hope it works!!

Oh, and the kitty pics are because I miss them so much and don't know when I'll be seeing them again, as I won't be going to PE anytime soon. Note to my medical people: the cats are not sleeping on MY bed. It's my sister's bed.

A year ago...

28 May 2007. That was one of the worst days EVER. I almost killed a woman with my car. She was standing in the middle of a few lanes, and I was driving very slowly (luckily!!!) as I was trying to change lanes, and she just started to walk, probably thinking I would be in the next lane by the time I got to her, which I wasn't, and had to do an emergency stop. Luckily there weren't any cars behind me (good old PE traffic...), and she didn't get hurt, but I got the fright of my life! That was bad thing #1.

When almost hitting said woman, I was on my way to supper with my boyfriend and a close friend (who is actually also an ex, now that I think of it...weird). On the way home I was really struggling to breathe, and probably coughed up some blood as well. So while trying to stay alive and not think of the semi-fight my boyfriend and I just had, I drove over a red traffic light. (note: I am NOT a bad driver, contrary to what happened on this day) And there was a camera, that took a picture, and I got a R500 fine. At least I wrote them a letter of apology and said I'm a poor student-didn't mention the not-being-able-to-breathe, what if they said I'm not fit to drive?!- and so they reduced the fine to R300. Bad thing #2.

And now for bad thing #3... the boyfriend broke up with me, at about 11pm that night. He was my longest bf ever (only 9months, but that's long for me), and I really thought that I might marry this guy (thank goodness I'm not though!). So there I was, shattered, not being able to sleep, not being able to breathe. Broken heart and broken lungs...very dramatic, I know! But anyway, at least we get along now, and everything is fine I guess.

28 May 2008. My heart is happy, my lungs are SUPER, making new friends of all ages, getting fit, praparing for the Transplant Olympics (see previous post), getting a job, loving life.

So what's the big life lesson? When things are REALLY REALLY LOW, in a year's time, they may be REALLY REALLY GREAT.

Me and Bree's dream......

Me and Bree are going to Australia for the World Transplant Games in August 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go to http://www.worldtransplantgames09.com/ to check it out... It'll be at the end of August 2009, which is also the week in which we have our birthdays!!!!!!! And like bree said on her blog:

"We've been couped up with lung disease for how long, not able to do ANYTHING and THIS is our ticket to meet eachother and THIS is out ticket to live our dream of LIVING."

Bree must just GET her tx first, but she'll get it SOON... the waiting list in Toronto is 2-3 months, and she's already waited more than a month...

How cool is this going to be!!! We want to do erotic dancing and running or something...

Some more Instablog articles...

Manto's Medicine

Searching for an alternative cure

Colourblind

The weekend continued

My mom and I went for a bit of shopping yesterday morning. Got me some slippers, as my old ones have holes in them from wearing them almost 24/7 last year. My new ones almost look like Ugg Boots and when you wear them it feels like you're walking on cushions! VERY cool... Also got Louzanne a prezzie for her 24th birthday which was yesterday (she probably won't be reading my blog this week, so she won't know!). She's coming to visit again next weekend, so we'll celebrate properly then! Joburg watch out!!!!!!

We also had coffee (as you can see on the pics), before we headed home and had some Woolies pizza for lunch and American Fudge Factory fudge that got for free for dessert!!! We were in the shop, wanting to buy Death By Chocolate fudge (the only death I'll settle for), when the guy behind the till didn't have ANY change, so he gave it to us for free!!!!

Dropped my mom off at the airport at about 2:30pm. Went to church last night, which was very good, and that was my weekend! Seeing my mom and Annelie in 2 weeks time, so that's also cool. I really have fun stuff happening every weekend!!! Making up for all those crap, lonely, boring, frustrating, sick ones last year...

Not much planned for today, except GYM, as per usual. At least the sun is shining again today. It's quite cold at the moment!!! This coastal girl is not used to this, and apparently it's still gonna get a lot worse... bleh.

