Thankfulness is not cliché

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving is almost over… Some of you are probably out shopping as I write this post. On this day of appreciation I can’t help but feel humbled by the many blessings I’ve been given. At the top of my list are Jody’s recycled lungs and the incredible gift of health they have given him. It might sound cliché, like one of those obligatory answers I should give when someone asks what I’m thankful for this season. The truth is, my life our lives would be very different if it weren’t for Jody’s gift of life and there’s nothing cliché about that in my heart.

When I started writing this post, I noticed that it’s been a year since I published my last one. One whole year!?! It used to really annoy me when I would follow a CF story through transplant and suddenly that person would drop off the face of the earth. I often wondered how they were doing and wished for updates from time to time. I told myself that if/when Jody got transplanted I would not do that to my faithful blog readers. Yet… here I sit, one year since my last post and I totally get it. Life is good again. It’s marvelous not to have things to write about. Sure, Jody has had minor issues here and there over the last year but nothing crucial that I felt warranted a post. While I haven’t written, we didn’t forget about you and are so very thankful for the support we received from you when we needed it most.

Jody’s new lungs have brought so much life back to our family. Jody is doing woodworking again (he’s so very talented) and he’s been busy with projects around the house. This past year Jody even started playing volleyball again. He and I met at a church playing pick-up volleyball each week. At that point in his life Jody’s CF was stable but his lung function hung around 50%. It wasn’t until years later when his lung function had fallen into the 20-30% range that Jody had to give up volleyball. It was hard to watch him give up the things he loved simply because he couldn’t breathe well enough to do them. Isn’t breathing a right afforded to everyone? When Jody started playing volleyball this year, lung function now over 100%, I remember him coming home that first night saying excitedly, “Tiff! I can’t believe this is what it is like for you to play volleyball!!!” I knew exactly what he meant. It was the first time he played a sport and could breathe like the rest of us. He couldn’t get over the fact that he wasn’t winded and didn’t have any major coughing spells, so typical of his old CF lungs. It gives me great joy to see him active again doing the things he loves.

As a whole our family is doing well. We have been in our new-to-us home for a year and a half now and are loving it, house projects and all. Our oldest daughter is nine and has a newfound passion for competitive swimming. We’re always on the go taxiing her between practices and swim meets but we love it! Prior to transplant this simply wouldn’t have been possible. Our youngest daughter turned seven this month. She’s as silly and independent as ever. She doesn’t remember much of our life before transplant, which seems crazy but she was young and I suppose it’s a good thing she doesn’t remember. Instead, she gets to reap the benefits of growing up with an active, present, “healthy” Dad. As for me, this past year I’ve taken on the challenge of focusing more on my health and doing what I can to live a healthier lifestyle and be a better role model for my girls. This has meant lots of exercise and discipline but the hard work is paying off.

Since this is Thanksgiving it seemed like the right time to reflect on the gratitude I feel inside and to share a brief update. Never far from my thoughts are Jody’s donor family and so many other’s I know who are missing loved ones today and every day. We have written Jody’s donor family (through the hospital) a couple of times but have not received any correspondence from them in return. Obviously we’d love to know more about his donor and family but we completely understand how painful communication might be for them. We patiently wait for a time when they might be ready to reach out… and if that day never comes, we’re okay with that too. Our desire is to support them however they need it as they grieve and heal.

I hope in addition to parade and football watching, cooking and baking, fun, fellowship and perhaps shopping, that you too, have taken some time to stop and reflect on all the things in your life for which you are (or should be) thankful. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” (NIV). I am humbled by the perfect gifts I have been given, I hope you are too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: gift of life, lung transplant, thanksgiving