Celebrations and new week!

My celebration-weekend was pretty great... We didn't do much on Friday night... had some champagne and watched a horrible horror movie that was suggested by Jolandi (note NEVER take movie advice from her again)! On Sat we had the lunch, which was great. Afterwards we went to pick up Carli, who's up in JHB for work, and had a braai with Suzanne, another old school friend! It was GREAT! Didn't have my camera there, but suzanne did take some pics, so hopefully I get them eventually! We just had such a great time, and was great to celebrate with some of my friends of about 20 years (Carli, Suzanne and I all met before we were 5 years old!).

Went back to gym tonight, which was crappy :-( SO unfit, because over Xmas I did no gym, and then I was back there ONE time, and then got my myserious infection... Last week I worked over-time to catch up, so THIS WEEK is the week I get back into action. Going to be sore tomorrow probably, but going back there! What's wierd for me, is that I'm "unfit", but my lungs are the same... just my body gets more tired quicker! IN my "previous life" if I've been sick and got "unfit" my LUNGS wanted to die and kill me off.

On that note... Bree wrote an awesome poem and said I could paste it here (seeing as I've NEVER been the poetry-writing type), so here goes her genius... (she received her lungs just over 5 months ago). She captured my thoughts exactly :-)

TonightI laid in bed
And nothing else mattered
Because I am alive
I opened the drawer beside my bed and pulled out my stethoscope
And listened
To all that i've been given
Safely enclosed inside my chest
Behind a tiny wire
Behind a long, clamshell line
Surrounding my heart
Two beautiful creatures
Kindly entrusted to me
In my careForever
LifeGiven and received
Taken with thanks
Celebrated in all aspects

So i listened
Inflate
Deflate
Inflate
Pause
Not a sound
Not a crackle,
or wrinkle
Not a wheeze or a pop
Nothing sloshing or gushing
SilenceBeautiful silence

Where once i could not blow out a candle
I can now run down the street
Where i once could not laugh in the slightest
I laugh long and hard
Even though no sound comes out
Through the casing of my stethoscope
Can i hear my life
Can i see it rise and fall beneath my eyes
Fragile, yet strong
Clear
From the bottom to the top and all around
Sounding like parchment paper, so thin, yet two little warriors
Keeping me going
Keeping me breathing
All thanks to the kindness of another whom I do not know
And never will

It is strange to me that these wonders were not born with me
We were not made together
But manufactured apart
Yet somehow, someway
Our lives became one
And you saved me
And will continue to do so

So tonightWhen the world may seem scary
And material things uncertain
I listen through my stethoscope
And remind myself
In this moment
Nothing else matters

Posted by Bree at 10:17 PM

TWO YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whooooohhoooo I've reached the 2-year mark!!!!! Wow, how time flies, and still so many has happened in these 2 years... feels like a lifetime ago that I couldn't breathe. At exactly 2 years ago this time it was an hour before I was taken into theatre, all the x-rays and bloods were done, we were just sitting around waiting... nerve-wrecking.

This past year's been amazing. The world transplant games in Oz, getting engaged! Those were def the highlights. Needless to say, the year ahead will also be very exciting! Getting married, buying a townhouse with Chris, National Transplant Games... Hopefully my lungs continue to behave as well as they have the past two years.

I'd like to thank the following people for the past 2 years: GOD... He's made all of this possible for me, my donor family... while they're mourning the death of their daughter/mother/sister/friend/loved one today, they've given me the biggest gift EVER and they're always in my heart. My mom, dad, sister and friends who were and are always there for me, as well as everyone in PE, including Dr Gebers who got me to the point of transplant. Chris for being the best thing that's happened to me post transplant, for worrying about me and loving me! Dr Paul Williams for keeping my lungs in tip top shape and who's so much more than just a doctor. Jenny, Aviva, my cell group, Lisa, Cristy and all the other friends I've made in Joburg since moving up here. All of you are just awesome :-)

I pray for many more healthy years like the previous 2, and for all my friends waiting for lungs all over the world... that they may also experience this like I have. And my heart breaks for those who weren't as lucky and aren't with us anymore... RIP Lynn Barnes, Jessica Wales, Maryke Pieterse, Paul Mooney, and many more. xxx

3 sleeps til my 2year lungaversary and WORK WORK WORK...