Sick picture

I found this pic of me and Louzanne on Facebook just now (shame on you Carli for putting horrible pics like this on the internet!!!). It was taken exactly 6months ago. Just look at me!!!! I'm BLUE. And pale at the same time. Almost transparent Even my dress is blue!!! I look like death personified. I took my O2 off for the pic, and my sats were probably around 50 or 60%, if not lower...

The other pic of us were taken 2 months or so ago, when she came to visit for the first time. We're actually the same colour now... And the weirdest part is that both pics were taken in summer. In other words they were taken in THE SAME SEASON!!!! All that change happened in the SAME summer!!!!! It just blows my mind...

Just dropped my mom off at the airport a while ago, will post all about the rest of the weekend and some more pics tomorrow!!! Just had to share this...

"It's Saturday night and I aint got no party"

That's the only descriptive title I could think of. Today's been nice, went to gym this morning, which was suprisingly full for 8:30am on a Saturday! When I got home I was invited to watch rugby with some young people from church. I have never really liked or understood rugby (except couch-rugby of course, but that's a whole different sport ;-), but the company was good, got to know some cool people better and we had pizza afterwards.

I've also realised (especially with Trevor's transplant this week), that I really want to be involved with talking to donor families before transplant, as well as the recipients before and after transplant. I think that having had a transplant and having done 4 pshycology modules at university qualifies me for the job. That is if a job like that even exists, which I will find out... it obviously won't be full-time or anything, because they don't do that many transplants, but would love to do something like that on top of a 'normal' part-time job or whatever. Anyway, I'll figure it out as I go along!

Tonight we're just chilling (again), watching a dvd and eating steak pie, yummy! My mom and I will probably do a bit of shopping tomorrow morning, and she has to be at the airport in the afternoon. My favourite aunt from the UK, Annelie (who often comments on my blog), will be arriving in SA tomorrow as well!!! Can't wait to see her, as she is like our second mom, but unfortunately she will be spending 2 weeks on my grandparents' farm first, before coming up to Joburg with my mom for a few days. We are going to have a BALL of a time... can't wait!!!

Friday

Today went very well! My x-rays were fine! Whatever caused the bit of shadowing or whatever on last week's x-rays, are gone now. YAYYYY!!!! Now I can breathe again... :-) Had coffee with Aviva, which was fab as always, and juice with Brian (guy who had his tx 15 months ago).

My mom is here for the weekend, which is great!!! Don't have anything specific planned for the weekend, but sure we'll figure something out.

The guy who got the lung, Trevor, is doing fine so far as well. So everything's going as planned, except for poor Dr Paul who is tired as hell and haven't slept much in the past few days. Feeling very sorry for him!

P.S. I corrected the link on the '4 months post'! So now you have no excuse not to register!

SOMEONE IS GETTING A LUNG!!!!!!!!

So it seems like prayers are being answered and a guy is getting a lung today! So far his op is starting at 4pm... EXACTLY 4 months after mine (I also went into theatre at 4pm) He has Pulmonary Fibrosis. Don't know much more... I'm feeling totally hyper and might not even be able to fall asleep tonight! Just re-living all those emotions!

4 MONTHS!!!!!!!

My new lungies and me have been on this incredible and exciting journey for 4 months today!!!!!!!!!! Complication-free!!!!!!!! I am just SO gratefull towards God and the donor family for giving me this AWESOME gift of life and a future. I just love these lungs SO MUCH!!! They make me go so fast, and take me places where I haven't been in ages or ever before... So if you're not an organ donor yet... WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!! It takes less than a minute to register on-line. That's faster than making a cup of coffee. You DO have time for it. Go to www.odf.org.za NOW to register if you're South African...

Which brings me to my next VERY IMPORTANT point... PRAY THAT ANOTHER LUNG TRANSPLANT GETS DONE IN SA VERY VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!! The previous lung tx was 3 months ago... there are 20 people or so on the waiting list, all desperate for lungs. And at the rate of transplants happening A LOT of them won't make it... So I really beg you, just take a few seconds out of your day (after registering if you're not a donor of course), and pray for a successfull lung transplant... I really beleive in the power of prayer, and it's no coincidence that my tx journey has been without any problems... I've had you guys and countless folks at home praying for me, and they still do, and I'm so thankfull for it.

