Merry Christmas From our Hearts to You

I am sorry it has been so long since our last post. Can you believe we have been home for 17 days? Most of them have been hectic, trying to get settled back into our Charlotte home, getting ready for Christmas, and for me going back to work. We celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary on December 17th, by going out to dinner. It feels so good to do things like share a leisurely meal together, and just laugh and talk. Not to have to think about anything except our lives ahead.

Alan has been taking me to work and picking me up, so he could have the car. We were planning on buying Alan a truck when we got home. Our daughter, Traci, found him an S10 truck for sale by a private owner in Mooresville. We went to look at it on Saturday. It was exactly what he was looking for, so we bought it. God continues to answer prayers for us in so many ways. He is very excited about his truck.

He is going to the fitness center at Presbyterian Hospital to work out 3 times a week. Around the house he is working like a crazy person. He rarely stops, a real energizer bunny. There is definitely something to be said for being able to breathe.

This morning I was getting ready to leave for work, and I walked by the hall bathroom. He was in there dancing in his sock feet on the tile floor. He could really slide and move and comb his hair all at the same time. I asked if he was excited about Christmas, and he said "NO! I am excited to be alive." My heart melted. I thought about that moment all day today.

On December 29th he has to go back to Durham. Traci is going to take him, because I have no FMLA, sick days, or vacation left. We initially thought he was supposed to have a stomach wrap, because one of the last tests he had before we left Durham, showed that he had acid reflux at night. The stomach wrap would keep the contents of the stomach from aspirating into his pristine new lungs. But yesterday, he spoke with a transplant coordinator and asked her why the appointment said to come to clinic instead of the hospital. She said it was a consultation with the doctor to decide if they were going to do the stomach wrap. So, maybe he will have the stomach wrap, maybe not. We will let you know.

On January 14th and 15th we have to go back for a bronchoscopy and more pulmonary function tests.

As we move ahead, we want to give back in some way. We want to always remember how precious the gift of life is, how emotional and draining our journey was, how faithful God was and is, how blessed we are, the love and support we received from our family and friends, and how very humble we feel after such a life altering experience. We want everyone to know that God gave us this second chance, and we want to glorify and thank him. When you have no control, and you let go, God does his most beautiful work in and through us.

Home

Hello Everyone, We have been having some internet problems that kept me from posting. I went back to work on Friday, December 5th. After work I drove back to Durham to get Alan, and we came home together on Saturday. Traci, Mark, and the kids came down for dinner. As we sat down at the table Anna Kate said what we all felt, "This feels normal....really good." It does feel so good to be back home.

Alan has a blood clot caused by the picc line. They said it was not high risk. He is giving himself Lovenox shots to thin his blood.

I will continue to update the blog every few days to let you know what is going on with him. Thanks to all of you for traveling on this journey with us. It has been extraordinary. We are so thankful and full of hope and joy for our future. Love, Judy & Alan

God's Many Blessings

I had hoped to get this post to the blog done before Thanksgiving, but I needed to write them out first. So, I am a little late. We give God the Glory for everything that has brought us to the reality of Alan's Second Chance. I will never be able to list them all but here goes

God at work in our lives these last 5 months


- Spiritual Growth
- Physical Healing, Pushing himself at the fitness
center made his body stronger pre and post surgery
- He came off the ventilator with no problems
- He did not have to have a feeding tube or stomach
wrap
- No special diet
- Minimal diabetic
- Walked 28 miles in the hospital the first time and
18 miles the second time in the hospital. After surgery
they require that you walk 1 mile before you leave
the hospital. Alan pushed through the pain and
broke records.
- Financial Security and my Manager held my position
open for me.
- Neighbors to watch our home in Charlotte
- Family in Durham, My cousin Carol has been our
"Angel"
- Our car has had a few quirks, but I only prayed,
did not take it to a garage, and God has been
faithful to keep it running.
- Safety for us and our loved ones as they visited
- We found a supportive church, Berea Baptist
- Duke Transplant Team and all the wonderful nurses, cnas, technicians that cared for Alan in ICU, 3rd flr, & 7th flr
- Everyone at the Pepsico Fitness Center where
Alan exercised 5 days a week
- The people that we met here at the hospital and
the apartment complex where we live, that are
taking this journey as well. Relationship in ( )
- The Carlton Family - Met ICU - (Wife & Mother)
- The Natoli & Shannon Families - Met ICU
(Daughter and Grandaughter)
- John and Barbara
- Paulette
- Don and Brenda
- Sonny and Ellen
There is a wonderful story here. Our daughter,
Traci was a youth minister one summer in
college. She lived with an amazing couple
from the church that have since gone to
Heaven, Artie and Gladys. Sonny is Glady's brother.
It really is a small world
- Jack
- Christian
- We learned something and shared a lot with all
of the people above. We will take them home in
our hearts and prayers.
- Co-incidental Blessing
- My cousins husband is a camera man for a
TV station. He is filming a donor family
the time they make the decision to donate
their loved ones organs, through the teams
coming to harvest all the way to the
recipients of the organs. Alan and I have
been hungry for insight into the feelings
and thoughts of the donor family.
- Our daughter, Traci, has visited with her
family many times since we have been here.
She and her husband Mark came for 2 dry runs
and the surgery. Mark stayed for 4 days and Traci
for 8 days. She called us every day, sometimes more
than once. Our grandchildren, Lane, Connor, and
Anna Kate have loved and prayed us through also.
- EACH OF YOU!!! You have prayed, called, visited,
emailed, sent cards and packages. Your love,
support and encouragement has been invaluable
and will NEVER be forgotten. If your church has
been praying for us, we would love to visit and
thank them in person. Just give us the word.
LAST OF ALL, This would never have been possible
without the DONOR and their Family. They gave us the
GIFT of LIFE.....and a SECOND CHANCE. Our prayer is that we honor them by giving something back. We want to make a difference, and we pray God will lead us in that direction. As always, we hold you close in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Alan and Judy

