"Someday, it will be your turn!"

Those are the words that would make me want to scream not too long ago. When Marty was sick people would say that to me over and over. When NKOTB reunited, I had to tell Andrea "no" two times about NKOTB concerts and it was really hard for me. She would say " That's okay, someday it will be your turn and we will see them together." It was hard to think that day would ever come.

Then we met them at Town Hall together thanks to the kindness of the Twitter Blockhead's. It was truly a beautiful night that convinced me someday our dream would come true. This weekend, that dream came true. Andrea and I traveled to the Mixtape festival in Hershey,PA to see NKOTB. For me, it was the first time seeing them live in 22 years. I knew being there with one of my best friends, seeing them live with new good friends would be emotional. My new friend KTDQ captured the moment on film, the picture says it all.

This was taken when Joe was singing "Please Don't Go Girl"

A beautiful moment in a beautiful friendship. Photo: KTDQ

Andrea, not many friends keep their promises and make it happen. You made it happen and beyond my wildest dreams. I loved experiencing such a wonderful, intense, exciting weekend together. Thank you for letting me share in the other side of your life. It was fun seeing others enjoying meeting my wonderful friend and knowing you made many happy. Most of all, you made your sister of the heart over the moon happy. I love you and thank you!

Together with Andrea, I experienced the weekend with five wonderful women. They are new friends to me but because of them, I got the experience this weekend. They brought me laughs, joy, happiness and fun memories for a lifetime.

A2, I love seeing your face watching Jordan Knight sing. I love your love for NKOTB. Thank you for taking me to Town Hall and starting this whole thing going. I am forever grateful. Thank you for introducing me to so many wonderful people. The best moment was finding you under the A2 sign in Harrisburg and the worst moment was leaving you there.

LL Fancy, it was instant love when we met. A immediate connection, a bond so intense that I truly can say I never have experienced something like that ever. You are so fun, witty and make me laugh. Thank you for helping me have a good time this weekend. My favorite moment was meeting Joe together once again and getting our picture together.

MVP, you are hilarious. I am so glad to have met you this weekend and had fun watching you have fun! I cannot wait to see you again. My favorite moment was you during the after party dancing like crazy!

KTDQ, I loved watching you dance, have fun and your sweet spirit. Thank you for all you did to help make this weekend better. I truly think without your help, it would have ended very differently. I look forward to knowing you more and more. I loved our chat at lunch on Saturday and it was nice that you understood where I was coming from and that we have the same outlook on life. My favorite moment was watching you dancing during the shows brought me so much joy and made me dance!

Under the Taybles Mixtape sign with MVP, LL, KTDQ,A2 and AB

While in Hershey, another five year dream came true. One of the people who often told me "Someday it will be your turn" was my friend Janeen. We have been in a online prayer group with eight other ladies for years and never met. They have all met numerous times in the years Marty was sick and we couldn't travel. Every year I would watch them go off to meet and see pictures of the gathering. I felt like odd man out, that my turn would never come. Late last year, I was able to meet two of the people from the board. I just recently said to the others, I didn't think my turn would ever come to meet them.

Janeen's daughter Christy contacted me before I left for Hershey  and asked if I could meet them. She agreed to drive her mom to Harrisburg and meet me. So Sunday, my group of friends and I went to meet Janeen at Cracker Barrell. It is the place everyone in our group always meets and it had to be there. I will let the pictures speak for themself

tears of joy

Rocking on the porch

Thank you to Christy and Janeen for coming to meet me. I would also like to thank Nichole for coming along to meet them with the group and for sitting beside me during one of the most important moments in my life. We just met but you came to such a wonderful moment and now we are forever bonded.

I am proof that dreams do come true. Someday my turn did come, it blew my mind and was beyond my wildest dreams. I chose to do the right thing in the dark times and when the sun broke through the clouds and the rain went away, the sunshine was far brighter than the dark night.

As always, thank you Debbie and Jerry for giving our family new life. Without the selfless gift of organ donation, I wouldn't have gone this weekend and experienced this mountain top experience.