That's pretty much all I've got on my heart. Still looking for a job, had one unsuccessfull interview so far, but I may have found something VERY promising last night. Going for a mystery x-ray tomorrow, which my Dr said I shouldn't worry about, as he's just being over-cautious. But that's like telling a child not to touch the wet paint... obviously they ARE going to touch it!!! But I'm not THAT worried, because my lung function is better that ever and I'm not feeling short of breath or anything funny.

Lat night's transplant function/'supper'

Last night's transplant 'supper' was really nice. Although it wasn't really a supper... just snacks, which was a bit disappointing, as I had been starving (eating a bit less than usual) myself the entire afternoon, lol! Paul, my pulmonoligist, did a speech, as well as one other Dr and quite a few recipients. All of it was very touching, and there was a gentleman who has had his new heart for 19 years! Hopefuly in 19 years time (when all my Drs have probably retired or gone senile from too much stress!) I'll also be there...

The pic on the left, above, is (from left to right): another woman who had a lung tx (can't remember her name), Paul Williams, Peter, me(obviously), Aviva, Greg Hammond. All the transplant recipients received a leather wallet and nice pen as well. Probably a gift of thanks to each one of us for boosting their income so rapidly with each transplant! If any Netcare people read this: just joking!

The rest of yesterday was quite boring... Although I did have a good gym session, I was really lazy for the rest of the day. Going to gym again today, and going to church cell again tonight, looking forward to that!

The rest of the weekend...

Yesterday's trip to Zoo Lake was great! We took a blanket, a bunch of magazines, and some snacks with, and just chilled out and did some people-watching and talking about life etc! VERY nice and relaxing and fun! Afterwards we took a walk around the lake, and had coffee at this very cool restaurant, Moya. On the way home we saw some nice places to explore next time!



Then we watched Juno on dvd! I've been wanting to watch it forever, but when it was showing at the movies I wasn't allowed to go yet! It was a really cute film, and I wasn't disappointed. We also went to church, which was cool as usual.

Today's going to be another day of being a housewife. Have to do ironing, buy food, clean the flat a bit, make supper... not very exciting, but I really can't complain after the weekend I've had! Looking forward A LOT to tomorrow evening... Netcare is hosting a supper for everyone involved with the heart and lung transplants at the hotel next to the hospital. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but looking forward to it anyway! Will post all about it on Wednesday!

Sunday Morning

Had the most fun-filled day yesterday!!! The shopping was great, at least got to buy some stuff! (Not at the designer stores, but the department ones though!) Sandton City is SO HUGE... we didn't even manage to see the whole mall, it's just too big!!! Had lunch in Nelson Mandela Square, which has a great vibe! First time I've been there, and will definitely go again! On the way home we did the scenic route through Houghton and Melrose, which really took our breath away. Those houses/mansions are so big and so beautiful and all the trees are lovely! We then got lost in a not so scenic area, but with 2 clever brains like ours it isn't a problem!

In the afternoon we went for coffee with family of Louz, and then had supper with Carli and her family to celebrate her dad's birthday! The restaurant where we went is called Cynthia's Indigo Moon, and is very nice and fancy. Had the most delicious steak (of course)! And it was great spending time with Carli again as well. I've really known her and Louzanne FOREVER!

This morning we want to check out zoo lake, as we've never been there before. Then we're going to watch Juno on dvd, and after that we're going to church! Hope you are having a great weekend as well!!

Short Post

Just a short post so that you know I'm still alive!!! Louzanne is here and we're having a baal of a time!!! Went for supper at a cool little restaurant we stumbled apon near my hospital! Very cheap and had some yummy pizza. Then we got a dvd... Sweeny Todd, the deamon barber of Fleet Street... And the name pretty much describes the movie! Lots of blood and gore!!! But even amidst all of that, Johnny Depp was STILL sexy as hell...

On out way to Sandton city right now, apparently the biggest shopping centre in Africa... We're gonna do some window shopping, and maybe even some real shopping should we be able to afford anything with all those designer stores...

