Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas to all of you, we couldn't ask for a better gift than we already got this year. John is doing very well, the last biopsies and tests were all very good and he is actually back to running a bit. He is getting stronger every day now. He alternates walking and running and each day he can run a little more so he is thrilled. He can now drive so he is loving his independence! We go to Duke again next week, then we might be able to go for a whole month without going back there if all of the tests come back okay.

We have enjoyed being able to get back to church, both in Covington and in Monticello, and being able to act like normal folks at least part of the time has really been good.

We hope that all of you have a great new year, and we will try to update his test results from next week a bit sooner. John's dad had a "minor" stroke (not sure how any stroke can be minor!) so we spent a few days up in Athens with him at St. Mary's hospital, but he is doing well now and is home so we are hoping that everyone will stay well and we can start off the new year on strong footing!

Sunday, December 13

I guess it is a good thing that we have nothing major to report, thus no 3-times-a-day updates to the blog! John is doing great, in fact he is out walking AGAIN today. He walked 3 miles or so this morning, and is back out again. I think he is enjoying the alone time too, although he has been wonderfully patient through all of this I am sure he is pretty tired of having to depend on us for so many things. He is getting stronger every day, and is able to do more and more on his own. He has been really good about not picking up heavy things, and is really following what the doctors have said to do. I am sure I would be much grouchier if it was me.

We go back to Duke this week for more biopsies, and also for a left and a right heart cath. All of these tests measure rejection, and how the heart is functioning, and how his body is adjusting to the new heart and all of the medicines. It takes a few days to get results so we will be gone for a few days but should be able to get right back home after that.

We were able to go to church this morning at Covington First United Methodist Church. It felt so good to be back there, I can't even begin to describe how much we missed it. We will try to attend Monticello Baptist Church next week. All of the folks at both churches have been wonderful, and so supportive. We mostly can't wait until we can start back to doing for others and we can quit being so needy. I have told folks over and over again that we couldn't have gotten through all of this without the support shown by our churches, community, workplace friends, and of course family, and we love you all and appreciate it.

We'll update when we get the test results.

New Picture

This picture was taken at the Sarah P. Duke gardens in Durham. As you can see, John's come a long way since the last picture that was posted!

Thursday, December 2 Home

We got back to Monticello last night about 11. Our room was pretty clean so we spent the night at home for the first time since the beginning of March. All of the tests from Monday came up great. We're off from doctors until the 17th. Really looking forward to seeing folks as soon as we can. It'll probably take awhile. I can't say what all of this means- Missy, the heart, the prayers from people literally all over the world; the help at anything we needed; the people at Duke, Emory, and at the cardiologists in Covington; and a bunch of others. I do know that I've been given another chance that most people don't get and I hope I can be grateful enough. Thanks to everyone who reads this and God's blessing on you all. John