My doctors said my health is stable which is good since transplants are down 29% in the region. It's going to take some time. As long as I'm feeling some strength I don't mind waiting. But, when I don't feel good I'm hoping the surgery won't be too far off. Nevertheless, life is wonderful. My wife and daughter are angels and I love each day with them! My extended family is incredibly supportive and have sacrificed much in our behalf. I'm constantly in awe of the goodness of God and his rich blessings that pour down upon us.(Picture: My musician friend Josh Waldron checking in on me when I was at the hospital for several days in 2008.)
I should admit though that with all of the medications I'm taking, including my shots and internal IV, I get anxious. I have to stay busy even though I'm extremely tired and usually sitting around. You should know, for those of you at work, or trying to keep up with kids, there is no good television during the day (except for The Price is Right), and all the new movies Hollywood produces make me feel like I'm wasting precious time. So, I have found great happiness doing many other things. When I'm not being entertained by my beautiful 3 year old or enjoying conversation with my angel of a wife I am doing quite a bit of reading, listening to music or great speeches & sermons, answering e-mails, writing notes, running my small record label, and blogging, which I am now addicted too, having just created another blog http://hope4things.blogspot.com
I've been deeply inspired reading the autobiography "Heart to Heart" by one of my spiritual heroes Russell M. Nelson. He is a great leader and teacher in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In his earlier life he was a heart surgeon. He’s world renown for his contribution in helping the team of interns and doctors create the first artificial heart lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass) which makes open heart surgery possible. This machine made it possible for blood to bypass my heart in order for surgeons to remove endocarditis from me in 1986 and receive the Fontan procedure in 1987. This amazing machine will be a major part of my heart transplant and has saved millions of lives. In "Heart to Heart" there is a beautiful description of the body and how it works. He speaks about the heart and how powerful of an organ it is. Listen to Russell M. Nelson's description of a normal heart.
READ THE FULL TEXT
LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE SERMON
