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Surgery started about 30 minutes ago.....heart should arrive around 4:30pm. We are headed to Toronto now. Keep up those prayers!

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OMG I AM FREAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS A GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!! Please pray for Andrea as she gets her NEW HEART today and for the family of the donor!!!!!!!!! ♥

Two dads waiting :) They look good in pink eh? LOL

All prepped....stilling waiting and hoping that this is her PERFECT heart!!!!!!!!!!!

"Thank everyone for your prayers and thoughts. I am waiting for a no or go right now. I have my family and an awesome medical team! Love to all!" ~Andrea Clegg

Still waiting....

Well Andrea is all prepped and ready to go...but still waiting on final word to know if this is THE HEART!!! Global is there now doing some filming....what an amazing story to follow eh? My beautiful sister!! :)

Global

Global has been told that Andrea is in the hospital being prepped so they are working on getting a camera to the hospital as they will be IN the OR during her transplant!!!

Still no word that this is FOR SURE a go, but we all just keep praying that this will be the Christmas miracle that she deserves!!!

They Are Waiting....

While we keep praying!!!!!! Fingers crossed that this heart will be HERS!!!!!!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!

Second Time A Charm???

Well everyone, Andrea is on her way to TORONTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is 4am and I just received a call from my brother about ten minutes ago that there was a call for a "possible" heart transplant. We of course will not know until a couple of hours from now but lets PRAY that this IS the PERFECT heart that she has been waiting for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Association Kick-off Meeting!!

This past Saturday was our first meeting for the Life Donation Awareness Association. There were 19 volunteers! We discussed many issues and concluded that we will divide into groups to tackle the different directions. I presented the volunteers with a "Volunteer Form" for each individual to express their particular interests, availability and contact information. These forms will start the separation of the groups.

If you are from the the Region of Waterloo or the County of Wellington you can get more information by emailing andrea@lifedonationawareness.com. We are open to any and all willing volunteers.

There was an article published in the Waterloo Record that was also picked up by the Guelph Mercury. I'm really happy with the support of the local media. Check out the article here.

Cambridge Times Article

Oh I am so excited about this article! I did the interview to essentially promote the Life Donation Awareness Association of Waterloo/Wellington and it turned out great! Check it out.

Say 'yes' to organ and tissue donation.

So far I have 15 people scheduled to attend this weekends meeting. I hope I have convinced more volunteers to join. I have so much passion in me about this group, it's hard to contain!

I was doing the interview with the reporter and she asked me where I get all of my energy from. I told her it's from my batteries! Ha!

Kindness Sewn with a Needle

There are times when I am completely struck with the kindness others have shown me. This is one of those moments.

If you look back to April there is a class in the Ottawa area that sent me wonderful hand-made cards. It was a beautiful package to open. The teacher of that class, Lisa, is a friend of the family.

Lisa is very talented in many ways and decided to make this amazing, encouraging quilt, just for me! It's unbelievable! The attached card said, "We hope this quilt will give you comfort, warmth and strength." I could not have said it better. It has already warmed my body and my heart.



I want to send a shout out to Lisa's class and a very, very big thank you to Lisa. You have given me a gift with magical powers to brighten my days and my hopes for the future. Your sincerity and compassion goes much deeper than the surface. Thank you.

I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl!

The trillium calendar has been finished and is on it's way to my door! Here's a sneak peek of my December picture. This years focus is for Trillium employees and those involved in making the calls when an organ becomes available. I can't wait to see the finished product!


And here's the cover that will undoubtedly melt your heart...

Toronto Sun Article and Controversy

There was an article about yours truly in the Toronto Sun this past weekend. It was well done and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Heart pump saves patient

I hope this can get the point out about organ and tissue donation. I think it's more direct to that aspect as opposed to focusing just on my story.

Now here's the controversy part. If you go back to the article and click on the "Comments" tab. You will see this comment below by a person chosen to be referred to as Slappy.

"so given the natural course of things, this person shoul dhave died due to this condtion, but thanks to my tax dollars she id being kept alive after her due date. why do people fear death to the point of becoming a burden on the medical system in order to prolong the inevitible? at some point she will have to accept her death"

That's right. Taken directly from the website. There are several great replies after that idiot. Many that make me laugh. I certainly felt the need to reply as well as some of my family. It's clear that this person has no clue what he's talking about and has many of his/her own issues to deal with. I pity this person for the sadness and negativity in their life. Check it out. You will enjoy some of the comments.

There is so much to be happy about. One year anniversary!

It's been a whole year now that I've been on the list for a heart transplant.

I sometimes say, I'm not sure if I should be happy about it. I said this to a friend of mine and she had a reply I will always remember. She said, "I think there is a lot to be happy about." And she is totally right. There is so much to be happy about. The waiting so long means that I continue to live in limbo, always waiting. But it also means that I've been given another year to live.

I remember when the nurse came in to tell me that I was approved for a new heart. I try my best to be strong at all times but that moment went straight to my heart, literally. It is a very stringent process to be approved for the transplant list. Unfortunately there are many people that don't get approved. They assess your overall health and mental state. Can you physically and emotionally accept the transplant. Well, on Thursday October 22, 2009 they told me I was given the chance to live. Live on. I was aware of the risks but I was convinced that I would succeed. And I will! Thanks to the evolution of science, the doctors and all of their staff. I will live on. That moment gave me a feeling of hope and strength. Hope that I will do the things I love to do again. And strength that I can push through whatever comes next. Live on. Live to be with my amazing husband and loving family. Live to make a difference for other people waiting for transplants, waiting for their life to change. Live forever thankful for the journey I have taken, never to resent it. Live happily. Live strong. Live completely. I will live on.