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. Our family has so much to be thankful for this year.....we are especially thankful for all of you. It is your prayers, encouragement, and love that has brought us through. We are so excited that we will be going home on December 6th. We thank God for this journey and the precious gift of life.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We are excited to tell you that Alan is doing very well, getting stronger every day. He has to do 11 more days at the fitness center and then we can head home. We know we have asked for so many prayers and you have lifted us up, and now we have another one. My leave is up and I have to go back to work on December 5th. Alan should finish his time at the fitness center on December 4th, if he doesn't have to miss anymore. Please pray that we get to be at home and with our family for Christmas. We have been here a little over 4 months, it will a week short of 5 months if we go home on the above dates. The Christmas classic "I'll Be Home For Christmas" has real meaning for us this year.

Traci, Mark, Anna Kate, Lane, and Connor are coming for a couple of days for Thanksgiving. We are going to Cracker Barrel for our Thanksgiving meal.

Our oldest grandson, Lane, fractured a bone in his ankle this past Sunday. He now has a bright red cast. Please say a prayer that the fracture will heal completely. He did not take his crutches to school today because he has to go up and down a lot of stairs, and he was having some pain this afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving! We thank God for each of you. Judy & Alan

Normal is Nice

This week has been the closest to normal we have had since being here. Alan is stronger. We went to clinic and the doctor yesterday and his pulmonary function tests that checks his breathing volume were greatly improved since the fluid has been removed. The doctor and the entire transplant team are very pleased with how well he is doing. He does need to gain some weight, so he is supposed to eat 3000 calories a day. Since the surgery he is diabetic, and that was making it a little tricky for me to know how to cook and get that many calories a day in him. We talked with a dietician yesterday, and she gave us some good sound advice that helped a lot.

He is back at the fitness center everyday. He really enjoys the staff and having the opportunity to talk to other pre and post transplant folks that are there. He is walking really fast, riding the bike, and doing some exercises with weights.

Yesterday we spent some time together. We went to a store in Chapel Hill that we have ordered gift baskets from, and it was amazing. We had lunch at their restaurant. The name of the store is A Southern Season, and if any of you order gift baskets for the holidays, we highly recommend them, www.southernseason.com . It seemed like a small miracle to just browse the store and then have lunch together. I hope we never take these moments for granted. We even went out to dinner after the doctor's appointment. It was a wonderful day, because it held the promise of many more to come.

Thanks again for your prayers. We pray an thank God for all of you. Judy and Alan

Three Liters Later

I am sorry that I haven't posted since Monday. I have spent most of my time at the hospital. On Tuesday they drew another liter of fluid from the right chest cavity. On Wednesday they did an xray and found that the left side had fluid collecting again around the lower lobe. This time they put in a chest tube to drain it. They got around another liter. It slowed to very little drainage just a few hours after they put the chest tube in. So, yesterday they watched it, and decided they would pull it today. They pulled it this morning and said everything looked good on the xray except one spot which they think was caused by the lung collapsing a little when they pulled the chest tube. They said when he gets an xray at clinic next week, it should be gone. He got his picc line out and his staples from surgery out. I counted the staples before they took them out and there was 78. The fluid removed from the lungs showed no bacteria or infection, and there is no sign of rejection. Hallelujah!!! We got back to the apartment around 4p.

The doctor we were leary of was pleasant. Thanks for the prayers.

Traci and Anna Kate are with us until Sunday. Anna Kate is doing very well since her surgery.