My visit to the Dr (Paul) yesterday was fine, lung function 99.3%(FEV1%). Where is that other 0.7% that I'm chasing?!?! He did however say I have to go for another x-ray next week, which I am trying not to worry about! But anyway, have to go!!!!

Thrilling Thursday!

Yesterday was great, the best day of the week so far! Went to visit Lucille and guy called Louis at the hospital in the morning, saw a few familiar faces, had a short chat with my Dr and was introduced to another CF guy in the process of being listed. Also had lunch with Aviva, which was great as always. When I got home, there was an e-mail from Carte Blanche asking me to mail them my story, as they are considering doing a follow-up to "A boy called Alex"! That would really be great...

Last night I went to my first church home-cell meeting. We had a farewell braai (BBQ), as one of the couples are leaving for East-London. It was really very nice, and met some great people. And the best thing about socialising with these people is that NO-ONE SMOKES!!! Which is rare under young people here. Don't ask me why, but people smoke A LOT more here than in PE... maybe they're more stressed out, but I hate it, and it really irritates me, and I don't always want to be the bitch who tells them to go smoke outside.

Going to gym again this morning. No stiffness left, so it's all systems go! Especially as I might not make it to gym tomorrow, as I'm going to be spending the whole morning at the hospital (for bloods, x-ray, lung function, and appointment with Dr Williams), and have to fetch my bestest bestest best friend Louzanne at the airport. My dad's also going home this weekend, so for 3 nights it's it's going to be the 2 of us!!!! LONG sleepover, yay!!! We thought about it the other day, the last time we spent 3 nights together was January 2004 (I'm good with dates OK, not some nurd that writes everything down! Except for the blog of course... but that's cool!), more that 4 years ago! So my mind's just racing with all the fun things we can do!

P.S. thanks for all the comments on the last post. Seems like the way to get people to comment is by disclosing scandalous info! I must remember that, lol!

Tuesday ramblings

Not much news, just gymming and more gymming! Yesterday I did 20 mins on the treadmill (2.5km!) and 20 mins on the bike (6km). Today I didn't run, as my left calf-muscle (the one that really works when you drive... coincidence?) is stiff! So I did 40min on the bike (13km), and the usual leg exercises. I could've gone longer on the bike, but a VERY skinny woman who is obviously addicted to exercise (takes one to know one I guess, lol!) and GARLIC decided to get on the bike right in front of me!!!! Note that the bike is at least a meter away, and it was so bad I couldn't breathe. Gross...

As a Grey's Anatomy fan, I have found a new addiction... BREE'S BLOG! If you're a fan of the show, then read all about McIntern, the Josh Groban look-alike intern that helps Bree with rehab in preperation for transplant! Wish there was sexy young interns at my hospital... *sigh*

Speaking of which, I'm visiting Lucille, a girl my age who is having her work-up done for a lung transplant, tomorrow! Looking forward to it, and should see some of my nurses again! Yay! And Peter's coming over for coffee this afternoon after his appointment with the surgeon (whom I unfortunalely don't have to see anymore). So that's my day so far... a bit boring!

A new week!

So my weekend was quite nice! On Saturday morning Particia and I went to the Irene Fleamarket, which was very cool. They really had nice stuff there, not the usual fleamarket junk. And very yummy food! I got some low GI turkish delight (love that stuff!), that was supposed to last the whole week, but only lasted 1 day. Also got some (what looked like) yummy cheese, but I forgot it in my grandfather's fridge :-(. I will HAVE to go and buy some at the shops today, because I've got a cheese craving now...


We got some VERY nice beef with sweet and sour chilly sauce shwarma's for lunch, that we ate at home. Spent the afternoon watching E! Entertainment and reading mags. And saw the repeat of the 'A boy called Alex' documentry! After that they dropped me at my grandfather's house, where I just chilled and read a bit, and took a pic of a 'kwê-voël'. It's a kind of bird (obviously), but I don't have a clue what it's called in English! Yesterday we had lunch at my Aunt and Uncle's place, and my 2 cousins were there as well, which was a nice suprise! One of them is married with 2 children, and the little girl is SOOOOO CUTE!!!! Her name is Lana and she eats A LOT! She almost gave me a run for my money! After that when my dad and grandfather was taking a nap, I got to see last week's Grey's Anatomy episode!!!! Yay!!!!

