You've Been Given the Gift of Life, Give it Back!

Welcome friends and family!

Thank you for visiting my blog. It documents my amazing journey from pre to post double lung transplant. I am a 37 year old mother and wife with Cystic Fibrosis who has been more greatly blessed than I could ever imagine possible!

It has been a bumpy ride, but God has given me strength, love, friendship, and, FINALLY, health. My prayers have been answered, my miracle was granted, and I want to share the joy of my new life with you.

If you are a first time visitor, please take a moment to watch The Miracle of Transplantation video below. To me, pictures speak a thousand words.

My entries begin in April of 2008 and my double lung transplant was December 10. Scroll down to my blog archive and you can read from the beginning or jump around. If you are looking for a specific topic, you can use the search engine.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or feedback, I would love to hear from you!

I hope I can help you to experience the love God has for each and every one of us!

May God Bless You with Miracles in Your Life! Nancy


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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We continue to have so much to be thankful for.  The bronch results came back negative for Cepacia, so it appears that infection has been resolved. I have been under the weather since we returned from Pittsburgh, however, hence the lack of posts.

Feeling the way I have been for the last few days has reminded me of how precious my health truly is.  It is not something to be taken for granted or abused.  I have to set limits.  I made a very difficult decision to cancel a presentation last week because I just didn't feel up to going.  My brain tried really hard to talk my body into it, but my body just wanted to go back to bed.  Not going was the right thing to do.  We all have to recognize our limits and sometimes make difficult decisions to protect our health.

I have just lazed around the last few days, and it is really helping.  I tend to want to conquer the world, but I can only do that with a healthy body.

God bless you all!  Nancy

Monday, November 22, 2010

No Results Yet

Hello!  I wish I could tell you I had some results from my bronch, but I don't.  I promise to let you know when I do.  I recovered pretty well, though I slept all day on Friday.

Saturday was an exciting day.  Hannah got involved with Lego League this year and they had their regional tournament on Saturday.  Now if you are anything like me, I hear Lego and think the kids will be playing, well, that is far from true.  According to the FLL website:


Elementary and middle-school students get to:
checkbox red  Design, build and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology
checkbox red  Apply real-world math and science concepts
checkbox red  Research challenges facing today’s scientists
checkbox red  Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills
checkbox red  Participate in tournaments and celebrations

This video illustrates what the students have to do with the robots they design.



Three teams went to the tournament from Portville and there were 11 teams total.  The top 4 teams would get to progress to the state level at a tournament in Rochester next Sunday.  Hannah's team's robot did amazingly well, bringing her team into 2nd place.  They were the only team from Portville who qualified to go to the state round.  We were all so proud of them!

This is a busy week, lots to do to prepare for Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for all of you who continue to pray for and support me.  May God greatly bless you!  Nancy

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

An Update on Wendy

Hi!  I was able to speak with Wendy's husband and mother and though they had a scare, she is doing much better.  She is out of ICU now, but she needs some special prayers.  Her lower lungs are not inflating the way they should be, so she needs us to pray that God will help to fill them with air.  Keep those prayers coming, she is so grateful, as am I!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Asking for Prayers

I have a couple of prayer requests today.

First, please continue to pray for my friend Wendy, I haven't heard anything from her or her family which really concerns me.  Please pray for her recovery and return to health.

Second, we will be headed to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a follow-up to my infection.  Please pray that the bronch I have on Thursday will show that I have beat the Cepacia infection!  I really appreciate it!

I hope all of you are well!  All my love!  Nancy

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I'm Back!

Sorry about my extended vacation from blogging, I will blame it on my mother whom I wanted to spend every minute with and thus neglected everything else (including my Bible Study, I am 2 weeks behind, shame on my mommy!)  We had a wonderful visit and she got to experience a lot, Hannah's friend and family birthday parties; an Irish Dance competition; and she came with me to Jamestown Community College for a presentation, so she got to witness that.  Luckily she will be back in less than 5 weeks for Christmas, so bringing her to the airport yesterday didn't hurt as much as it usually does.

So, what have you missed?

Hannah's Family Party, November 2






An Irish Dance Competition near Syracuse, NY


Too bad the judge barely looked up during judging, I am not sure how she chose the places for the girls.


Finally, yesterday, after I dropped my mom off at the airport, I got to visit a dear friend whom I haven't seen in years, Jeanne.  For any of you who have a copy of my Chronic Illness Book, this is the woman who it is dedicated to.  She was the adult CF Coordinator in Buffalo for many years and was truly a Godsend for me.  It was so wonderful to hug her again and to catch up.  I can't wait for our next visit!



On a not so good note, I just learned this morning that my friend Wendy is back in the ICU.  She had a bronchoscopy on Friday that showed rejection in her new lungs.  Please keep her in your prayers!

With all my love,  Nancy

Monday, November 1, 2010

A FUN Halloween Weekend!

Wow, what a crazy weekend this has been.  We celebrated Hannah's Birthday with her girlfriends and, of course, did the Halloween thing.  Tomorrow is her actual Birthday, so I am re-grouping to prepare for that.

Here are some pictures of our weekend.
Thursday Night

Our Pumpkins:
Mine, Hannah's, Scott's

Friday Night

On Friday night there was a party at Hannah's school.  Don't the girls look spooky!


Saturday Night

The Birthday party snacks consisted of eye balls, bones and blood, brains, mouths, fingers, purple people eater punch, and a pumpkin cheese ball.



We started the evening with flashlight tag.



then a snack break


and on to Minute to Win It








The cake: I couldn't find candy pumpkins anywhere, so made ice cream pumpkins instead, hence the melting.





Sunday Night

Our costumes:
 House, a duck, spiderwoman, a butterfly, Victoria (from Twilight) and Cruella Deville

 trick or treating fun!





Check out all our loot!


I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

The Miracle of Transplantation

Pause the music player before watching.