Rounds Inspirational Journeys

I woke up this morning hoping to put aside the drama of yesterday, go to Bible Study, and just have a good day. I am still not feeling well, my throat continues to be irritated to the point I cannot eat, and my uvula (Hannah told me the name for it and, for those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, it is the little guy that hangs down in the back of your throat) is extremely swollen and causing me difficulties. I settled down to finish my Bible study homework for this week only to receive a phone call that Bible study was cancelled due to the weather, bummer, I really could have used that time with God and a supportive group of girlfriends. So, I decided to head to the computer to check my accounts. There was a message there from Dr. Pilewski . My bronch results are in and my lungs are in mild rejection and I have another infection of Pseudomonas . All it took was that word rejection and I burst into tears. Yesterday I cried myself out, so I really didn't need another emotio...

Do you believe in the power of the Lord? If not, you really need to hear my story of today. I made an incredibly stupid mistake today, I responded to an e-mail that I thought was from Yahoo's Customer Support Center, only to find out that it was a phishing e-mail that captured my log-in information. They attacked my e-mail account and sent out the following message to all of my contacts: From: Nancy Matthews Sent: Thu, February 25, 2010 12:21:29 PM Subject: Very urgent please Hello, Sorry for not telling you about my emergency trip to London. Here is what happened to me, i am stranded and without a phone at the moment. I was defrauded of all my personal belonging and also robbed by the same gang of fraudsters here.Am at the airport right now mailing from an internet center with the only money i have left and i only have 30 minutes. At the moment i need $1970 to cover some expenses and to get back my passport from the hotel i booked,i have to pay move out and the manager has my pa...

I am so sorry if you have received an e-mail message from me saying that I am in London and need money. Someone has compromised my Yahoo account and I am working on getting it fixed. Please ignore any e-mails you get from me. Thank you! Nancy

Well, we returned last night from another trip to Pittsburgh and today I feel like I was tenderized with an enormous meat tenderizer. I Am IN PAIN!!! Yes, I truly believe someone was out to kill me yesterday during my bronch . Of course I'm kidding, but my body does feel as if that might have been the case. I went in for a normal bronch , so they decided not to use general anesthesia, but instead more of a conscious sedation without the use of a breathing tube. BIG MISTAKE! When they got in, they realized I needed to be ballooned again, so they started over, giving me general anesthesia, a breathing tube, and ballooned the area. I am still totally doped up, almost 24 hours later, so if none of this makes any sense, I apologize. My Pulmonary Function scores were also lower, which is of concern to me, but hopefully that is due to an infection, not a lung decline. I will keep you posted. Please say some extra prayers for me and my lungs, we might need them. I will let you know...

I had to share with you this sad, but beautiful transplant story. This was written in the Salt Lake Tribune. I am so sorry if it makes you cry, I sit here sobbing, but it does such a great job of showing the two sides of transplant. Both sides, worried about the other, mourning a loss, yet realizing the gift that has been given. I know the sadness I feel when I think of my donor and her family. I have yet to hear from them, but pray that some day I will get to hug them, thank them, and show them how much their daughter/mother/sister/wife did for me! Ashley's gift: A liver for LuLu Organ donation » Two mothers and their daughters are forever linked by a 'wonderful, yet horrible' donation. By Heather May The Salt Lake Tribune Updated:02/12/2010 02:45:21 PM MST "A lot of my emotions are tied up in thinking about that family and praying for that family. It's amazing in someone's darkest hour they can say, 'Take what you can from this person that we love and giv...

Dear friends, I received this e-mail from the CF Foundation and wanted to pass it on to you. Please let your representatives know if you approve of this act. People need to be able to participate in studies without losing their healthcare coverage! The remarkable progress of VX-809 is a reminder of why it is so important to remove barriers that prevent people with CF from participating in clinical trials. Passing the “Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009” will allow people with CF who are on public benefits to participate in important research without losing their health coverage. We continue to work with Congressional supporters to chart the best path forward for the bill. There are two options to pass the bill: Option #1: On its own Non-controversial, bi-partisan and no-cost legislation like the clinical trials bill may be considered under special procedural rules. Thanks to your hard work, 110 members of the House, and eight members of the Senate have signed on as co-spon...

Let me introduce you to my new Sous Chef. Last night she made cookies almost all by herself. Isn't she cute with her apron on? I might be rubbing off on her after all! Check out my cooking blog for her cookie recipe: http://www.cookingforfunwithnancy.blogspot.com/ .

Do you remember snow days when you were a kid? There was nothing quite like hearing the news that school was cancelled. My mom always made cream of wheat. We'd hang out in our PJs and then we'd bundle up and head outside to play in the snow. One year my dad helped us make an amazing igloo in our backyard. It was huge and our whole family could fit in it. We had so much fun! Today is a snowday for Hannah. She is trying to figure out what friend she might be able to have over and I am sure she will make some great memories of her own. Childhood is such a wonderful time! It looks like a winter wonderland outside. It makes you feel so cozy. What a great day to sit by the fire and read a good book! I think we all need snow days. A day to relax and rest, to forget all of our obligations and just watch the snow fall down. Make sure to take a snow day soon, it is a great way to rejuvinate ! All my love! Nancy

I wanted to recommend an amazing book to all of you. It is called Left to Tell, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust and was written by Immaculee Ilibagiza . I was given this book last year by a dear friend, and finally got to read it last month. I am still in awe of all that this woman went through. Her faith is so inspiring and will bring you to tears. If you have ever doubted the existence of God, you really must read this book, you will never doubt again. For those of you unfamiliar with the Rwandan Holocaust, it occurred in 1994 and more than one million people were murdered in roughly 100 days. They were killed because of they belonged to the Tutsi tribe and were murdered by friends and neighbors. No one was spared, not babies, women, children, or elderly. The most amazing theme that came out of this book for me was one of forgiveness. Can you imagine having your family killed, yet praying for and forgiving their murderers? Forgiveness can be a difficult concept, yet Go...

Hannah participated in Solo Fest over the weekend. This was her first opportunity to play her flute alone and get assessed for it. As you can imagine, she was very nervous, but she went in and did her best and we were so proud of her! We are not sure how she did, she will get the results tomorrow in band, but as we told her, it doesn't matter what her score is, she is a winner for just going in and participating. This was an optional event, students chose to participate. It is so amazing to watch our children spread their wings and try new things. The sense of accomplishment she felt was written all over her face as she left the competition room. It makes me proud to be her mother!

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a young woman whose father died after 3 failed kidney transplants. His death was actually caused by a heart problem, most likely brought on by his transplant medications. We were discussing the difficulties he had and the expenses the family incurred. One of the things brought up was the donut hole I spoke about a few entries ago. As most of you have figured out, transplantation is extremely costly. She asked me a question that I have not been able to get out of my mind, "Was it worth it?" Was it worth it? She meant the cost. Was all the money we have and will spend worth it? I hope you all know what my answer was, YES!!!! How can you put a price on a life? What is too much to spend to get your health back? I can certainly say I wouldn't want my family to be destitute because of my transplant, but to have to cut back and live more frugally, we can definitely handle that. Every penny we have paid out, every t...