NY Visit

I am having reflux again (which likely is the cause of my first lungs going bad) so we have been doing some testing to see why it's happening again - since I had a previous stomach wrap to stop reflux.  My test was early so I stayed in the city the night before at my friend Aly's apartment.  We were able to have a nice dinner out.  On Wednesday morning I had an esophagram.  This test is performed by drinking a barium substance (think chalk.) They lay you on a table and start to take imagines with a moving xray.  Then they tilt the table up and down and move you from side to side and all around to try and make reflux happen.  The radiologist told me he didn't see any reflux but this is a pretty unreliable test.  It only showed reflux in 1 in 3 people who have it.  So we are going to attempt another test at a different hospital in Manhattan to see if there is reflux happening.  They have seen evidence of reflux in my bronchoscopy and endoscopy procedures.  My throat always looks raw and inflamed which is evidence of reflux coming up, but they want more before they go in and tighten my wrap. 

esophagram

post esophagram lunch

I'm back!

Hi all of you beautiful people that I have neglected the past year! I apologize! I guess the good news is, that means things have been going great here with lungs pair number 2! I haven't really had any major bumps in the road with my lungs (just a minor fungal infection that we took care of right away) and so far so good! Things have been different the second time around for sure... I still experience pain and discomfort (which I never had with lungs number 1!) my lung function remains much lower than my first pair, and my kidneys took a hit from my second surgery so we are watching them closely! But I AM BREATHING and I AM ALIVE, so what could be better?

I am working on writing a memoir about my journey, so I would love to start blogging again as much as possible, to share my life with you guys again! I hope that you will return and share with me what is going on on your life!

PS.  Amazingly my little guy Pazzo, with all his health problems and old age, is still kicking!

My little guy turns 12

It's hard to believe I've had my little precious guy for 12 years! I remember like it was yesterday when I went to Florida for school break in high school and saw Pazzo in the window at the mall and came home with him (and did NOT tell my mom!) He captured my heart and has had it every since.  He is my constant little companion and when I was couch bound for six months he never left my side (and he had a tough job since we lost his brother two years ago and it was all on Pazzo!).  I really literally could not have made it through being sick (again) without him.  He's my little guy and we have been through so much together - first transplant, losing my mom, second transplant.  He's gotten very old in the past few weeks and I'm not really sure how much longer he is going to be around.  I try to stay with him as much as possible now (he can barely walk, and has these really horrible neck cramps that cause him to scream out and are very scary) so I don't really like to leave him alone for that long and I also want to spend every possible second with him so he knows how much I love him!

Gel nails

I am pretty obsessed with having my nails done.  And I got a really great gradient glitter gel manicure a few months ago in SoHo that I really loved, and I enjoyed the system that they used because it only had to cure for each step for about a minute (versus other systems I have been exposed to that can take up to 5 minutes for each curing step) so I made a note of the name.  It's called gelish, and I happen to have access to salon grade equipment through my grandmother who has a hairdresser license, so I knew she would be able to get it for me.  She got it for me last week (a huge thank you) and I finally used it.

It was so very simple.  It required a dehydration step, which is just painting on a simple liquid.  Then you put on a base foundation gel, then cure it, put on your color, then cure it, and a top coat and then cure it.  It goes on like polish - which most gel systems do now.  Then you wipe it off with a solution to remove any tackiness, and paint on a cuticle oil.  That is it! You are done and there is zero drying time! The color on this system is really great and they have a wide range of colors, including glitter colors! I'll keep you updated on how long it stays chip free for. 

You can purchase all of these products at Amazon and Sally, which is open to the "public."  You will pay a little more than I paid with my license discount, but it really is worth it!

Turkey

turkey

brine

butternut soup

mashed potatoes

stuffing

Turkey Day!

What are you thankful for this year?

I'm back!

I think I am constantly apologizing for not updating here! Sorry, again! I have a lot to share though! I have been doing a lot of traveling...Ireland, Italy and the Carribean! I will post many pictures soon. I have been doing a lot of cooking and trying a lot of new nail polishes out and will be sharing those things as well.  Are you all ready for the holidays? Christmas is my favorite time of year! I love the twinkling lights, the cheer, the entertaining, the food, the gift giving, the music! I love it ALL! And this year I will be able to engage in it, thank you to my wonderful donor family. 

Positano, Italy