GET YOURS AT KOHL'S OPENING AT 3 AM FRIDAY! NOT!
I don't know about y'all, but I can't think of anywhere I would rather not be at 3 am this Black Friday than Kohl's. Oh, yeah, maybe someplace like the Alameda County Jail or the ER at Highland, but Kohl's would be right up there. And just when did the day after Thanksgiving become "Black Friday"? I always enjoyed the traditional trip to The City for the SF Auto Show that day, and I would never have perceived it in such a negative way. Surely the retail world didn't coin that name, so who's behind this? Sounds very much like a Tea Party sort of idea to me.
THANKFUL HARDLY DESCRIBES IT
Not a day goes by that I don't find myself boggled by what has transpired this past year. So I think it is fitting that instead of the normal hodge-podge of depraved "humor" that I try to inject into this strange concoction you are reading, I would step out of character once again to express some truly sincere thoughts. Thanksgiving is approaching at a frightening speed and we are deep in preparation for the annual trek to The Family Compound, aka The Venetian in Capitola. Why did the Kennedy's have a "compound" in Hyannis Port? Sounds like a prison to me. But anyway, this Turkey Day 2010 is doubtlessly a symbol of what has to be the holiday most worthy of thankfulness of any previous one in my life.
I sort of know how those Oscar winners must feel. There they are with a truly amazing award in their hands, and many whip out a crumpled little piece of paper with a list of people to thank before the gentle music that indicates "time's up" starts to play. I don't hear any music yet, so excuse me if I bend your ear for a wee bit.
It is a very real impossibility, just as it is in the movies, to properly thank everyone without either missing about 92% of them or writing a Michener-length blog. You already moan about how long this blathering is, so forget that. This is difficult to properly abridge, but........
As you can no doubt guess, the largest piece of gratitude has to go to the love of my life, My Dear Cheryl. I have previously expressed that on numerous occasions, but if you are a recent Transplant Trib devotee (and why would any one not be?) then you know the way she kept both of us going all this time. I privately thought about throwing in the towel on several occasions, but Cheryl's drive and focus kept me moving ahead slowly, kicking and flailing all the way. And what about after the operation? That was when the intense care giving started, and we both had to step it up to meet those demands. I am truly one fortunate guy, one who managed to pick an outstanding lifetime partner.
I have the best family anyone could hope for in a situation such as this. I cannot say enough about our two outstanding kids and their partners. My brothers-in-law both offered to be living donors when it looked like a kidney alone would do the job. We had happily-provided help from my brother and sister-in-law, our kids' in-laws, cousins from both of our families, and our nieces and nephews.
Friends have always been a source of enjoyment and love for both of us. We have an all-star assemblage of friends, some of which have been so for as long as 40+ years. Damn, we are old! But despite that, during my dark days, I lacked the motivation to contact friends or initialize activities. i was basically a deadly bore, unable to effectively participate in conversations. People apparently recalled enough about my former persona to cut me loads of breaks and hang on in the hopes that the real me might someday return. Many who I consider friends are from various locations along the course of my "illustrious" career. Several of them kept periodically checking in on me, and incredibly three actually offered to become kidney donors. Incredible barely describes it.
It is impossible for me to name all the people along the way who added one or another form of medical assistance. I even doubt if I could recall and mention all the groups, departments, and professions that had a hand. I had care at several hospitals, from the powerhouse UCSF Medical Center to ValleyCare to poor (literally) little Community Hospital of Long Beach. The staff in these facilities were caring, skilled and so unbelievably knowledgeable 99.99% of the time. I guess I knew this from over 20 years of working in hospitals, but until I became virtually a full-time patient, I did not fully understand the level of trust these qualities create in the mind of the person under their care. I do need to specifically salute Dr. Eddie Rame, who was the "sales department" when we were first (brutally via a letter) referred to the heart transplant side of the house. The Cardiac Rehabilitation program at LifeStyle Rx here in Livermore has kept me largely upright and functioning for almost five years, miles and miles longer than the normal 12-week rehab regimen. I adore all the staff over there, and they watch me like a hawk!
OK, OK, the orchestra is starting to play that gentle "get outta here" music.... In addition to first-class medical care, my messed-up head was attended to by a great therapist, in addition to my psychiatrist and the many hospital social workers. Also on the non-medical treatment front, I was added to the prayer list at at least different three houses of prayer which I deeply appreciate.
I often think about our parents and how happy and relieved they would be. My folks suffered with me and my diabetes and heart ailments for many years. Cherie's Mom and Dad were the early introduction to the realm of transplantation. My dear, late Mother-in-Law, Joan Cook, introduced me to that world formally through TRIO, and she also provided the example that Cheryl followed when it came to be our turn.
Daily, I think about my young donor and his family. My gratitude to them for the seriously difficult decision they had to make can't be adequately described in words. I as yet have not had direct communication, and it is possible I never will. I have been told they do particularly want to meet the heart recipient, and the opportunity to express my boundless thankfulness is something I hope will take place. I am composing a Thanksgiving letter for the family in an attempt to express that directly to them.
I am incredibly happy to arrive at Thanksgiving and the upcoming Holiday season in 2010. Last year at this time, things started getting worse quickly, and luckily for us, the Heart/Lung Transplant Team recognized it and put me on 10 Long until organs were available. The rest, as they say, is joyous history.
Humble and sincere thanks to everyone along the Transplant Turnpike. Happy Thanksgiving.
Bob/Irv
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