Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Getting better and better

John showing off his homemade cane
Every time I see John at the coffee shop, he looks a little livelier and moves a little better. He made himself a cane out of an old branch on his property, stained it and put a tip on it. Those new knees make it hard for him to get up and down, but he moves pretty well once he's vertical. He won't be running any marathons any time soon, though. But in his "Ozark tuxedo" as he calls his overalls, he looks much more natural than he did in the nursing home.

He's already gotten onto his tractor and made some progress at home. Driving isn't a problem, either, and he's happy to have a handicapped parking sticker so he can park nearby when he's out and about. I suspect by the time he's ready to plant his garden, he'll be almost back to normal. It amazes me what they can do these days with worn-out body parts.

My friend Steve, an old skydiving friend on a journey to get a new liver, has made great progress, too. I've been able to keep up with him on Facebook. He had a kind of liver cancer that required a transplant if he was going to be able to live more than a few months. We agonized as all his friends waited to see if he would get one in time. On January 8, he received a new liver, and last week they removed the staples.
Steve's amazing scar
Inside him now resides a liver from someone who died, probably in a car accident, as that seems to be where most organs come from these days. I am wishing him all the best in the future, because even though he now has that essential ingredient, he will need anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life to keep it. He is a strong person in many ways, and he has his wonderful life partner, Maria, who has been taking care of him ever since he got sick. Hopefully the two of them will have many more years together.

I just made a new friend online, Heather, who was given a short time to live more than nine years ago. She had mesothelioma and in order to save her life, she opted to have her lung removed and is now doing well with the remaining one. Her story is very inspiring, and you can read all about it here. To honor the day she said goodbye to her lung, she started a blog called "Lung Leaving' Day" and gives us all a chance to leave behind our fears by writing them down on a plate and shattering it. It's very cool! Yesterday was the nine-year anniversary of that first day.

We are all very fortunate to live in a time when these miracles of scientific progress take place every day. Although none of us will know the date and time when we will leave this earth, I am inspired by those who valiantly take their future into their own hands. I am doing what I can to keep my own knees and lungs and liver, because I don't know if I would be able to go through it. I hope I don't get a chance to find out!
:-)

24 comments:

  1. so glad john is doing well! i like his cane and his 'grampa pants' (what we used to call overalls as my dad wore them). and good luck to your skydiving friend! wow! i have a blog friend who's son went thru a heart transplant one year ago today. it is amazing what can be done. and, yes, i'm an organ donor if the occasion arises. :)

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  2. we are very fortunate the technologies that we have developed that can lengthen our lives and give us hope in those dark hours when we see none...yikes...the thought of taking staples out...shivers....

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  3. Good your friend is up and about walking with his home made cane, and your other friend got a new liver, what an operation. And your blog friend with her idea to help people get rid of our fears, that is a great mission of hers.

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  4. Good luck to all those people Djan. They are incredibly brave. I read this on a day when I have just heard that my stepmother has died. She was 89 and so had lived a good life. Even so no-one wants to die and we all try to live just that bit longer.

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  5. A very sobering but uplifting post this week. None of us know what the future may hold so my philosophy is live each day to the full.

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  6. John is looking very well. This is truly a miraculous age as far as science goes to keeping us healthy.

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  7. A good time to make sure we are all on the donor list. It is amazing to see how this is old hand anymore.

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  8. Oh, how wonderful to see John in the cafe and walking about in normal duds. Love the home made cane and think that is cool because I make walking sticks from bits of driftwood I find on the beach - usually gifts to friends and family. I like that I can scroll back and see you post as I write. Your friend Steve has quite the scar there and I wish him the very best in his recovery. I was amazed to read about the loss of a lung and carrying on with only one. It does amaze me how far Medicine, Science and Technology has advanced and continues to every day. My new little nephew Evan is awaiting some complex heart surgery in the next month - he is 4 months old and I am amazed every day that he is home for now, normal like most babies and awaiting the skills of the Nurses and Doctors in Sick Kids Toronto. It amazes me because he will be OK with all those advanced procedures being applied to his tiny heart.. Thankyou DJan for updates on your friends. This was most uplifting post. lol

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  9. p.s. We dawned our outdoor gear yesterday and set aboot raking the roof of the house, barn and mini barn. I did the two small barns and then helped with the big roof. The snow on the back roof of the house was well above my waist. You know what - its the most interesting sound when snow comes sliding down the roof once encouraged with a snow rake. There is almost a gutterable rumble and then A MIGHTY BIG THUMP when it hits the ground. It is a sound that amazes me and captures my attention. I don't know that you have ever heard the sound of moving snow like that - perhaps you have, but its really sharpens your ears. Have a wonderful day.