Thank you to Lori for making it all possible. Thank you Taylor, Justin, Matt, Jennie, Wade and Tina for being our companions and helping us have the time of our lives. Thank you to Lisa, Teri, Heather and Hope for the great tweetups, it was nice meeting you in person. Thank you to Howie D. for helping me make Melly's dream come true, you are gracious and to Joe Mac for making my 25 year dream come true.

If you are in the darkness, know that you will survive and that there is hope.

I will do a all Mixtape picture blog this week to show you more of my time at the festival.

Stanford Garden of Peace, Joy and Blessings

The beautiful Gardens at Stanford Hospital. A place painted with memories.

Six months have passed by and today we dragged our sleepy bodies out of the house at 4 a.m to head for Stanford. We always hold our breathe, not really consciously or that we would ever admit that out loud. The drive to Stanford is always a bit tense. Old habits die hard and its hard to not be on edge to hear what the doctor will say today.

Marty has been doing his blood work every few weeks and we have reached the stage where things are stable and we just receive a postcard in the mail saying "no changes" . It's really nice and we've slowly slipped into normal life. Somedays I have to remind myself that there is a reason life is normal and to never grow so complacent as to forget.

Ever since our Stanford trip last June and the phone call that shook us up, we are always a bit on edge for this trip. Today we were running a bit behind and barely made it in time for his appointment. The clinic was empty, I sent Marty to get his blood work and started checking in for him. He came back and said they didn't have a lab order for him this time. So we checked in and immediately went back to the room. This is a rare occasion at Stanford, we usually are pretty lucky since we always schedule the early appointments hoping for this.

We asked about Dr.G, our favorite transplant surgeon. Last time we went, we asked and were informed she was now on the liver side of things. We were bummed to hear that and asked again today if she was still doing liver. We were told "yes" and that we would be seeing Dr.M, we like Dr.M. but don't have the same rapport we do with Dr.G and Dr.B.

I walked out of the room to get Marty some water, came back and he said, "Did you see Dr.G, she was right behind you." and I said, "No, maybe we will get to see her after all." 

Sure enough, she came bursting through the door, just as excited to see us as we were her. She immediately said she loved my hair and that Marty looked thinner. We began filling her in on life today, she has only seen him once since he was stablized and so there was a lot to share.

She was thrilled to pieces to hear how transplant changed our lives, all of our lives. She said, " I remember your donor so clearly" and I was able to tell her that we now knew Jerry's story and had been able to contact his mother. She was blown away by that and was so happy that we cherish this gift we've been allowed to have.

Basically the visit was more old friends catching up than a doctor's visit. She said Marty's last blood work was perfect and there was no need to have new labs today. Immediately we took a deep breathe and breathed a sigh of relief.  She told Marty to check his blood sugar every two weeks because "You're not a diabetic anymore". Words that a Type I diabetic thinks are impossible and will never happen.

We drove home singing and laughing all the way. Blessings poured out on us in abundance, the peace that comes from God to remind us "It is finished" was all around us all the way home. The phone just rang and it was Stanford, just clarifying a blood pressure medication change. We don't have to go back for another six months and this may in fact be our last Stanford visit if we move to Georgia this fall. Dr.G kindly recommended a great program in Atlanta for us. As we walked out she said, " I hope to see you again. I want you to all have a really nice life and be happy."

Miracles happen, they are possible, we've lived a miracle and never take that for granted. The paths at Stanford are painted with memories, really good memories in most cases for our family. Places where friends called, came to visit and walked with us. We have a family we followed whose outcome wasn't the same and so we carry a huge knowledge that things could have been different. We are thankful and will never forget why or how.

His Name is Jerry

His name is Jerry, he was 18 years old for only 24 days and he is our hero. Last night, I spoke with Jerry's mom and she told me her son's story. On December 5th, 2010 he told his mom he wanted to be a organ donor should anything ever happen.

One short month later it did. His final act in life was being a hero and he saved Marty's life. I hope it brings his mom some peace and comfort knowing he lives on inside of Marty. We talked for about 45 minutes in a very emotion filled phone call. We hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

This is about all I will be sharing for now. I want to respect his family's privacy and not share anymore details. I will ask you to please pray for his mother and siblings. This has been very hard for them and they need a lot of support.

