3rd Heart-Aversary

I had my "annual" visit for my heart transplant to check how everything is going with my heart.

I can not believe that it has been 3 years since I received my amazing heart. Sometimes it feels like it has been forever ago and yet really it is hard to comprehend that it has already been 3 years.

The "annual" visit takes you through a couple of days of blood draws, tests, x-rays, EKG's, Echo's, bone density tests PLUS right and left heart catherization, which checks your heart pressures and how the veins and arteries around the heart are doing. 

I DID NOT have to have a biopsy BECAUSE my Allomap tests came back really good. 

This year's Cath-lab picture pretty cool... 

Hum...do the little wires holding my sternum look like little hearts??? 

Tonight to celebrate my heart-aversary

We made heart shaped personal size pizzas.

pre-cooked dough

We had the table with everyone's favorite fixings.

They turned out pretty darn cute and really yummy.

The girls were really excited to have their own heart pizza.

Miss C was pretty sure that they were going to be cookies.

After eating pizza until we were stuffed, Kira pulled out sky lanterns.

The blue one on the table will be sent to my donor's family.

Each of us wrote a small note to them.

( My clinical social worker will send it to the donor's family. I do not know anything about my donor)

Kirk, Josh, Ali, Kira and Sergio signed the lantern,

Kira traced the girls hands putting their names and ages.

Kira always goes above and beyond to make this anniversary so very special.

I do not know what I would do with out her.

Not only did she have a lantern for my donor's family but also 3 for us to light and send up.

Yep, photo bombing Kirk and Josh lighting their lantern.

Having these lanterns are such a fun thing to do.

 Watching the lanterns start to fill with warm air from the candle inside...

and before you know it...it is up in the air and in no time out of sight,

Oh, how things have changed in the past 3 years.

These two little cousins had not even been born.

Here we are a few hours before my heart transplant.

Sergio, Derek, Josh

Kira, Kirk and myself.

Ali wasn't able to be with us because she was less than 4 weeks from having our first grand baby.

3 yrs later:

Sergio, Kira, Kirk, myself, Josh, Ali

Miss H, Miss C and Miss E

Derek wasn't able to be here tonight.

Life is good.

Tonight...like many, I think of my donor, who they where, what happen that I received their heart...

But, inside of me there is a feeling of sadness...that someone is missing a family member today. Were flowers taken to their grave? Is there a grave?  Did their friends and family get together and have a "miss you" party?

Did someone just want to stay in bed and not think about what happen 3 years ago?

Oh, how I wish I could share how grateful I am for "my hero". 

How we celebrate the way they took such good care of their body to have had such an amazing heart.

How strong it is and that it loves... it loves theirs family and mine.

I have such gratitude to them, to my family, to my friends, to those in our church but mostly to my Father in heaven who gave me this miracle. Who has helped me go through the transplant process so well.

I am blessed... I do not take these facts for granite.