Rest well, Ken

We lost another transplant survivor this week.  Ken had his transplant in 1998 on his 36th wedding anniversary.  He had to have a kidney transplant 5 years ago due to complications from meds.  He was 66 years of age.  Although I did not have a very personal relationship with him, I did see him in clinic every now and then,  He was a kind man with a very sweet wife.  Rest well, Ken.

Our numbers continue to dwindle.  Tonight I am celebrating my 50th birthday with family and friends.  Live life to the fullest...for your time on this earth is short.

Germs...friend or foe??

After 5 years, one often tends to forget all those precautions you were told pre and post transplant about germs and their effects on your non-immune system.  I was talking with an adorable ten year old today about being at the lake, fishing, swimming, etc. when it all came crashing back.  No playing in the lake or water parks because of some long lettered disease that could attack the gastro system and be fatal.  Yep, fatal stuff from a water park.  No more fishing on the lake.  No swimming in the lake. 

I went to a Dave and Buster's last week and played on all the games.  I didn't have my hand sanitizer with me so as soon as we got home I immediately washed my hands.  Guess something stuck after all!

I say all this just as a reminder to myself that it doesn't take much too cause a problem.  Kiss the wrong guy at the wrong time.  Touch the wrong thing...take that any way you want...they all apply.  Eat at the wrong place.  But what does one do?  Stop living?  It is a delicate balancing act to keep healthy yet live a normal life.  Sometimes the board teeters a bit, by choice or not, and sometimes one just forgets the situation entirely.

When I decided to do the transplant, I vowed to not live my life as I had before....to make it be better.  In some ways it has, in others it is the same.  Right now, I feel I'm at a crossroads as to which way to go.  Guess we'll see what happens in the next few years to see how it may turn out!

One of the 67.4%

US statistics say that 5 year female survivors of heart transplants are at 67.4% now.  So, guess I'm part of that 67.4%.  It doesn't, however, say anything about what the 10 year survivor rates are....nor does it give the average age of these transplants.  Guess we'll just have to wait and see.