Today is our 7-year T-Day (Transplant Day) Anniversary! As I type this, my parents are setting sail on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. This is their second European river cruise in less than a year! To say that my mom is doing great and living life to its fullest would be an understatement. Her granddaughter Jade, who brought so much light to my mom's life during her year of dialysis, is now 8 years old and continues to be the center of both my parents' lives.
Other than a bad bout with shingles last year (a result of her suppressed immune system), my mom has maintained good health, and that kidney is still doing its job! My remaining kidney also continues to function great. It doesn't seem to be the least bit lonely in there ;)
On this anniversary day, I perused our old blog posts and was reminded of many details of the whole experience that had slipped into the recesses of my memory. However, the over-arching theme that still resonates in our lives today is a profound gratitude for the friends and family who were (and still are!) in our lives and supported us through the weeks and months surrounding the transplant surgery. And also, we continue to be so grateful for the good folks at Stanford Hospital!
While life hasn't always been perfect or easy these past seven years, none of us take good health for granted anymore! I thank God, our family, our friends, medical professionals, and the scientists who make daily advances in kidney research for giving us the blessing of health that we are still enjoying today.
Look for another post a year from now! It's safe to figure that no news is good news!
Joan
(Pete and Addie in Budapest - 7/14/16)
(The Pedersens in the bounce house at Jade's 8th birthday party - 6/11/16)
Posts
