Healing Thoughts and Prayers for calm...

8/10 - AM Update

Posted 19 minutes ago

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." --- Marcus Aurelius

Good morning and happy Monday to everyone!

Wes (aka grandpa / daddy) make it home safely last night and into the arms of Evan, Ryan... and Louise... oh yeah... me and Cliff too! I think he gave Reggie a pat or two on the head :). It's great to have him home. He will be here for 2 weeks, then will fly back to switch shifts with my mom. They have been two tireless soldiers in this fight for Stacey... I love them more now than ever and am so amazed at their strength and perseverance.

Stacey is walking now with the trach collar, which again means, breathing 100% on her own. She did a great walk this morning out of her room, down the hall, around the nurses station and back to her room. This is great for her physically and mentally. The staff at Mayo is so supportive, they even help her surprise herself with the strength she has to continue. The mental aspect of this process is somewhat secondary to the physical, but so important.

This morning, the head liver transplant surgeon, Dr Nguyen, visited her today and reminder her of the importance of breathing deeply and building up her lung strength. ... okay, everyone STOP... take a deep breath and let it out slowly. See how good it feels!!!... today would be a great day to try this exercise when you think about it. It's good for Stacey and for all of us!

My mom is waiting for Dr Canabal, who is the transplant ICU doctor today. She will call me with more information if there are updates. There is a procedure scheduled for 2PM ET to look at the pancreas and check for any visable leaks. Hopefully everything is healing and we will be leak free! She is also scheduled to have her 50+ staples removed from her belly this week, which will be a momentary amount of pain, but is another step in her healing.

On a side note, this weekend was a difficult mental (and physical) weekend for the Florida crew. Stacey feels anxiety as she is building up her strength and settling into this new body, but too many anti-anxiety meds can interfere with her strength and may actually inhibit her coping abilities. This whole process is tough, but with everyone's distant / virtual support and my mom by her side, progress continues to be made made even through difficult times like this past 48 hours. Can we also send some love to Gary, her husband? He has been her caretaker through very difficult times and the actual transplant and recovery process seems to be almost too much to bear sometimes. He's been dealing with sleeplessness and some illness, so he hasn't been able to be by her side a lot, but the family is covering and hoping for his renewal and strength because they mean the world to each other. Hang in there Gary....

So, the thought today is breath, calm, meditation, relaxation and healing... hope everyone has a fantastic day.

With much love and admiration,
Marcey