Journal Entry 10: Loving My New Life

July 24, 2009

It's almost been two months since I received my new heart. I can see my life changing right before me. It's been amazing! I'm already doing more than I was before the transplant. Simple things that were so difficult seem effortless now.

A couple of weeks ago, I started attending Cardiac Rehab classes. I'm doing about 22 minutes on the treadmill and 12 minutes on the bike. It's hard for me to believe I'm able to exercise again! I can't believe I'm really doing this!

I'm no longer sitting in my chair at home and letting my days pass by. For example, this past Friday I attended a Humphreys show featuring several comedians (as you know ... laughter is the best medicine). I had so much fun!

Then on Tuesday, my friend Allyne gave us Padres baseball tickets and my father and I went to the Padres game. I was shocked at how well I was able to get around! I even took the stairs instead of the escalator just to see if I could do them. I made it to the top (slowly) and was ecstatic that I could even do it. Before, I couldn't even think about it! We continued to walk to our seats which were at the far end of the stadium. I never had to stop walking and take a breath ... that was a major accomplishment for me!

Wednesday night we went to a Hawaiian concert at Humphrey's and enjoyed the relaxing music. On Thursday, my friend Ed picked me up for lunch and took me to the new location for the Corvette Diner. My husband, Larry, is so happy to see me getting out and planning new adventures.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. We have two birthday parties to attend. Finally, I'm excited to go places and do things. Before my transplant, it was so hard for me to want to do anything because I was so exhausted all the time. I don't have that feeling anymore and I'm making plans now and for the future. I've already scheduled a trip with my cousins, Susan and Alan, to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. A weekend in Coronado with our daughter Nichole and her family. And a trip to Arizona to stay at a house on the river in October with our friends Bobbi and John. I'm LIVING AGAIN and I love my new life!

Oh my goodness.... I just received some awesome news! I had my 6th biopsy on Wednesday and I found out that I had another zero rejection! MY NEW HEART IS HAPPILY BEATING IN ME! Follow more of Debbie's heart transplant journey.

For More Information
 To learn more about the heart transplant program at Sharp Memorial Hospital, please contact the program directly by calling 858-939-3831, Monday through Friday, 7 am to 3:30 pm.

To learn more or to find a cardiologist affiliated with Sharp, please call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-824-4277) or go to Find a Doctor.