Abby is healthy......as far as we know anyway! This whole past week has been pretty uneventful, as far as Abby's health goes anyway. It's been really nice to have her feeling pretty good almost all the time. She gets worn out a lot, but considering all of the things we've been doing lately, along with the St. George heat, it would be weird if she didn't get tired! We don't know if Abby still has Parvo in her heart tissue, but because she is feeling so good, we're assuming that if she still does, it's not getting any worse. All last week, I had a very uneasy feeling about her Parvo and that we weren't treating it in any way, and after spending some time researching it and trying to learn more about it, that uneasy feeling was getting worse. I'm so thankful that we've got a transplant team with doctors that are willing to spend time talking to us. I called Dr. Molina and let her know about some of the things that I had read. While I was researching, I learned that Parvo in the heart tissue can lead to early coronary artery disease as well as heart rejection and heart failure, of course this made me nervous. But, after talking to Dr. M, I felt a little better. Apparently, there have also been studies done that say it isn't the parvo that caused these results. Even if it could potentially have these results, we wouldn't be doing anything different than what we are doing right now anyway. We are doing everything we can. Dr. M said that the fact that Abby is feeling good right now, and the blood tests have come back negative, we shouldn't be too worried and that we might test for it again during the next biopsy. Then, I finally got the guts to ask her the question that I've been afraid to ask anyone, I've never even dared to bring it up, but it's been in the back of my mind for a few months now. It's something that I've been thinking more and more about, especially with all the struggles we've had the last 5 months. I asked her if the heart transplant patients that have a harder time during the first year, tend to have a harder time throughout their lives with their new heart. I just held my breath while I was waiting for her answer. But, she said absolutely not. Sometimes, kids go through everything the first year, then they turn the corner and they don't experience problems for a long time! What a relief. She also said that we've learned a lot about Abby this past year. She is very susceptible to catching viruses, even more so than the normal immuno-suppressed kid, so we will have to make some changes to her meds in order to keep her healthy. We also know what to watch for now, and how Abby responds to being sick. Right now, we are just going to be grateful that she feels good. I'm so worried about being able to keep her healthy for the next 3 weeks so we can go on our Make-a-Wish trip to Disneyworld. It will be the longest amount of time she's been healthy since she got her new heart. We just pray every single day that she'll be okay, I think cancelling another trip would be devastating to all of us, we are looking forward to it so much. We are down to 17 days, she just needs to stay healthy for 17 more days, and the 7 we are in Florida of course, we can do it!!
For those of you that aren't on Facebook, I have to share our idea of how we are going to celebrate Abby's 1-year heart anniversary on July 12th. This is what it says on our "Pay it Forward Abby" facebook page:
Abby Doman got her second chance for life when she received a heart transplant on July 2nd, 2011. Abby and her family are so incredibly grateful for this gift, a gift that we think about every day. To show how thankful we are, we would like to make July 12th "Pay it Forward for Abby" day. Even though we don't know who it is, we want this to be our way of thanking Abby' donor and their family. On this day, we would like all of you, Abby's friends and family, to think of a way that you can pay it forward or do something for someone else. It can be as simple as letting someone go before you while you are waiting in line or babysitting for someone that really needs a break without being paid, to something that might take even more effort, like making the first step and apologizing to someone that you've wronged in some way and been reluctant to approach, or forgiving someone that has wronged you even if they haven't apologized for what they have done. On this day, July 12th, show how grateful you are for your life and Abby's by doing something for someone else.
"Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our happiness, but that of the world at large." Mahatma Gandhi
We then want everyone to share with us either on this blog, my email, or facebook some of the things that they did or what others did for them. As a family, we are so excited for this day. We will be in Florida on this day (we better be anyway!) and we are planning so many great things to pay it forward, we can't wait! We really want as many people to be involved as with this as possible, what a great way to show thanks for Abby's gift of life! Spread the word, share this with others, then let us know how it goes!
If you would still like a Team Doman shirt, or need one for July 12th, we still have lots. If you don't live in St. George, just email me your address, domans4@yahoo.com and I will send one to you, the cost is $10 and I'll send a couple wristbands too. If you do live in St. George, just email me and we'll find a place to meet. A big thank you to those of you that recently bought shirts, it's helping with the bill that Fargo's never paid. I would really like to sell the rest of these shirts, it's for a good cause, I promise :) Start thinking of how you will pay it forward on July 12th! Be watching for a newspaper article and listening for some radio spots on that day, possibly news stories too! It's going to be awesome!
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