A new treasure

So this is what breathing feels like.

New lungs. My new lungs. My shiny, blinged out, healthy, perfect NEW lungs.

I have so much to be thankful for this season. I have a new life to be thankful for. And even though at the moment I am still in this hard journey, and its quite the fight, I am thankful that I have this fight to do now. I have this beautiful gift, somebody else gave me a chance to be a mom, wife, daughter, sister, etc. again. I have a donor family that no matter if I ever hear from them or not, they are a part of my family. I literally carry there loved one next to my heart everyday. They gave me this new fresh air and lease on what I know will be a fabulous life.

Sorry it has been so log since I blogged, I am sure you can imagine between the emotions, drugs, and all that I have to do to stay fit in here...the time just hasn't been there. (Although I feel a few would have liked it a little more if I would have updated when I was a super fruit-loopy.) I thought that my dry run was an awesome story, but this one is a true fairy tale. I have found my fairy tale. The days have been filled with tears, laughs, food, insulin, trying to cough, chest tubes, fat legs, blood cots, walks and yes even a nail polish change. I will make sure I write down my story in the next week (with Jeremys help...I missed a good 36 hours in there someplace.) but for now I wanted to say how lucky and loved I feel. It is very overwhelming. It was so awesome to call back to Michigan on Thanksgiving to hear everyone with such a happy heart, it got me so choked up that I couldn't talk anymore.

I do feel like a minor pin cushion and get excited the more and more that things come off and out of my body. If  you have never had chest tubes, please say a little prayer of thanksgiving right now. They don't just hurt your chest, they hurt your body. But as of this afternoon I am chest tube free. Which also means in 48 hours I can take my first shower since that Sunday night...as I am sure you can assume, it is well over due. Just another memory to write down...sponge baths. Never again. I will never complain about wanting or needing or being able to be clean again. I for sure went into this with the thoughts of..if you are gonna look bad you arent gonna look bad. So Thanks to Aunt Gwynn I have beautiful gowns. And thanks to a wonderful friend through Team Cassie I had a very special one I wore on Thanksgiving in memory of another Cyster gone too soon. My nails are done, my slippers are cute, my hair is rocking a headband, and my cheeks have tons of color in them now. I am a brand new girl.

I gained 20lbs in water weight, but carry nothing above the thighs...you can imagine 20 lb legs and feet, right? One day I will for sure laugh at the little sausages on the ends of my feet. My arm is finally down from the blood clot swelling. I have no more heart monitor. 1 PICC. 0 tubes. The list could go on. This warrior is fighting strong and I am no question about it...through all this pain/hassle/blah, I would sign up and do it all over again. There are a few things that will forever stick out in my memory bank...1 being Laila telling the cashier at the store that I got new lungs. My baby is so excited for me (and herself!) that listening to her happiness was well worth the things I will miss while staying strong in the beginning of this battle. 

I want to once again send my thanks for everything you all have done for me and my family. For the thoughts, kind words, donations, prayers, cards, whatever it was...we thank you and appreciate it.  We thank our donor and family of course too. Without them, we wouldn't have had this awesome reason to celebrate. I am sure there emotions are still running just as high as our are, just in a totally different way. 

Now it is time to go strengthen my new gift....my lungs! I remembering how to breathe!!