So Much News to Share

This past weekend we celebrated an important milestone. Friday, April 14^th, was Jimmy’s one year birthday. In the transplant world you celebrate two birthdays, the one your mamma gave you and the one your donor gave you. It was one year ago at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City where Jim, surrounded by nurses and doctors, received the strong, healthy cells of an anonymous 29-year old donor. This weekend we learned who that wonderful person is. Be the Match (and please get on the list if you haven’t) arranged the transfer of information between donor and recipient. His name is Mike and he lives in Minnesota. Jim called him and left a message on his work voicemail. We hope to talk with him soon.

To celebrate his one year Jim took the day off from work and we headed to the river. On the way, he wanted to stop at this brewery near Front Royal. It’s your birthday- OK. Breweries are not as exciting to me because I am gluten free but Jim loves trying different micro beers and he must own 5 or 6 types of growlers. Luckily, they allow dogs in the outside building so we sat out there while Jim tasted his flight and Boo chased after a couple of bumble bees. We spent the evening relaxing at the river.

Back in December we sold the main house at the river but kept the little house which we refer to as “the barn”. Jimmy wants to change the name to “The Love Shack”. It is a tiny little structure (only 480 square feet) but it overlooks the small rapids of the Shenandoah River. We actually have a better view from the barn than we had at the main house. Upkeep is very simple because the living space is so small. Besides we are used to living in tight quarters…hello…the Airstream. 

On Saturday, we drove to Harrisonburg to eat breakfast at the Little Grille. It is our favorite place to eat when in Harrisonburg. Afterwards we hit the farmer’s market which is one of the best ones in Virginia. We stocked up on veggies, plants and eggs. I bought a hanging strawberry plant which I hope to keep alive and hopefully it will produce fresh strawberries. We’ll see. Before leaving Harrisonburg, we took Boo to Purcell Park and walked around. The pollens have been kicking my butt. My eyes are red, itchy and swollen and you know that intense itching you get in your inner ears and throat from allergies? Well I have that too, but the day is beautiful so I down a Claritin, put in eye drops and continue on. I guess it didn’t help that I cut a little grass Friday. Jim still does not have clearance to cut grass and work in the soil. He is still on anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial drugs. He showed me how to ride the John Deere and I timidly attempted to maneuver around the trees and bushes. It wasn’t pretty but better than not at all. Luckily, I did not have to mow down by the river or I may have ended up in it.

Fast forward to today, April 17^th. We are in New York for Jim’s one year check-up. I convinced him to take the Vamoose bus instead of driving. The bus leaves from Lorton, near our house, and drops passengers off at Penn Station in New York City.  It is reasonably priced and gives Jim a break from driving. The trip up was quick and uneventful. The bus was completely full. Luckily Lorton is the first pick up spot so we had our choice of seats. Unfortunately, I don’t think Jim will be doing it again. The seats were too small and he was trying to conduct business on his computer with spotty service. There were lots of smells and people coughing. He is not a fan.

After arriving in New York we took a cab to the Bentley Hotel, just a few blocks down from Memorial Sloan Kettering. Funny how we know our way around the city and are totally comfortable hailing a cab. I have so much more to tell you but it will have to wait until the next blog post. :)