I told her that thousands of people read my blog and have been praying for her for a very long time. I think that was a comfort to her and quite a surprise. It was quite shocking to check my voicemail yesterday and hear her message. I had been told by my dear friend Andrea that it would come out of the blue and she was right. The donor's mom just got the letter yesterday.

This is all very new to all of us and really a lot to process. We are hoping she will agree to meet with us and meet Marty face to face. He hasn't spoken with her yet and needed some time to process the information also. This is all I will share, I had to share something with you all since you have been such a support. I wanted you to know about the contact.

If you have any questions, you can email me at jules@julesmpg.com

Tibits 2012

I've been steadily organizing old blogs. Mainly the blogs relating to Marty's renal failure, transplant wait and transplant. The other day while going through blogs, I found one that hadn't been published and published it. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and it published as a new blog because I didn't back date it.

A friend asked me if Marty was okay? and I was mystified until she explained she read my blog and was worried. Marty is just fine! His health is still good and there are no problems right now. In fact, Stanford just called yesterday with his bloodwork and all is well.

The kids are still doing very well in school in 2012. The progress they are making is really good and next year we will be starting high school with Conner and junior. high with Elizabeth. Time flies, seems like just yesterday we started homeschooling.

Still swimming and working out. I was offered a coaching position with the swim team and I am going to take it. I love being back in the water and each day I feel stronger and stronger. I've been enjoying getting fit and learning about fitness and healthy living.

Life isn't much different in 2012 the major change is Marty is well and that makes life even sweeter. Sorry if I worried any of you with my little blogging mistake. Hopefully soon I will be done organizing and can see the benefits of my work.

One year later update.

One year ago we had this to deal with everyday

One year later, much fewer pills to deal with

This goes to show you how well Marty is doing. The doctors at Stanford were thrilled with his progress. He has gone from once a week testing for months, to twice a week testing for months and now he gets to be tested monthly! He also is allowed to check his blood sugar only one day a week, down from three times plus a day before and after transplant. He got yet another medication discontinued!  

All good news! We couldn't be more thrilled. Life is good and we are enjoying every minute.

Monday clinic update

This weekend a new issue cropped up. Marty's blood sugar jumped to the 200 range after dinners. We called and watched the blood sugars. They come down on their own but still very concerning. Also, the fever still is a issue. The nausea is better, only happening once a day if he doesn't eat small meals.

So today, in clinic Dr.G brought up the "R" word. Thinking it might be a touch of rejection. All of his cultures and labs are clear, but the fever and sudden blood sugar spike make her think it might be. She isn't worried yet and is watching closely.

Dr.B thinks the pancreas is working but the anti-rejection meds and predisone are making it high. Also, since he is slightly overweight doesn't help. So, for a while he will have to take one shot a day of insulin until things level out. Only 10 units compared to 60, but still is discouraging. This won't be forever and doesn't mean the transplant has failed. In fact, it is quite normal. Marty takes a higher amount of insulin compared to most diabetics, he tends to be insulin resistant. So this is working against him.

So pray for Marty to get off insulin permanently and for these issues to resolve. Other than those two things, the doctors are thrilled and everything is going well.

Also pray for Elizabeth, she was running a high fever last night and really was missing us. She just has some sort of bug, but is having a hard time since we aren't there to care for her. My aunts and dad's tried to calm her, she ended up with my mom. She tends to be this way when she is sick and it just is excerbated by being away. We hope soon, we can all be back together.

In the home stretch, maybe

Doctors were happy at yesterday's clinic. They told Marty to start eating smaller meals more frequently to combat the stomach issue. They are still watching the temperature problem closely and it is still ongoing. The good news is, they said next week will be our last full week of clinic! They said we can start talking to Dr.B next week about going home!!!

My thinking is, on Monday the 14th he will have clinic and we can leave after that. We won't have to return until the next Monday.We are very excited at this prospect and the kids are thrilled!! We are praying for this to be a possibility.

