update on my Mom's double lung transplant - 7 months later...

January 27, 2012 was just over 7 months ago.

it was a Friday afternoon i won't forget for a long time. i had done a presentation that morning in a graduate class and then skipped out of school early because i was feeling sick.

after i had been home a couple hours i got a phone call from my Mom who had been in Durham for several months waiting on a double lung transplant.

this was the call we had been waiting on for a long time. my Mom called to tell me she had a pair of lungs on the way to Duke Hospital for her!

it was a pretty chill phone call though. we didn't get our hopes up too much. we had already been through this once and it was a "false alarm" because the lungs were no good once they made it to Duke.

but this turned out to be the real thing. my Mom got her new lungs!
after years and years of praying that God would heal my Mom... she just got replacement lungs! crazy. miracle.

but the next days and weeks were scary. we weren't sure if the lungs were going to work or if my Mom was going to make it. those days were the worst. she was in ICU for a really long time.

but then she just kept getting better and better.

and a few weeks ago she got to come home from Durham back to Charlotte!

That is big news and we're so happy to celebrate it. the lungs are working great. she still has more health recovery to go, but she's getting there.

so after a whole year away, she's HOME.

well... sort of home...

she's back in Charlotte, but while she was at Duke for a year, my parents' house flooded. the whole 1st floor got cleared out, but now mold has also been found throughout so my Mom can't move back in until it is all gone.


my Dad has been working like crazy to get all the mold torn out and then to rebuild their home.

thankfully, a great friend of ours lent my parents their RV for a little while. so my Mom would have a place to stay.
& then another great friend has been lending my parents an empty house nearby for them to stay in!

wow. talk about crazy blessings.
now we're just trying to get my parents house ready for my Mom to move back in as fast as possible!

7 months ago these "problems" would have seemed very small. we just wanted my Mom to get a new chance at life. and she has that :)
hopefully her home will be finished soon and be even better than before.

for now, i thought all of you would be happy to know that my Mom is looking good and even playing with her granddaughter Keira! (Who was born just before the lung transplant)

and i literally just talked to my Mom right before i published this! She gave me an update after her latest day of tests and procedures at Duke this past Monday. For the 1st time since the transplant there is NO SIGN OF REJECTION which is GREAT news! hopefully the good reports like that will continue.

*i wanted to say Thank You so much to those of you who have donated, prayed for my Mom, have helped tangibly, or even showed your support via text or Facebook comment. thank you. Thanks to those of you who helped to raise money for her medical expenses and who helped with your time and effort on her home! thank you!

if any of you would like to donate to my Mom's Double Lung Transplant Fund you can click HERE to donate through the National Foundation for Transplants to help with my Mom's ever growing medical expenses. if you would like to donate or help in any way with rebuilding their home please contact me or leave a comment on this post with your info.

it has been a long year. but in the past year my Mom has gained a granddaughter