When we got back I went to church, which had a great sermon about prayer, not really predictable or boring at all (which a sermon on prayer might sound like!). And there's going to be a cell-group meeting on Wednesday, which I'm looking forward to!

What else? Going to gym later this morning, looking forward to running again, as my legs aren't sore anymore! Then I have to do some serious food (and cheese) shopping, as we're running out of food here! And speaking of which, I need to have breakfast now, which is actually my least favourite meal of the day. Such a limited choice... *sigh*

The 'healthy' post

I'm a healthy 23-year old. According to the gym's assesment. They don't know I've had a transplant... So this morning I had to go for a health check thingy and had to tell them my fitness goals (I said to run a half-marathon!). Well my BMI was 21 (should be between 18 and 23 or something, can't remember, even though we learned about it in Health Psycology. I blame lack of O2...), my body fat percentage was 24% (not sure what it's supposed to be but he said it was good), my weight was 53.8kg (So I've gained 5.8kg since transplant) and my blood pressure was 124/81, which the machine said was a bit high, but what does it know? I'm on anti-rejection drugs that raise my blood pressure, so according to me it's perfect. So the guy said 'you're healthy'. I just smiled and said 'I know'. Don't think anyone's ever said that to me :-D

The pic is the 'free' joining goodies you receive, very cool. I did 30mins of cardio again (after being told I'm healthy of course), all of it on the bike (9km), cause my legs hurt from the previous 2 times' running. And leg-weight stuff. But enough about my gym addiction...

Going to my grandfather in Pretoria again this weekend, and spending tomorrow with my good friend Andrew's sister, Patricia. Looking forward to that!! Also, a correction to my previous post, only 1 of the 4 new lung tx people have CF. One of them is a girl who had coffee with Peter and me on Wednesday, wanting to find out more about the whole thing. She was told the previous day that she needs a transplant. Well she's decided to go for it, which is so great! It REALLY is 1 000 000 times worth it, and even if the survival rate was 10%, I'd still go for it, because 10% chance of being normal is better that 100% chance of dieing.

So hope you have a good weekend too! Think I have to suck an Instablog article out of my thumb now, lol!

Encouraging news and random naughty cat pics...

This week I've met/heard of 4 young people (3 with CF) who are considering/ being evaluated for lung transplants!!! And apparently some of them are from PE, my hometown!!! This is great news, as it means people are starting to be more aware of the option, and more people can experience this miracle...

Saw the documentary 'A boy called Alex', that was on Carte Blanche on Sunday, yesterday. It was really touching, and a bit upsetting at the same time. For those who haven't seen it, it's about a 17 year old boy who is a musical genius at Eton College. He has CF and his health is not good. The documentary was very bleak, and they gave the impression that lung transplant doesn't really work, and that he is just going to die at any moment. If I saw that a few years ago I would've freaked out. During the entire documentary I felt like screaming 'GET A BLOODY LUNG TRANSPLANT'!!! Even if the surgery involves a lot of risks, so what? Without it you're going to die anyway. So any chance of a normal life is better that no chance at all. Sometimes you just need to put your fear aside and be realistic and logical. And it's no use getting listed too late... as I suspect my friend Sam was, for whatever reason. Then there is also the whole CF denial thing... CF people ALWAYS think they're a lot healthier that they are. When you see someone else with CF you always think 'I am a lot better than him/her!', when you probably aren't! It's probably a survival tool or something, but it can be dangerous. I've also suffered from CF-denial in the past, but luckily I did realise in time that I need a transplant.

OK enough venting... went to gym again yesterday, totally loving it! Did 2.4km in 20mins on the treadmill, which I thought was quite good for now. Then did 10mins on a bike, and some leg-stuff. It's still so amazing not to get short of breath at all. It is really just my legs that are keeping me from sprinting for 20mins on that treadmill. But they're slowly getting stronger!!! Not exercising my upper body yet, too scared of ripping open my sternum (yummy...)!

