Two Slicks: Ballet, Boston & the Best PFT's yet!!!

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since my last post. I’ve been keeping busy for sure! After 8 months, I’m finally coming to the place where I can say that yes, all of those terribly difficult, uncomfortable, painful, discouraging, scary times we’ve been through in the past year have been worth it. I still have hard days, but now I notice when I don’t feel good…it used to be that I noticed when I did feel good…because feeling good had become so uncommon. When they said that post-transplant life was a whole different ball game, they weren’t kidding. I can’t express what this feels like…I wish so much that you could feel it with me : )

The other day someone asked me what the best thing has been about the transplant. Taking a deep breath is for sure #1. In the top 5 however, is being able to teach ballet again. I took ballet when I was 5 and continued to take classes through my senior year of high school. All through college I taught a home school ballet class and continued after I graduated. Last fall, with lots of tears, I decided that I just couldn’t teach any more. I had had to cancel so many classes the spring before and basically had to teach sitting down because I was so sick, I knew it was only going to get worse. It broke my heart to have to give up not only my passion, but spending time with those sweet little girls that I love so much. But God, like He has in so many other areas of my life, decided to give this back to me! I started my classes about a month ago. I will never forget driving to the studio for the first time since the surgery. I cried the whole way. Each week with those girls are such fun! I look forward to it so very much. The second week one of the moms came up to me and told me that her 4 year old daughter had asked her if Miss Rachel could come life at their house with them. She explained that I have a husband and he probably wouldn’t want me to move : ) What a treasure each class time has been.

Another incredible thing is that my lung function just keeps going up! I’m used to seeing the line on my PFT’s slowly creep down…not shoot up by itself! I keep texting Mom saying, “I just did my highest PFT ever!!!” That happened twice last week. But today at Hopkins I beat them all!!! My lung function is up to 86.7%!!! Dr. Orens came it and Terri said, “Look, Rachel is here showing off!” He took the paper and when he saw the numbers, his eyebrows went up and his jaw dropped! He told us that normal lung function for any regular person is between 80-110% (Not sure how you can have 110% lung function…I plan to find out for myself though!) and the average is 80% for transplant patients. So, I have normal lung function and above average for being a transplant patient!!! Woo hoo!!! I cried in the waiting room as I showed my mom : ) Last night in the small group we go to with our church, we were discussing if we believed that God really can do even more than we can dream of for ourselves. I’m here to tell you that He can. - For nothing will be impossible with God. – Luke 1:37

Over the weekend we were able to take a trip up to Boston to visit my sister and her husband. Jonathan had never been on a plane and he really enjoyed it! I had always dreamed of flying on a plane and holding hands with my sweetie, and now I finally have! Mary and Peter picked us up and we went out to eat in Boston. I really wanted to see the Old North Church (you know, “One if by land, two if by sea.”) and they made it happen! I also really wanted to have lobster…it was $4.99 per pound…not too much more than chicken! Peter is a fantastic lobster cook and Mary made sure Jonathan had a nice big salad to go with his lobster! Yum. It was so great just to relax with them and hang out. It was strange for me too. I’m not used to being the healthy one. Every time I would hear Mary cough it broke my heart a little. I wish so much that she could feel what I feel. I wish she didn’t have to do therapy still. I wish she didn’t have to go on IV’s. But I know that one day, her lungs, and mine too, will be completely perfect and whole and there will not be any of these hard things left to deal with. Mary and Peter are so brave…2 of my heroes. I love you both.

And, I LIKE THE LOG!!!
(Inside joke from a long long long time ago!)

Well, I think that is pretty much it for now! Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me – Psalm 31:21

- Rachel