Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday, and although I can’t shoot fireworks out of my personal spacecraft like the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnorok, I can still celebrate.  My husband Jay and I started our celebration this morning by going out to breakfast, then we cruised over to the local mall for some holiday shopping.  Jay spoiled me by picking up the bill for my splurge on scrunchies and jaw clips at Claire’s, then we engaged in some mall-walking to see what businesses were still there.  I’m happy to report both Spencers and Hot Topic are still alive and well. 

I took my transplant meds a little before noon, and by the time we got home, the side effects were coming on strong.  Every day from noon to 2 or 3 p.m., I get to experience a full night of drinking and the subsequent hangover at an accelerated rate.  Coffee at breakfast allowed me to avoid the worst of the drunken stupor, but my stomach decided to act up instead.  The nausea is strong with this one.  Saltines are my friend.

Still, I won’t complain.  Today I’m 56 years old.  Those words sound impossible to me.  There were so many times when I believed my life would end.  At the age of 16, I transitioned from the children’s hospital to an adult cardiologist, and that doctor told my mother I probably wouldn’t live to the age of 30 due to my diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  To his credit, my heart crapped out right after my 36^th birthday.

Twenty years later, here I am.  Two heart transplants and lots of drugs, but I’m still on the sunny side of the soil.  These past twenty years have been the best years of my life.  I’m very grateful to my two donors and their families for granting me these years.  Words cannot convey just how priceless this gift of life – this gift of time – has been to me. 

I encourage everyone to register to be an organ donor.  You can give someone the greatest gift of their life, and their family’s life, just by taking a few minutes to sign up at this link:  Sign Up To Be An Organ Donor 

You too can be a hero.