Rest Stop

I am pulling off at a rest-stop on our journey toward more successfully navigating the holidays to bring you an update on my daughter. If you are just reading this blog, I will bring you up to speed. I have a 23 year old daughter. Her name is Anna and she writes her own blog, On To New Windows and doesn’t mind me sharing her story with you. She was born with a genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF). It’s a nasty disease that messes with the digestive system and lungs. Besides having a terrible time gaining weight and needing insulin injections to level-out her blood sugar, Anna’s lungs deteriorated every day. Eventually, they became worthless at sustaining her life. Her only chance at survival rested on receiving a double-lung transplant. She was fortunate to get a wonderful pair of gently used lungs from a still unknown deceased donor on October 12, 2013 at Duke University Hospital.

After about six months of recovery, Anna was beginning to feel fabulous and started making plans to go back to college and pursue the life of a regular 22 year old. Without warning, she started getting really sick at the end of May. She was having trouble keeping food down, lost her appetite and grew more and more pale with every passing day. As if she hadn’t already been through enough, she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in early July. After enduring five months of intense in-patient chemotherapy there is no sign of cancer in her body!

Her once bald head is now covered with tiny hairs, her budding eyebrows and eye lashes are visible again and she feels energetic. Her lungs are strong and currently rejection-free. She is perfectly poised to get back to school and pursue her biology degree. Just wanted to share this good news with you!!!