Just 3 more sleeps! I might seriously be more excited about my lung-birthday than my age-birthday... is than normal? Planning on having supper with my dad and Chris on Friday evening, and on Sat Chris and I'll be having lunch with Paul, Jenny and Aviva (my Dr, his wife and my physio frm hospital, am good friends with all of them!), and one of my great school-friends, Carli, is in JHB at the moment, so will DEFINITELY be seeing her over the weekend. So needless to say very excited!!!

However before any of that is going to happen, I have to survive the rest of the week at work... I've been working close to 11-hour days this past 2 days without really taking lunch (just eating at my desk), and tomorrow might be the worst... But Thursday and Friday should be better, I hope! Damn being sick last week!

The new season of Greys started last night, hope I'm not spoiling this for you, but the US has seen this quite a while ago, although the Aussies haven't seen it yet... anyway, George dies and donates his lungs to a CF guy age 22. I thought that was really cool. Hope lots of people saw that!!!! Strange though how EVERYONE watches Greys or some other medical drama series, and I still get questions like: "wow, I didn't know they DO lung transplants". And this from the same people who WATCH these shows... Do they just think it's made up??? Boggles my mind. Oh well...

Enjoy the rest of your week, and if you can, have a drink on my 2-year old LUNGIES!!!

Going home!!!

My hospital stay was 1 day longer than I had hoped for, but that's fine, I want them to look after me properly! Waiting for Chris now to come fetch me, and spend a relaxing afternoon resting. I'm booked off work till Monday. So what was the final diagnoses? INFECTION. Who knows where or what, as long as it's not in the lungs I don't really care WHERE it is. And it responded to antibiotics. That's all that matters.

Next week is going to be crazy at work, as I have a deadline on Wednesday, and being sick has kind of screwed that up a bit, but not much I can do about that! Except be thankful it wasn't something more serious!

Thanks for all the prayers!

Blogging from my favourite hospitalbed...

YES, I've been back in hosp for the first time after my TRANSPLANT, which will be excactly 2 years next Friday the 22nd. Don't worry IT'S NOT THE LUNGS!!!

I woke up on Monday morning feeling feverish. 38 degrees. Also felt very weak, so decided to come in to see my Doc. Vomiting etc also followed, and by the time I saw the Dr temp was over 39 degrees. Had x-rays done as well but they showed nothing (ie they were nice and pretty) So I was admitted and started on IVs :-( All my regular blood tests came back normal, so they continued testing for other things, everything negative. My fever broke yesterday, and by last night they took the drip out, yay! Did lung functions today, FEV1% 101%! YAY!!! Even though I knew there was nothing wrong with the lungs, being in hosp after lung transplant somehow makes you anxious, becuase your brain's playing tricks on you. But NUMBERS DON'T LIE!!!Hopefully going home later today...

So I'm in my same room I was in after tx 2 years ago, which is quite strange in a way. The best thing that's ever happened to my body took place here (me and these wonderful new breathers discovering one another), and most awesome things HAVE happened in the past 2 years since last laying here. I've been so blessed for this to be my first hospitalisation post tx, and not even lung-related. Hopefully another 2 years go by before the next hospitalision (and also not lung related!).

PS It was also very good having a fiance supporting me through this little ordeal, makes things much nicer :-)

Back 2 reality!

So our short little holiday is over... a week ago I was on the beach, now I'm in an office with cold weather outside :-( Don't know what's up with the weather, but we've only been having rain since I got back, while PE is having a major drought! Not fair!

Still with my head in the clouds over our engagement! Have started to think about wedding venues and dates, but nothing for certain yet! All very exciting but also stressful. Went to gym yesterday, still a bit sore from the horseriding as well!

Don't have much else to report on, just wanted to say THANKS FOR ALL THE WELL-WISHES!

CHRIS AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, when I least expected it, Chris asked me to MARRY HIM!!!! :-D Two of my girlfriends, Louzanne, Antoinette and I went horse-riding (was my first time, was awesome!), and afterwards Chris said he wants to see the beach in that area. I wasn't too keen, as we had a lunch date with my parents, and I wanted to shower cos I was feeling disgustingly dirty, but I thought "what the heck, it won't take long". So the 3 of us (him, me and Louz) went to Sardinia Bay Beach, where he said we should climb to a higher dune to get a better view. So after standing there for a few mins, he took my hand and went on his knee!!!! He did an awesome little speech (apparently not the one he worked out), but it was so sweet... Of course I said YES!!!!! And after finally having my shower, we had champagne lunch with my parents! Posting the pics below!

All of this would NOT have been possible without my donor family.... Please become organ donors people... seriously, it's worth it...

ADDO Elephant National Park... just outside PE.

PE pics...