'07 to '08

After my last heart cath I found myself unable to keep any food in my body...it was escaping in any way possible. I found myself getting weaker and weaker. I thought maybe it was CMV again and went to have that checked, but they saw nothing in any of my blood work that showed anything to be concerned about. I had been given Darvocet for pain following the cath, and I noticed that when I quit taking it, I felt better. We finally decided that maybe I had an allergy to it, although I'd had it before the transplant and didn't have any issues. Just one of those strange things.

                                                          Texas Motor Speedway
I got to get out of Oklahoma again in April, when Melenda's family took me to a Nascar race in Texas. It was a blast! Again, a fast trip down and back and was a little hard to recoup from, but well worth it. I also had the honor of attending a West Point graduation for Amy's son, Kyle. Watching these young men and women dedicate themselves to serving at a time of war and protecting our rights was an awesome experience.

At the end of the year, I met with an ob/gyn about some issues I was having. Again, typical things related to transplant patients. But, there were some things that showed up on the testing that she was concerned about so I spent the summer getting more test ran and some out patient surgeries. Finally, just as school began to start she decided that I needed to have a hysterectomy because of some possible cancer cells showing. So, once again, I was out for about 8 weeks to recover from that surgery. Luckily, I have supportive people to work with. I also had a new boss...again.

My Uncle Jim, who had been at the hospital for me at nearly every procedure, was diagnosed with cancer. He had been dealing with bladder cancer but this is a very aggressive cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. He tried chemo one time but his heart, which was not that great either, couldn't handle it. The fall was spent helping him plan a 45th anniversary party for his wife over Labor Day weekend. Then, at the end of October, he passed away. I was asked to speak at the funeral and while I was honored, it was hard to do both emotionally and physically. I finally understood what the docs said about a rush of adrenline and how that affects your heart rate. Not only was I scared of speaking but my heart rate had to be way over what it should have been.

I continued with biopsies and bloodwork. I always felt like a pin cushion and an experiment every time I had to have one of those. My parents were in contact with my donor family quite a bit. I'm glad for the donor family to have some contact with my family but I'm still not ready.