Hard Work

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!
-Fort Minor "Remember the Name"

Was listening to this song the other day and got to thinking about life. More specifically, having things in life that we take pride in. I'm not talking material possessions or trivial things, but relationships that we have had to work at, careers that we had to work to achieve, and other things that we can honestly look back and say, "I did that!" To get there is rarely an easy road and we have all put in our "fifty percent pain" while only getting the "five percent pleasure." Looking back though, we have pleasure in knowing that we did all we could to make things work and we can be proud and have 100% pleasure in knowing that we have worked hard for what we have and that no one can take that from us.

With that, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me get the things that I am proud to look back at with a feeling of accomplishment. Some of you probably don't know the part you played. One day I hope to be able to tell everyone that part and thank them personally!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving. I know this is getting out late on Thanksgiving night, but I have been busy all day doing family "stuff." It has been a really good day. Had some time to reflect today on things to be thankful for and, of course, I have many! It didn't hit me until later tonight that just being around family for me this year is a blessing. Just to not be in the hospital or sick is a blessing. To have a family to spend time with is a blessing. I could go on and on. I know, lately, I have been scarce with my friends but I have been spending more time with my family. I want to thank everyone who reads this and who has helped me through hard times with the transplant. I know that the prayers that were prayed and the kind words that were said to me will not go unpaid. I just want everyone to know that, on Earth, right now, they haven't gone unnoticed! Happy Thanksgiving!

Olympic Wrestler Workout

This is insane!

Wellness Conference

Sorry for the long delay in updating. I have been incredibly busy with teaching and trying to stay caught up. It is easy to get behind when you miss at least one day a week, not to mention the hospital stays that have set me back 3 or 4 days at a time. I am getting caught up and actually feel like I can breathe now. Hopefully I will be updating more regularly now. Now for the update....

First off, I am whole again! I had a biliary drain in my side until last Wednesday and it was removed. This means that there are no more tubes or medical appendages coming out of my body. It feels good to not have to worry about pulling it out before it needs to come out. I was happy to discover that the removal of the biliary drain did not hurt. I was worried going in because the removal of my JP drain was nothing short of excruciating. The doctor just told me to take a deep breath and before I could finish inhaling, he was finished. Otherwise, I am doing well.

Second, I spent all day Saturday at a Wellness Conference put on by the Georgia Transplant Foundation. It was awesome to meet other people who have had a transplant and see other people who I haven't seen since we left Emory. I also met my inspiration and benchmark for getting better, Chris Klug. He is an Olympic bronze medalist snowboarder who won that medal just a year and a half after transplant. He is a superstar in the transplant community and an inspiration to others. You never know how it is going to be when you meet people with "status." I went to a seminar that was a Q&A with Klug. In the seminar there was also a transplant pharmacist from Tampa General Hospital who was a recipient of 2 kidneys. Klug later came up and we had a short conversation over lunch. It is always nice when you meet people you look up to and they live up to those expectations.

Well that is the update for now, hope you enjoyed!