Hello
everyone,
I am so excited to update all of you on the most wonderful
experience that I recently had. I met my DONOR FAMILY!!!!! Ruby had
2 beautiful children, a son Peter and a daughter Eleni and it was my privilege
that they requested to meet me. My family, along with my mom traveled to
Kansas City, where the introductions took place. For one of the first
times in my life, I was at a loss for words (for those of you that know me
well, I know you are in complete disbelief right now after that
statement)........but I really was. I struggled so much to come up with
the appropriate words I would use to thank a family who chose to save my life,
while facing a family tragedy. They put the loss of their mother aside,
and chose to DONATE LIFE. Eleni said that when she heard her mother's
liver would go to a woman her age with 2 children who had cancer, she said the
decision was made for her. Guess what, just saying "thank you"
was enough, it really was. Once I met them, that was all I needed to say.
The fact that I am doing so well, and am leading a normal life I think
somehow brought some peace to their hearts, and made their decision the right
one. I hugged Eleni the instant I met her, we just hugged and danced in a
circle, and cried. They were just like I imagined, BEAUTIFUL, both of
them.
Thank you all for the endless support that has carried me along
this journey. Meeting Ruby's family has brought me so much peace and joy,
I am truly blessed. As for my recent tests the CT scans continue to look
good. I will have 2 more this year, then I will have them every 6 months
for 1 year, I believe. I have labs once a month as well, and other than
an increased bilirubin last week, they have been perfect. The transplant
coordinator called me to see how I was feeling, and since I was riding my horse
at the time she said I must be feeling fine. They thought the increase
could be due to a virus I had, and we will recheck it in 30 days. I
thanked her for calling and reminding me that I had a liver transplant.
My scar is the only evidence I have, I really do feel great.
Since my last blog update we found out that my daughter
Gracie, who is 13 has juvenile diabetes. She has not had to start taking
insulin shots yet, but it is only a matter of time. She has to test her
blood sugar 6 times a day ;( She will meet the challenge head on, Gracie
is a strong kid.
God bless all of you, and just know that I am truly thankful.
I will never forget......
All
my love,
Trish
