Well this is 33.
And I’m not upset about it. I mean, I wasn’t suppose to live this long. I say it every Birthday because making it 1 more year was my wish for a long time. How crazy is that? Your birthday wish becomes: please let me make it to Easter then July 4th then Halloween then Thanksgiving, hopefully Christmas and if I’m lucky another birthday.
10 years ago. March of 2009 is when everything went downhill so fast. I went from College student living on my own to back home with my parents. Needing 24/7 supplemental oxygen, eating through a tube, using a wheelchair to get around, and in the hospital like clockwork - 2 weeks in, 1 week out. It was hard and scary and frustrating and depressing. I was losing.
I would go on later that year to fall into a coma for about 45 days. I would have to relearn to walk, swallow, laugh, basic motor functions. I would be listed for a double lung transplant and wait 2 years 2 months and 2 days. After transplant I would have heart issues and need my heart stopped - yes, stopped completely, and restarted. I would develop neuropathy in my hands, feet, and back. Skin cancer is a new battlefront. I would have liver issues. Develop Kidney failure. Fall back to an unhealthy weight. Chronic Rejection took hold of my lungs and I had chemo and IVIG. Now both kidney and a second lung transplant are in the future.
All while that is going on, I would watch my Dad be diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer. I’d watch him fight every week at chemo for 4 years when the Drs didn’t give him 6 months. I was told he would do his chemo treatment then drive the 2 hours to my hospital where I laid in a coma just to be with me. I watched my childhood house burn to the ground. In that fire we lost 3 family dogs. 1 was my best friend. Tucker had been through everything with me. My dad died a few weeks later. I watched my Mom rebuild her house and life. I tried inter grating myself back into “normal” life after transplant.
Through all of that, all that negative - I managed to graduate college - with a 3.4 GPA - and still party like a rockstar. Move out on my own. Met someone and fell in love - Married him! Expanded my family 10 fold. Bought a house on a quiet piece of land in the country - the dream! Welcomed new dogs into my life - my whole life. Welcomed my nieces and nephews into the world. Climbed mountains - Cadillac twice! Ran my first ever 5k - ok so there was some walking, baby steps. Became an expert on travel from NH to OH. Attended more weddings than I can count! Competed in the Transplant Games of America - Silver in Bocce! Rode a motorcycle for the first time. Ate ramen noodles for the first time - thanks Bri. Ate salt water taffy for the first time - again, thanks Bri. Cut all my hair off - twice! In July it will be 7 years post transplant. I fostered dogs. Helped grow our family business. Discovered my love for mowing the lawn. I laughed. I loved. I cried. I yelled. I lived.
I lived.
Age is all about perspective. To some 33 is old, to others it’s young. But to me it another milestone. I’m proud to grow another year older. I embrace what it has to offer. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated - Big and loud - Every year. You are never guaranteed another one.
Happy Birthday to me! Live your life loud.
-Breathe Easy
10 years ago. March of 2009 is when everything went downhill so fast. I went from College student living on my own to back home with my parents. Needing 24/7 supplemental oxygen, eating through a tube, using a wheelchair to get around, and in the hospital like clockwork - 2 weeks in, 1 week out. It was hard and scary and frustrating and depressing. I was losing.
I would go on later that year to fall into a coma for about 45 days. I would have to relearn to walk, swallow, laugh, basic motor functions. I would be listed for a double lung transplant and wait 2 years 2 months and 2 days. After transplant I would have heart issues and need my heart stopped - yes, stopped completely, and restarted. I would develop neuropathy in my hands, feet, and back. Skin cancer is a new battlefront. I would have liver issues. Develop Kidney failure. Fall back to an unhealthy weight. Chronic Rejection took hold of my lungs and I had chemo and IVIG. Now both kidney and a second lung transplant are in the future.
All while that is going on, I would watch my Dad be diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer. I’d watch him fight every week at chemo for 4 years when the Drs didn’t give him 6 months. I was told he would do his chemo treatment then drive the 2 hours to my hospital where I laid in a coma just to be with me. I watched my childhood house burn to the ground. In that fire we lost 3 family dogs. 1 was my best friend. Tucker had been through everything with me. My dad died a few weeks later. I watched my Mom rebuild her house and life. I tried inter grating myself back into “normal” life after transplant.
Through all of that, all that negative - I managed to graduate college - with a 3.4 GPA - and still party like a rockstar. Move out on my own. Met someone and fell in love - Married him! Expanded my family 10 fold. Bought a house on a quiet piece of land in the country - the dream! Welcomed new dogs into my life - my whole life. Welcomed my nieces and nephews into the world. Climbed mountains - Cadillac twice! Ran my first ever 5k - ok so there was some walking, baby steps. Became an expert on travel from NH to OH. Attended more weddings than I can count! Competed in the Transplant Games of America - Silver in Bocce! Rode a motorcycle for the first time. Ate ramen noodles for the first time - thanks Bri. Ate salt water taffy for the first time - again, thanks Bri. Cut all my hair off - twice! In July it will be 7 years post transplant. I fostered dogs. Helped grow our family business. Discovered my love for mowing the lawn. I laughed. I loved. I cried. I yelled. I lived.
I lived.
Age is all about perspective. To some 33 is old, to others it’s young. But to me it another milestone. I’m proud to grow another year older. I embrace what it has to offer. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated - Big and loud - Every year. You are never guaranteed another one.
Happy Birthday to me! Live your life loud.
-Breathe Easy