Instablog articles

I haven't linked my Instablog articles in a while, so thought I should do so...

Hope Personified (about Tricia and Nate)

Proper Healthcare only for the rich?

To emigrate or not to emigrate

You are what you eat...?

Article that was in the Sunday Independant... bit about me anyway...

Alice Vosloo's experience of the world has been very different to most. Up until recently Vosloo suffered from cystic fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. In early 2006 her health took a turn for the worse. Struggling to breathe she needed to use a portable oxygen tank, a large cumbersome contraption that made it impractical for her to leave the house. She turned to the internet for refuge; online she could satiate her need to socialise and interact. While surfing the net she connected with others who suffered from cystic fibrosis and learnt that she could prolong her life with a lung transplant. Although she had few options left, Vosloo was reticent about undergoing the surgery; only one other person in South Africa had survived after the operation, the others had perished. Around this time, Vosloo stumbled across a blog written by a girl who had undergone the surgery elsewhere."She had started her blog two years before her lung transplant. I was bored at the time, stuck at home and I couldn't get enough of her blog. I sat and read it for days."Vosloo felt inspired by this blog, she knew exactly what to expect and now felt comfortable to go ahead with the surgery, and decided to blog about her experiences too. So in November last year she began her blog, titling it "Living Life Breathlessly", accompanied by a blurb which read: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."Vosloo's posts relayed all the mundane details of her life and how she coped with dragging a portable oxygen tank around with her and, of course, the wait for a new pair of lungs.Initially she had envisaged that the blog would keep friends and family up-to-date with her health. But soon Vosloo's blog started to attract strangers too."It is quite different to a diary, other people can read it, which is not always so nice, you can't bitch about your ex-boyfriend, because he can read what you have written."Essentially Vosloo initiated her blog to document the trials and tribulations of a cystic fibrosis sufferer facing a lung transplant.When a pair of lungs was found for Vosloo, the content on her blog shifted, articulating her anxieties with the surgery."It felt therapeutic to write it all down," observes the 24 year old.Eventually, the day of her surgery arrived and, by that stage, Vosloo had garnered quite a substantial fan club."On the day of the transplant people had posted more than 96 comments. It was really nice to know that so many people were thinking about me and praying for me."Unable to blog for weeks after her operation, Vosloo roped in her sister and a friend to keep up the daily posts, documenting her slow recovery."It was so interesting to read later on, because I didn't remember anything that was happening during that time."Once Vosloo was able to resume blogging, she wrote about all the difficulties she was experiencing and received feedback from those who had been in the same predicament."They could really sympathise with what I was going through. I was really struggling to sleep because of the steroids they had put me on but I got messages from people telling me not to worry that they had also gone through the same thing and it wouldn't last. A doctor can't tell you that because he hasn't had a transplant."Vosloo's transplant was a success but she plans to continue with her blog. There might be complications further down the line and Vosloo wants them to be documented. She also wants other people to know that she has flourished despite the hardships she has been through.

To-do-list report-back so far...

So I thought I should go back to my to-do list and see how I'm doing...

Here goes...

• sleep over at someone's house... the last time I did that was middle 2006 somewhere. I slept over at a friend's place without my O2 and didn't sleep much. And I felt horrible the next day. Yup, slept over at both my grandparents' houses and had 3 of my friends sleep over at our place
• sleep over at someone's house without worrying about coughing them awake at night or being self-concious about my 'heavy breathing'... never Came true when I slept over at grandparents and with friends... they couldn't beleive it...
• swim in the sea... the last time I went into the ocean was Jan 2007. I walked in and the waves hit me so hard I couldn't stand still to catch my breath and my boyfriend at the time had to hold onto me to keep me from freaking out/passing out/drowning! Would've been very romantic if not for the fact that I was BLUE and exhausted! Not yet, will do so in summer!!!!
• visit my grandparents in the Karoo and go to their farm... the last time I was there was in Nov 2006. What would've been a nice break after being on IV's for 3 weeks ended abruptly when we had to come home after one day because I couldn't breathe there. Done that!!!!
• go on a real holiday... I never left PE last year, waiting for THE CALL. My last holiday away from home was in Jan 2006 when I went to Cape Town with friends. It was after that trip that my health started deteriorating fast. Well we spent the night at Storms River, which was a bit short, but it still counts!
  RUN... this is one of the biggest ones. I haven't been able to run for about 5 years, and even before that it was only short distances. I actually used to be in my school's athletic team when I was 9/10 years old! I might have forgotten how to do it :-) I'M DOING IT!!!!! And loving it!!!
• go for a early morning walk on the beach... my mom and sister always jog along the beachfront early in the morning, but I've never been able to even walk then, as early in the morning was my COUGHING TIME!!! That's when 8/9 hours' worth of packed up mucus had to come out! Done that as well, was great.
• getting a job with my degree... never Working on that one...
• survive without electricity... never. I always needed electricity for nebs or O2. Now I don't. My transplant's timing was excellent in light of (no pun intended) Eskom's power cuts! Survived all the loadshedding!!!
• Not having people ask me about my cough and seeming 'normal'... almost never. Yup, especially now that I don't have to wear my mask all the time!!!

