| Saturday, July 26, 2008- I have been thinking over in my mind about this update, and am finally going to try and put it into words. We have been going non-stop since our trip to St. Louis, and this is really the first time I have had the time to work on it.
Our follow up in St. Louis went well. Christena was suffering with a sinus infection, and really didn’t feel so great. We didn’t stay at the hospital any longer than we had to. No need to take a chance on picking up something there for her to deal with. The waiting game for test results always takes a lot out of me, so once we got our results back I was feeling much better. We spent some time with Laura and her friend Matt (who, by the way, is pretty awesome!), time with her and the boys and had some family time. George did work in a round of golf on Monday afternoon after all of the tests and we got to go out and do a little shopping. |
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| I didn’t take very many pictures since Christena was feeling so rough, but we did get the one that counts……..her picture with Dr. Gandhi! |
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| I have put this picture up before of the quilt that hangs in the clinic. The heart is filled with the hand prints of all the kids who have had lung transplants at SLCH. At some point they stopped adding more hands, even though they still trace each child’s hand. When we went in this past week, Christena was looking at it and made the comment that she wondered if Kevin had his hand on the quilt. There were quite a few children who have written their names and transplant dates on since they quit adding the hands. She found where Kevin had listed his transplant date, so it was only fitting that she add her name and transplant date……….right under his!! See arrow in above picture. |
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We got up early on Wednesday and headed for Corning, Ark to visit the donor family. Since they came to Kentucky to visit us for Christena’s graduation, they had asked us to come to their home. We made it around lunchtime and met them at their local Pizza Hut, where we met up with them and some of their family and friends to enjoy lunch and give them the opportunity to meet Christena. While it was nice getting to meet them all, I was very pleased that we were able to meet another one of Amber’s brothers. Allan was able to come over during his lunch hour from work. What a sweet young man he is. I enjoyed getting to talk with him and share a few laughs with him. I know that his pain is still so fresh in losing his sister, and yet he was such a joy to be with.
After lunch we went back to their home and had the opportunity to see all of the animals on their farm. Christena especially enjoyed the baby kittens……..all seventeen of them. She and Alldan, Amber's youngest brother, were able to catch up with each other and George and I shared some time with Amber’s Mom and Dad. While we weren’t able to stay long with the long drive we had ahead of us, we did make a stop on our way out to the cemetery where Amber is buried. My heart aches for each of them, and the pain was so evident in their eyes. During a moment with Amber’s Dad, I told him how sorry I was and he hugged me and said, “It’s okay, something good came out of it”. What a wonderful man, to find the joy in Christena’s living with the loss of his precious Amber. I was very touched by his kind words and such compassion for us. |
| JOURNAL UPDATES |
| I have added a couple of pages with pictures. There is a page from our visit with Amber’s family, here.
I have also added a page of the pictures that Kevin’s sister took of Kevin and Christena while they were in Michigan, here. I hope you enjoy the pictures! |
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| Thursday, Little George took off from work to spend the day with Christena. It wasn't enough to just stay home, they had to make a trip to Holiday World.......and not without Mom!! Let me just say, they have a roller coaster there that lasts forever!!! Only the 3rd one I have ever been on in my life. The things you will do for your kids! Today, I finished getting Christena's laundry done and got her packed up and took her to meet Kevin. They are going to be attending a family wedding tomorrow. What a busy week it has been!! |