55 And Still Alive!

When I wished Jeff a Happy Birthday this morning he puffed out his chest and announced, “I’m 55 and still alive!”
 

Single-digit temperatures are not conducive to outdoor walks so we went mall-walking this morning.  Jeff is concerned about his lung function test later this month because he has been getting winded fairly easily.  He wanted to make sure he fit in a “work-out” this weekend.  The lung function test is done periodically to check for damage from the pre-transplant conditioning.  So far he has had good results.

We’d been discussing the empty anchor store at the mall.  Jeff was quiet for a couple of minutes and then said, “I wonder what’s next.”

“You mean, which store will occupy that space?” I asked.

“No.  What I’ll do to help Gift of Life.”

Jeff wondered aloud what he might expect next medically and, well, eventfully.  Jeff’s birthday, the New Year and his January appointment at Dr. Porter’s office have us thinking about his survival.  Right now, we decided, it seems as if he is cured - even though “there is no cure.”  It feels like “cured,” not “in remission.”  We don’t delude ourselves that things couldn’t get ugly again but we are in a pleasant place, enjoying now. 

We tossed around some ideas for a swabbing event.  Where do lots of people congregate, especially young people, who would be inclined to swab?  The Grange Fair?  A Rider event?  We can talk to Gift of Life for advice. 

We mused about the future and reflected on the past year.  It was a big year for us.  We learned the identity of Jeff’s donor in April, we became grandparents in May, Keith left for Afghanistan and Jeff started babysitting Rosie in July, we took a bucket-list trip to Bermuda in September, met Jeff’s donor in October, celebrated 34 years of marriage in November and went to Boca Raton, FL, in December at the invitation of Gift of Life.  Also in December was the third family wedding since Jeff’s transplant.  It was a very happy occasion both for the young couple and for us.  Jeff gave me much more than the one slow dance he would reluctantly grant me pre-transplant.  We danced slow, we danced fast, we danced and danced!

Kim cooked for her Dad’s birthday – a beautiful flank steak stuffed with roasted peppers, spinach and bleu cheese with beets and potatoes and, naturally, rum raisin ice cream.  We played a rousing game of Qwirkle, played with the cats and headed home.  A good day.