The kids are doing great. This week and next they are in Southern California with my family. They spend the daytime hours with my Aunt Maggie or Aunt Al. Then my mom picks them up for school time in the afternoon and takes them to my Dad's in the evening. So far it is working out great. They are enjoying spending time with family. I think my cousin Sarah is driving them up next weekend to visit. This weekend they are just staying in So.Cal to try to keep them on a routine.

Thanks for praying and supporting us. It means the world to us!

Three weeks and counting

We have hit the hard part of recovery. He is still recovering very well, on paper everything looks great. His creatnine was 1.3 his best yet. Blood sugars are great, blood pressure is much better and stable and his weight is great. The doctors continued to be very pleased.

Unfortunately, his stomach is giving him a hard time. He eats but the food just sits there and then he gets sick. He is on a medication for this. The doctors seem  to think the Cellcept is contributing to this problem. They lowered his dose but it will take a few days to even out.

He has been tired because most of the issues come up at night. The temp is being caused by some fluid under his skin near the incision. They are closely watching him but aren't overly concerned at this point. It has never gone above 100.6, so it is considered low grade.

They do want him out walking and moving. Being sedentary can affect the temperature and cause it to rise.  So moving and being active is really a high priority at this point.

Overall things are going well. He has recovered so fast and is doing really well. We are just taking it slow and taking this time to get him better. Please pray for the nausea to go away and for him to be able to eat better.

ER trip

 Last night, we had our first little scare. M's temp had been jumping all weekend, going from 98.0 to 100.6, back down. I called the nurse and she just said to watch it. He got sick Saturday night, we just thought it was his meal. Last night, he got sick again to the point his incision started weeping and his temp was 100.4, so we called and they had us go to the ER.

We spent all night in the ER and they ran labs. He indeed had a low grade fever, they are now attributing that to removing the drain. The vomiting was caused by his Cellcept, one of the anti rejection medications. They had upped the dose on Thursday. He has too much in his system now and his body is getting rid of it, the only way it can.

Dr.Gallo the young fellow transplant surgeon was WONDERFUL. She has been nothing but wonderful to Marty and I. She came in and checked on him. She told us we are being very dilligent and doing a great job. She isn't overly concerned, they don't like the temp most of all. They will watch that this week.

Please pray for the temp to go away and for them to get these digestive issues figured out. Some of the problem is diabetic gastroparesis, another side effect from being a diabetic for so many years. That could eventually get better, it might not.

Good news, it ISN't rejection!! His kidney and pancreas are looking better than ever!!! His labs looked great in that respect.

Bad news, we spent all night in the ER, came home, slept one hour and now are headed back out to appointments.

Weekend visit

We had a nice weekend visit with the kids, my Dad and Rachel. We are so thankful to Rachel for driving them all up here so we could be together. It was nice to have the kids for the night, Conner slept right by us. Elizabeth kept hugging me.

The kids wanted to see the Hoover tower at Stanford today, but we couldn't find parking. So we took the kids to see the offices of Facebook and Google. That was fun for everyone to see.

It was quite the teary goodbye this afternoon. Conner wanted to stay with us and didn't want to leave. Elizabeth did pretty good leaving this time. I wish there was a way for us all to be together, but there just isn't. They will be visiting with family in So.Cal this week.

People keep asking how they can help. The best way is financially, not going to lie, running two households has been a burden. We are thankful to our church, family and friends who have already been helping out. We are very thankful for the help and it is appreciated. All of our needs have been provided for while we have been staying here. We know that God will continue to provide our needs.

Thursday and Friday update

We went to the clinic yesterday. They continue to be thrilled with Marty's progress. He had the last drain removed. That was huge, for the last five years he had a tube of some sort coming out of his stomach. First the insulin pump and then a dialysis catheter. So he feels free now!

His blood pressure has shot up. That is because one doctor told him to take off a very strong clondine patch and the other doctor said to let it run out. We knew the second doctor was right but we keep seeing the first. So we took the patch off knowing what would happen. It isn't outrageous, but still high from being rather low.

His blood sugars are good. The highest it has been is 180, which I re-took a hour later and it was 129. What a working pancreas does!!!

