How blessed am I? Incredibly. Throughout this ordeal, I have fallen,(not literally), a lot. That is to say, wondered if it was ever going to get better and wondered if it was all worth it. Well, I am here to tell you YES it was truly worth it and YES I have gotten better. Thanks, in large part to the tremendous love, support and prayers of all of you and many others. My biggest supporter, needless to say, is my loving wife Linda! She has had to endure quite a bit. You all know that before all this happened, I wasn't an easy person to have to live with. Imagine, me as an invalid and medicated to boot. Not a pretty combination. But, many of you, especially Linda, stuck by me and ignored my brashness. THANK YOU!
I have begun looking for work, albeit I'm not sure what I can do. One of my problems is explaining a two year absence from the work force and oh by the way I just had a bi-lateral lung transplant. Now I ask you, if you were an employer, how would you look at this? Do I hire the guy who may be disabled and may need a lot of time off for medical reasons, or do I hire one of the many applicants that is actually over-qualified for the job? Oh well, whatever is meant to be. I'll just keep trying and something will work out.
We haven't been doing much, other than the usual. No trips and no special occasions, but the weather has been great and we have been chillin' on the back porch. I do miss my occasional glass of wine or beer, but it's been good. I am fortunate to have such a wonderful partner to share even the most mundane activities with.
There was one medical issue that I was notified about after the annual checkup. It seems that when they put me under to do the lung biopsy I desaturated. Which means that my oxygen level in my blood dropped to an unhealthy level. Seems they forgot to tell me about that until a few days later. They had a device delivered that they wanted me to wear over night to monitor the oxygen level. That was a couple of weeks ago and I haven't heard anything, so I guess there is no reason for concern. I'll let you know if something develops.
I hope winter ends for a lot of you, and you are able to get out and enjoy.
Take care,
Jon
"Organ Transplants Work, I'm Living Proof"