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  10. All of these stories are so impressive. I am amazed at what can be done for defective parts of one's body. Good luck to all.

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  11. You're very right; it's amazing what modern medicine can do!

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  12. We interact almost daily with someone who is waiting on the transplant list for a kidney. A young-ish dad, retired from the military, he contracted an infection overseas many years ago that attacked his kidneys. He requires dialysis daily and is now set up to do that at home during the evening / night while he's resting so it doesn't take so much out of his days. (Also because the nearest VA hospital with dialysis unit is hours away.) You would never know he's feeling unwell, that his overall health in a very compromised state, or that he's going though any of this, by meeting him or even seeing him every day. We sure hope he gets the kidney he needs soon. They told him the expected wait time is up to 6 years.
    Last week Mitch's back went out on him severely, and for the first time in his life he finally agreed to see a chiropractor for help. That chiropractor happens to be a guy we've known since he was a kid in remission from a childhood battle with leukemia. Mitch worked with his dad and we now call him Dr. Jarred.
    Modern medicine is amazing. Continued health and recovery to your friends!

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  13. Wow - very inspiring stories! I'll have to check out Heather's blog.

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  14. I remember the doctors when Dagan was a baby with his severe heart defects telling me as I was getting ready to take him back home to "be with you for a while"...that "he could be back tomorrow, in a week, a month--best case scenario he might live to be two but he'll spend most of that time in the hospital". He didn't spend endless time in the hospital...in fact, he was only back for surgeries to keep him alive whenever his heart failed (four times so far)...patched and re-patched...he became their miracle baby...miracle child...and they quit predicting his death after he turned five. He just turned 40 in November. But we are all on borrowed time.

    He kept living long enough for them to invent ways to keep him alive. And I pray that will continue the next time his heart fails. It is amazing what they can do these days even compared to 40 years ago when he was a baby.

    My dad had a hip replacement at 90. He had to search for a doctor who would actually perform the surgery and sign his life away...but Dad was determined not to live in a wheelchair the rest of his days. (He's still mobile at 94.) I hope your friends are helped by science and medicine...and faith and love. :):)

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  15. That looks like the mother of all incisions! Yes there are great things that can be done in the medical field. New discoveries are made. All of us just live one day at a time and some people like you enjoy those days to the fullest and when you leave you will have no regrets.

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  16. A wonderful heartwarming post. On all counts.
    Hugs.

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  17. John looks great! That is some incision that your friend Steve has...uffda. We have a friend who had a double lung transplant that was five years ago and she goes to the transplant clinic once a month for a checkup. Those rejection drugs are hard on your system...her eyesight is being affected.
    Medicine can work miracle now a days for sure! :)

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  18. You really have some blessed friends. We have gotten to know John and seeing him up and about is great. You go John.
    Steve's incision is down right scary but thank goodness he received his liver. I am a donor and just hope I have useful parts to share.
    I went to Heather's link and love the idea of writing our fears on a plate then destroying the plate. All of your friends have wonderful attitudes about illness. Lesson for all of us.

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  19. What a sweet post – I hope your friends keep staying healthy for many years. It is very comforting to know that medicine is constantly finding new cures. I love the photo from your last post, with the mossy branch.

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  20. I'm working to keep my own too. Arthritis is working away at my right knee, as well as other parts. The secret is to keep moving! It has been a year since my back surgery, and what a success that was!

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  21. Oh yes...the science of medicine astounds me. My grandson had a piece of teflon attached to his hole in his heart. It boggles my mind what is done to save a human life.

    And I love the reference to "Ozark Tuxedo"

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  22. Your three friends have certainly benefit from some of the best of what the medical world offers. May they all continue to heal, strengthen and thrive.

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  23. How great that he made his own cane. And how inspiring are these stories of friends making the best of what life has brought them.

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