He is still eating only little bits at a time and has a constant full feeling.  He has been told his appetite will come back. He is still having restless nights, but we are told those will dimish once his bladder stretches back out.

We are looking forward to this weekend our kids, my dad, and good friend Rachel will all be visiting. We did have a overnight visit from Marty's mom last night also.

He does have to have a procedure on Monday to remove a stint holding a ureter open. We are told it is a very quick procedure and he will be out in 30 minutes. He is very anxious about that. So pray for it to be painless and quick.

Thank you all for the support. It is keeping us going and encouraging his recovery!

Before the morning

Two weeks ago, we were before the morning. Today, two friends told me the same thing, "It feels great to be on this side of transplant." It truly does, it still really hasn't sunk in yet. I still have a hard time believing it really happened and we are here. It feels almost unreal at times.

We have been taking walks and really just being. We haven't been doing much each day, but resting and relaxing.  I have started the process of turning the blog into a book. I am going to call it "Before The Morning" after a song that gave us hope during the dark times.

We are so thankful to God for his mercy and faithfulness. These are the words that kept Marty going, these are the words that gave him hope. Perfect to share on the two week anniversary. We are singing a new song today. One of joy, hope, peace and amazement.

Psalm 40:1-3

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; 
   he turned to me and heard my cry. 
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit, 
   out of the mud and mire; 
he set my feet on a rock 
   and gave me a firm place to stand. 
³ He put a new song in my mouth, 
   a hymn of praise to our God. 
Many will see and fear the LORD 
   and put their trust in him.

A interview with Marty

We all know, Marty is a man of few words and I am definitely the mouthpiece of this operation. Everyone wants to know how he is feeling and taking all of this in. The best way is a interview, so I can convey his feelings to everyone.

How were feeling before the call, what state of mind were you in? " I was very tired. I really didn't feel like doing much of anything except stay in bed. Tired of being tired, tired of it all. I didn't feel like talking to anyone, I didn't feel like being out. "

What kept you going? "that there was hope. Hope that I would feel better after the surgery. Hope that I would feel better to do things with the kids and with you."

So how did you feel when the call came? " Excited, nervous and a little scared. I have mentioned it before, it's like when you are a kid and you go to the theme park for the first time. You want to go on a big ride and you have fear, you know it will be okay and that you'll have fun but there is fear. The next thing you know, your next in line and your heart is pounding and you are scared."

When did it hit you, this is was really it? "When they were wheeling me back for surgery."

How did you feel when you woke up? " Well, when I first woke up I had a breathing tube down my throat and I was aggitated. Kind of upset they wouldn't take it out. They put me back to sleep I guess, it seemed like thirty minutes but I guess it was a day. When I was able to talk, I was looking for you."

What amazed you the most after surgery? " the doctors telling me that I could eat whatever I wanted and that I could eat the things that I have had to cut out of my diet, or that I was expected to eat those things now! Being able to eat things I have never been able to eat before. Having orange juice with breakfast, eating ice cream."

He turned the tables and just asked me, "What amazed you the most?" When they came out and told me you went from a blood sugar of over 500 before surgery to 120 after surgery. Everytime we check your blood sugar, I am amazed. Seeing it be 98 this morning after it was 122 last night, that was pretty darn amazing.

What do you think about the outpouring of love, the calls, the texts, the emails, blog comments, people praying? " I was just amazed, I read all of them. It definitely helps when you are going through the times of pain and are  wondering if it's all going to be alright? I am thankful for the support. It means a lot to me."

So how are you feeling today? " I feel good. My energy is coming back day by day. That is exciting for me, I have energy to do things like go out and walk."

How do you feel about living here at Stanford? " I think it is a good program, I don't see how we could do it any other way. The only thing I wish they would have is more options for families with kids. I miss my kids!"

What are you doing with your recovery time? " Spending time with Julie. Hooked on the Boba tea, going to get Boba tea once a day. Enjoying shopping at Trader Joe's, since we don't have one near us."

What has been the most stressful part of this time? " Worrying about the kids. Missing them"

What are you looking forward to in the coming months? " Going back to work! Making plans for the future. Doing more activities with the kids."

