Lungs for Mandy

Okay you are going to say a lung transplant is hard. No, no no a lung transplant is nothing like trying to get my eyebrows straight. I feel that in addition to keeping my lungs as healthy as possible keeping my eyebrows groomed is equally difficult. All my life it has been a struggle….you know the eyebrows.

There are stories from my adolescence that are indeed true. Yes I did shave one eyebrow off with Dad’s shaver. And yes a friend waxed my eyebrows so thin that you couldn’t see them. I think the elimination of one was better than the thin ones. Who knows.

When I lived in Los Angeles I used to get my eyebrows threaded but that is not available here Saint Louis.

Recently a friend and one of the famous 13th floor nurses told me about a new thing that she uses on her eyebrows. It is a razor comb that trims your eyebrows. Well, I tried and guess who is missing a portion of their eyebrow now? I look like Vanilla Ice - remember him? Well, I guess I’m going to go back to the tweezers. Thanks for the tip Violetta —  I guess! HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHA

So it was Tuesday — SOPHIA turned 5!!!! WooHoo. Happy Birthday dear Sophia.

We celebrated with ice cream and a homemade Hannah Montana cake made by Steve! I think that our family spent about a million dollars on Hannah Montana gear ranging from shirts and guitars to Hannah’s backstage closet. I don’t think I even knew Hannah Montanta existed until about three months ago. Where did she come from? Outer space I tell you- outer space.

Oh and Mom decided to purchase a clever little nail polishing kit where Sophia can make her own nail polish. Everyone in Steve’s house including me think that Sophia should play with that toy and Gramdma’s house! IT IS MESSY!!!!

I stayed over after the festivities and today we are all heading out to the second best zoo in the world’s,  actually number one if you are talking about zoos that have free admission.  

Over 5 months and things continue to get better almost daily. Mandy continues to improve goi ng to the gym to exercise, taking pilates and yoga. Her bike rides continue to give me gray hairs but it’s good for her and she really enjoys saving the planet by reducing her carbon footprint.

Heck she even has me doing things to conserve, composting grass clippings, saving aluminum cans, breaking down large boxes, growing my own vegetables and considering purchasing a motorcycle or scooter.  It’s amazing how much difference one person can make. I’m even reading the Healthy Planet newsletter that Mandy drops off monthly. It’s really great to have Mandy teaching me how I can make a difference. Even though it takes her a few times to get me going in the right direction

We’ve started using web based forms that reduces the amount of paper we use. As most people know when they buy or sell a house there is a lot of excess paper used. so by using web based forms we conserve and maybe save a tree.

Today I changed Doctors and began seeing a Doctor that is a friend of Steve and Chris’. It’s a female Doctor and very young. Funny how growing up you always felt like your Doctor would always be older than yourself but I guess all things change. After a few weeks of trying to convince myself not to change, I treked out and was pleasantly surprised of how thorough, professional and compassionate a Doctor can be, especially when she’s the same age as your children and a female. I found myself very relaxed and confident in her ability. Thanks to Steve for suggesting it.

I had a great birthday day this year, lots of visitors ,and my favorite kind of cake. Laurie even made orange potato salad. (What a loss for those that have never had it) She even did the BBQing. What a great day.

G’Bob is trying to sell his motor home, I suggested he advertise on Craigslist and tried to walk him through the process. Needless to say I am now posting the camper for sale on a daily basis. Hopefully he can sell it, even though it only gets about 8 miles to the gallon. Knowing G’Bob that’s at 85 miles an hour. I’ve got him so gun shy by telling him stuff like, don’t take a cashier check, don’t meet them at your house, don’t let them test drive. I think he thinks I’m crazy.

Well as I close today I wanted to give a shout out to Adam Z. who’s band just played, I think their first club date. Congratulations!!! I would of liked to of attended but my head acts funny anymore whenever I mix beer and music.

Dad

Dad turned 30 today HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day with us! We all certainly had fun celebrating!!! May all of you dreams come true, you deserve it! The whole family except Steve went to Mom and Dad’s to swim and have a BBQ. Dad requested his favorite cake Devil’s Food and fluffy white icing — his favorite cake ever! Of course he got what he wanted since it is his birthday.

The kids and I decided to play a game of hide-and-seek. I won only because I have gotten smarter in my old age. I wish I had been good at hide and seek when I was young, but sometimes practice makes perfect. And when I was “it” I was onnnn. It is kind of like CSI, I follow the clues to get my boys or girl. Sophia is the funniest hide and seek player. When you say “Ready or Not Here I Come” she starts giggling and it is so easy to find her. Alex is the best and Jacob is becoming better every time we play.

All of your thoughts and prayers have helped Michael — thank you very much. He is a a little better and there is no scientific reason for the improvement. Michael’s Mom  Susan says it has to be the prayers.

Another CF friend in have stomach surgery next week and let’s all send out some good vibes for “J”.

Yesterday I attended a picnic with the Second Wind group at Forest Park. It was so nice to mingle with some other transplant recipients and those that are waiting for their gift. Sometimes it feels really strange to me because I have had two transplants now and there are some who haven’t received their first. Please remember to sign your donor card and pass on the message to others about organ donation. It is not always pleasant, but it is so important!!! There is a Second Wind lung walk/run in October you can participate to help those in need assistance pre and post surgery. Second Wind has helped me tremendeously along the way. It should be a nice day. If you interested please log on to: www.secondwindstl.org . The information hasn’t been fully released for this year yet, but the walk is on October 18, 2008 at 8am.

Take it easy!

Hugs, Amanda