"All my life you have been faithful
All my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God."
~Fielding, Johnson, Cash, Ingram, Johnson -Bethel Music
We learned this song in church this morning. As we were singing it, I realized that the words perfectly described my journey. God has brought me so far. The picture above, from 5-30-19, shows the dramatic change from not so long ago, on 1-24-19.
What a miracle! Not only has my appearance changed, but I can do many things I could not do before, and I have been able to participate in some amazing activities these past two months.
We had our end of the year awards ceremony at Union on May 3. My colleague Josh Simmons was chosen as staff member of the year- he is so deserving. His wife Cynthia, had a liver transplant in August of last year. Isn't she beautiful?
Later that day, I found a tasty surprise on my desk.
Thankfully, I was able to find the generous student responsible- Kaelyn Forbes. As a future nurse, she knew that cookies would appease the prednisone demons.
When I was in rehab in Nashville, I had a goal to participate in a 5K that our students were hosting to raise money for St. Jude. On May 4, I walked my first 5K ever. I was 96 days post transplant.
Look how the students met me. We have the best students ever!
It took me 53 minutes and I wanted to stop halfway through. I thought of my donor, and kept going. My friend and colleague- and liver recipient Dr. Jay Bernheisel ran the race as well. He is an athlete (and I am not) so it was great to have his support.
Sherrie Turner - friend, colleague, and fellow DR mission team member, hung out in the back with me, and we crossed the finish line together. What a sweet moment.
It was a great feeling to accomplish that goal. I came in dead last, but for me it was not a race. It was about finishing. I believe that is how life is. God just expects us to do our best and finish well. This was also a way for me to honor my donor.
I had the most wonderful surprise a few days later. As you know, I did not get to go on the mission trip to the Dominican Republic this year. Well, the DR came to me! Our dear friends Felipe and Anna, and their son Elliot walked into my office and I was speechless. Anna's family lives in Mississippi, and they were here for a visit. My friend and colleague Dr. Molly Wright arranged for them to come to campus, and we all went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
I know that their trip to the US had nothing to do with me, but it was such a gift from God to allow me this connection with some of my Dominican "family." As a matter of fact, it felt like a family reunion.
I was able to celebrate Mother's day with my mom, my daughters, and my granddaughters. What a gift! The girls took us to one of my favorite places, the Carriage House Tea Room. We had a "girlie" lunch.
Silly picture as we get ready for a Skip-Bo marathon!
Some of the ladies at my husband's job bought transplant t-shirts, and wore them the same day. What an honor!
May is a crazy month at a University, and I love it. Even though I am only released to work half time, I was able to squeeze in many of my favorite things, and to do them without having to "hide" shortness of breath, and I never became fatigued!
It rained the day we hosted the traditional undergrads for a cook out, so we took the cookout to them! So many laughs, tears, and hugs.
Graduation! We had our traditional undergrads, our accelerated BSN students, and our post-master's doctoral students at this graduation (we have three graduations a year). One of the best things I get to do as dean is to pronounce the names of the graduates as they receive their diplomas. This year, my healthy donor lungs gave me the breath I need to form those words with a strong voice. My donor and I did it together!
Some of my colleagues and me posing with Buster, our mascot. In case you are wondering, I am the one wearing the mask in these pictures. :)
Graduate faculty and staff
Doctoral grads
Undergrad faculty
Undergraduate nursing graduates, coming to a bedside near you! I am so proud of them.
I am so thankful that I was able to share in the joy of this day with our students. Most people do not like graduation ceremonies, but I love ours! It is a privilege to see all the smiles and celebrate with families.
My good friends Mike and Tamara Primeaux came to visit me when they were in town. Mike is a nurse practitioner who took care of me when all of this started. This family moved to Florida, but we have kept in touch. Mike is a fierce prayer warrior! Check out his shirt.
My former student, current colleague, and friend Nicole Wilson sent this pillow to me. It signifies that I am lung transplant # 509 at Vanderbilt. How thoughtful!
Another former student - and now colleague and friend, Dr. Charlotte Stephens, did an Honor walk for me. I might have ugly cried when she sent this. What a wonderful way to remember my donor.