What would you like to say to the donor family? " You know, it may sound cliche but my deepest and sincerest thank you for a second chance at life. You have given me the opportunity to see my grandkids. I would like to know and learn about your child, who donated their organs to me. I would like to know about their life and given the opportunity, I would like to tell them we were praying for them for three years."

Closing thought? " Three words that I would have had a hard time saying two or three months ago, To be continued."

A/N: That's a lot of words from Marty! I am impressed!

Monday clinic update

Went to the kidney clinic today. So far, so great! They are very happy with everything still!

His blood sugar was 160 once last week, they said Predisone or Prograft ( anti rejection med) can contribute to that. So they are going to try to lower the Prograft, he is already being tapered  off the high steroids. His pancreas is working just fine. They have him on high Prograft because they are more worried about pancreas rejection but it is toxic to the new kidney.

The said the kidney was still a bit sleepy, but that is due to the Prograft. So they fully expect things to just keep getting better and better.

He gets to ditch a high powered blood pressure medicine he has been on. He is down to two and they might be able to wean him off those soon.

Our good friends Matt and Tammy came to visit yesterday and today. It was so good to see them and have a piece of home here with us. Thanks for coming to see us!

The kids are coming for the weekend this weekend. Our good friend Rachel is bringing them up along with my Dad. We are looking forward to that!

This is my year!!!!

Marty got his transplant and is recovering nicely and now the Packers are going to the Superbowl!!!!

Marty is feeling really good this weekend and everything looks great. He goes to the doctor tomorrow morning. I will update more then. We had to say goodbye to our kids after a 45 minute visit yesterday and that was hard but our good friend Rachel is bringing them up next weekend for a overnight visit. Marty is bummed about football this year, his Vikings had a bad season, so he could care less about the game.

Everyone always wants to know, how did your California family become Packers fans? Our Grandma was born and raised in Milwaukee. They were huge Packer fans and our grandpa adopted the team when they married. So we grew up Packers fans. My cousin Andy is the biggest fan in the family! We are all thrilled. This is just the icing on the cake of good things happening to our family in 2011!!!

Now we are wanting the Packers to win and Marty to continue making a great recovery. And if it's not too much to ask, maybe Conner and I's favorite cyclist Andy Shleck could win the Tour De France this year too!

Praying forward

We have all been praying for so many years for the transplant, praying for the donor and donor family, praying for a good match, praying for a place for me to stay. God has answered every single prayer we have prayed for the last three years.

How do we pray now? We need to pray for no rejection. Rejection happens about 50% of the time and is treatable. It doesn't mean the end of the transplant always, it can but it doesn't always mean that.

Transplant is a treatment option, not a cure. It will fail someday but we are praying that is many years from now. I have read stories of transplants lasting 40 years. My good friend Tammy's mom had a kidney for 20 years. We are praying for at least twenty years, our children will be grown then. Marty's dad's only lasted seven years and he didn't get to live to see his grandchildren. Marty is praying he can live to see his grandchildren, walk Elizabeth down the aisle and see our children grow. I know and believe God will answer these prayers.

Those are really the major requests ongoing and forever. We thank you all for praying and know you will always continue to pray with us.

Marty has hit the sore stage. He is not in extreme pain just sore. The surgery was basically done like a c-section but on each side of his belly. He also has one incision where they removed the dialysis catheter. He has one drain left and one place where they removed a drain. He says at the most painful his pain has been a 3-4 on a 1-10 scale. He is finally taking the Norco they prescribed, he had been just taking extra strength Tylenol. His weight was 186, blood sugar was 114, BP was 93/69 when he woke up. All the numbers look great.

You know things are good when...........

  You know things are good when the transplant doctor is giddy leaving the room exclaiming, " Now that is the kind of transplant I like!"

What a great feeling to see your doctors smiling and happy, they are amazed. The one thing Dr.Busque remembered about Marty pre-transplant was the size of his legs. He was carrying all of the excess fluid in his legs and they were like tree trunks, even now the little bit of swelling is nothing compared to before.

