A powerful journey from living with an artificial heart to a heart transplant....

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Day After...

"Hi. I'm Andrea's Mom. It is the day after, and her heart is beating beautifully. Her blood pressure is perfect, her oxygen is perfect, her heart rate is perfect!! Yes, a rough road for a few days, but doctors are VERY pleased with her progress, and we are SO thankful for their work and expertise. I want to say a very special thank you to the donor's family and loved ones for the generous gift of life. I often cry for that family, and I feel their grief, but their choice to give Andrea a chance to live a full life is appreciated, aplauded, and hopefully will give them some comfort in their loss! Bless you!! I wish we could meet in the future, but for now I send out a huge hug to you all! Thank you! Thank you!! "

Shannon:  Andrea as you can see is doing well today! I heard from my brother that they are hoping to have her sit up on her own later on this afternoon!!! Incredible isn't it?

This is a picture I took last night when we were able to go in to see her. It was just so incredible to stand at her side watching her chest rise and fall and know that it was a new heart doing this! And then to watch the monitor knowing it is all the works of such a wonderful donor. Words cannot even describe how it felt.


I also wanted to post the next picture. On our way home last night I stopped to grab the mail. In it was a Christmas card from Shaun and Andrea. They are handmade of course but the card gave me chills when I opened it. It couldn't be more true could it?


Those who know me, know that I am the BIGGEST believer in things happening for a reason. I know that sometimes things that happen are horrible and so forth, but I still believe. And I think that sometimes we might not "understand" why things happen that do but I believe that ONE day we will know why. We will learn to understand.

I will leave you with a quote that an online friend said, quoted by Catbert: "It only looks like a coincidence."

8 comments:

  1. Heard the great news, hope all is going well Andrea! We are all thinking of you and your family. We are looking forward to hearing your progress.

    The Team at St. Mary's Cardiac Rehab

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  2. Wow, amazing news! Congratulations on your new heart and thank you to the donor's family!

    I just met Andrea on Friday when she gave a presentation at the lab where I work with Steve, her Father-in-law, and she is a remarkable woman with a remarkable family! None of us expected that we would be hearing this good news so soon.

    I will be praying for a speedy recovery and hope we can meet her again when she is well enough.

    Andrew Moore, Lab Services, U of Guelph

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  3. All our best to Andrea and Shaun and families. We are all so excited here at St. Mary's General Hospital and look forward to seeing Andrea again soon.

    Merry Christmas!
    Anne Kelly

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  4. My neice Sarah is a friend of Andrea's and let us know the good news. I have read the entire blog and am so happy that through all the struggles Andrea has had such a positive attitude. She is in my thoughts and what a merry Christmas!

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  5. Geoff and I are so pleased for you Andrea. What a great gift, 2011 is going to be a great year with lots of freedom and NO BATTERIES!. We are happy for your family and grateful to the donor family, what a great gift at the most difficult time.
    lvadpam

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  6. You and your wonderful donor haven't left my thoughts since I found out yesterday, Andrea. I know each day from here on is a miracle waiting to happen. Looking forward to sharing some of them with you.

    Janet Parr

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  7. Everyone at St. Mary's is so excited for you Andrea. All our prayers and warm thoughts are with you, Shaun and your families as you being this new phase of your life.

    Anne Kelly

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  8. Everyone at St. Mary's is so excited for you Andrea! All our prayers and best wishes are with you and Shaun as you enter the next phase of your life.

    Anne Kelly

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