AND... a new one... I've started gymming!!! Joined the Virgin Active gym yesterday, and went for my first work-out this morning. Did 30mins of cardio (ran/walked 2km and cycled 3km) and did some leg stuff. Not a lot, but I'm going again tomorrow afternoon!!! Don't want to hurt myself by working out too hectically too soon. Being responsible... :-)

Busy Day!!

My first day back in JHB was quite busy... the way I like it! Went to the hospital for bloods, x-rays, lung-functions, had lunch with Aviva and Peter, and saw Dr Williams. Everything went great, I'm doing fantastically. NOTHING to complain about! On a funny note though... I know it's their job, but the x-ray people keep telling/asking me about pregnancy and how I really shouldn't be pregnant with all the x-rays I've been getting...mmm...

Antoinette's doctors have still not figured out what's wrong, and I'm still trying to get her to see a Dr here when she eventually comes to visit... but at least I think she's feeling better.

There was an article in the Algoa Sun last Thursday, that I didn't see, because THEY DIDN'T DELIVER OUR COPY!!!! Can you beleive it? We get it every Thursday, but the one Thursday that I'm actually IN the paper we don't get it?!Anyway, luckily the journalist e-mailed me a copy. Struggling to get it on my blog, but look here to see the text... (note that I have figured out how to properly use the 'link' function!) I was also in the Sunday Independant yesterday. The article was about me and 2 other bloggers who had won awards. Thought it was pretty good! Couldn't find it on the internet though...

That's all I can think of right now... Still sad about Sam and all those who don't get lungs in time because of a lack of donors. Hint hint.

Storms River pics!!!!

Good time at Storms and sad news...

The sad news... Sam, who was waiting for a lung transplant in the UK and who read my blog and commented sometimes has passed away... This is very very sad, because her blog's name was Waiting for a fairytale , and I know she wanted lungs just as badly as I did. Sam, I'll always remember you and how brave you were. The pic on the left is her...

Christy: The food next to my steak was potato with sour cream, very yummy... not sure how you eat your potato in the USA!

Our night at Storms River was great. Walked A LOT. Legs VERY sore now. Also had a bit of an accident... my sister accidently locked my car's keys into the boot. And our spare keys are in Joburg. So we paniced a bit, and found one of the park rangers who broke into my car for us... took a pic! And speaking of which, I took hundreds of pics, which I will all post tomorrow or Monday.

We're leaving for Joburg tomorrow morning at 5am... ugh. Please pray that we drive safely...

100 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's 100 days!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!! Yesterday evening's celebrations was great!!!! Had a yummy chocolate cocktail and STEAK!!! Also posted a pic of yesterday's school outing here on the left. Today I went to visit my (previous) physio, and had coffee and cake with my ex, which was very nice actually! And went to see another movie with Anto tonight, Made of Honour, with Dr McDreamy from Greys Anatomy... mmm... quite sexy.

Leaving for Storms River, so I'll be blogging again on Saturday evening, and posting pics on Sunday or Monday when

I'm back in The Big Smoke, aka Joburg... Have a good weekend!