He still has in one drain and a stint in the ureter that need to be removed, that might not happen for another week or so. His blood pressures are so good, they are cutting back his medication already. His blood sugar was 100 when he woke up this morning, I don't think that will ever get old!

He is now able to eat cheese, milk, hot dogs and dairy again. His phosphorus that was always too high, is too low now. So he is enjoying eating the dairy products and drinking cereal with milk again.

The sore stage has finally hit, he is pretty sore but not in extreme pain. He mostly is taking extra strength Tylenol because Norco makes him loopy.

We do miss the kids, that is the hardest part of the whole thing!

It is so different going and hearing good news, I know we will continue to hear good news. This could have gone so differently but I know God has began a good work and he will carry it through to completion. Why spend our days in fear and worry when everything is so good? We are just going to revel in the goodness and enjoy the moment.

We are so grateful for the support and love we have been receiving. It has carried us through!

One week later

Marty is all cleaned up and looking so much better. In one week he has lost 25 pounds, I think that is all fluid he has been carrying around. His blood sugars are staying under 200 without the help of insulin. No more four times a day dialysis treatments. Life is good and so much better already.

It was a bit scary coming home last night, knowing we are in charge of the anti-rejection meds and taking them on time. He will take these pills the rest of the life of the transplant. They have to be taken a certain way at a certain time.

There are 16 different kinds of pills and many different doses. We have a list and time schedule. This is nothing compared to dialysis and we gladly will do this instead.

Our little apartment is very cute and tidy. It has everything we need and everyone is joking it is our love nest. We miss the kids terribly. We  are looking at this as a month long 15th anniversary celebration in advance. Di asked for some pictures, so here you go

Very cute and right down the street from Stanford. It is only a few blocks and a easy walk. For Marty they will send a golf cart to drive us down there for appointments. We went grocery shopping yesterday and stocked up on necessities.

One song that has kept Marty and I going is a song written by U2 called "40" it is based on Psalm 40. The lyrics really fit our situation and it has been the song on our lips for the entire journey. One of the lyrics state, "How long?" and we often wondered how long? Now we know, Three years, two months and three days.

How long are you there for?

Marty got released from the hospital today. He is making good progress and they are very pleased, they think it is better for him to be out of the hospital. We do have to stay close for the next month to two months, so we have moved into a apartment on the Stanford campus.

It is a cute little one bedroom apartment, the smallest place we have ever lived. Unfortunately, the kids cannot be with us and are staying home with my mom for now.

Marty continues to improve daily, his creatnine is almost normal now at 1.6. His blood sugar was 220 last night but 120 all day today. He lost another pound putting him down 21 pounds so far. He even asked if he could go to the grocery store with me and they okay'd that. So he drove one of the electric carts around while I shopped.

We are both tired and I have a feeling, this is going to be the best nights sleep that we have gotten in two years!

People are asking how to send us stuff, please email me for the address. Also on my last blog about Paypal, I made a mistake it is jmtimms2@hotmail.com

book bound

 I have been fielding this question a lot, "Will you write the donor family a letter?" of course we will and we were already given the okay to do that. Five years ago when I started this blog, I had no idea what it would become. I just liked the idea of blogging and it turned into so much more.

It turned into a journal of grief when losing my grandparents and then it ballooned into something more when Marty was diagnosed. I started blogging and sharing our journey mainly to keep friends and family updated. Then it became carthartic to write it all down. Also it has become a memorial stone for this journey through the desert and valley of sickness.

A couple of years ago, Andrea blogged about blurb a company that will bind your blog into a book. I knew immediately what the plan of action would be. I will have the blogs on Marty's journey bound into a book, one for us and one for the donor family. I want to be able to share our long journey and also the thousands of people praying for so many years for them.

 We were already told we can write the donor family a letter. I am going to give it time. They need time to heal and grieve, maybe once the dust settles it will be welcome. I hope they know how much we prayed for their child and for them. How much they are a part of our lives now and how grateful we are to them.

I also want a book, where I can go back and see the great lessons we have learned and how we have grown. I want to never forget or be jaded about this time in our lives. That way we can share with others who we meet along the way. I also don't know where the book ends just yet.