The end of May/beginning of June brought another one of my favorite times. Our nurse practitioner students all come to campus in Jackson to learn skills such at suturing, casting, toenail removal, etc. We start each day with praise and worship.
Lots and lots of fun supplies for the week!
Professor Brad Creekmore and Dr. Cathy Aslin do the teaching in this course. I am honored to say that both are Union grads. (I also taught both of them, and they have excelled in spite of that!)
Praise and worship. What better day to start the day!
Working on a special pad to learn to suture.
Learning to suture on pigs' feet.
Can you say "barbecue for dinner"?
Getting ready to learn toenail removal.
At the end of the first day, my husband and I host a cookout for the students and faculty each year. The weather was beautiful! I cannot tell you how happy it made me to do this. I am so thankful to my donor, who made it possible!
On June 4, I had my 4 month visit at Vanderbilt. My FEV1 (some people refer to that as lung function) was 100%. What? Can you believe that? Jesus and an organ donor gave me perfect lungs.
I met this lady in the waiting room. She had her lung transplant almost 21 years ago! She had been in a terrible car wreck, and developed ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). She was on a ventilator for quite a while, and immobile for months. When lungs finally came, the surgeon did not think she would survive the transplant. What an inspiration!
We pretty much had a party in the waiting room that day. The gentleman in the center had his transplant a year ago- some kind of environmental exposure caused his lungs to fail.
The man on the far right recognized me and spoke immediately. He and his wife were in a support group meeting that my daughter attended in February, when I was still at Vanderbilt. They were just then considering transplant. He had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is a terrible disease. His breathing had declined very rapidly. They had many questions; we answered what we could, and encouraged them. Well, he had his transplant three weeks ago! It all happened so fast. He said to me "If a tiny little thing like you could do it, we figured we could too." God used my miracle to encourage them, and this family got their miracle. No coincidence that we were in that meeting together.
Overall the team is still pleased with my progress. I am having blood drawn weekly here, and each week they change my dose of Prograf. My kidneys are not really happy with the meds, and I have had several changes. None of this is uncommon. I also still have the cough, but it is better. The "opacity" in my right lung is resolving. Of course I asked to go back to work full time. Umm.....the answer was no. She said that they do not even discuss work at any level with most patients until 6-12 months after surgery. Dr. Shaver promised me that if there was no rejection on my 6 month bronchoscopy, I could go back.
All in all, the recovery is getting easier. I still go to the gym Monday through Friday, have bloodwork each week, wear a mask most of the time outside of the house, and take 41 pills a day. The side effects of the meds are no fun, but this is what I signed up for. Breathing trumps it all. I still reach for my oxygen when I go to bed sometimes. Old habits are hard to break.
Prednisone is a wonderful drug, but the side effects are tough. If you are old enough to have seen "The Twilight Zone," this will make sense to you:
I am grateful for the team at Vanderbilt. Oddly, sometimes I miss our simple life in the little apartment there. I also miss seeing the transplant team- but Elizabeth calls me about my labs each week and we get to chat for a minute. I am grateful that I can call any time about anything, and no one makes me feel like I am wasting their time.
It's been two months of enjoying life- a 5K, graduation activities, family fun, church, and even a wedding. All of this because of a stranger who gave me the gift of life.
My nephew Kyle and his bride Caroline.
Our great niece- the prettiest flower girl ever!
My sister in love, and mother of the groom Pamela.
What a fun, busy two months. Transplant is not about climbing Mt. Everest for me. Spending time with family and friends is the best gift.
I love my silly dog. He is good therapy.
All my life you have been faithful
All my life you have been so, so good.
As we were singing our new song in church this morning, I reflected on God's faithfulness throughout my life, but especially since January 24th. He has been in every little detail.
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God.
Although I was able to "sing of the goodness of God" prior to transplant, doing it through the strong, healthy lungs of someone I may never meet makes it stronger and more beautiful.
This is not Kelly Harden's story- it is God's story. I will sing it as long as I have breath.
