40...Aged to Perfection

Mike turned 40!

To celebrate this amazing man we gathered our dear friends and family to have a Bourbon, Brews, & BBQ party. Complete with a Bourbon tasting bar, make your own cocktails, a slushie machine, yard games, and tons of fun! Pork Fat Slims Food Truck served up some amazing BBQ and we ended the night with a campfire...I only wish we could have had s'more fun! 'pun intended...Easton loves it when I do that LOL'

To add a little fun to the evening Cristie and Dan work tirelessly to collect beer bottle caps for the party...and maybe a few friends as well!!!! Guests could enter to win a bottle of Bourbon with how many bottle caps they thought were in the cooler and on the tables....the winner...Nicole Barber! With a total of 1,634 caps!

I love to plan a good party so I have to share the inspiration behind my centerpieces. The tables were anchored by empty bourbon bottles that had fairy lights in them...they glowed as the evening went on. They also had pictures of Mike and his family from the past 40 years...a blessing to see grow over time. There were little bottles filled with corn and wheat (the makings of bourbon), bottles filled with hops and bottle caps (to represent the brews), the square votive candles were from our wedding centerpieces. It was fun to plan this get together and share with family and friends.

I shared at the party (through tears and a strained voice) we have been so blessed with our family and friends that surround us. God has shown his love/grace/healing power and allowed Mike to be off the heart transplant list for 7 months. We wanted to say thank you to those that fed us, did our yard work, loved on our boys, held us through tears, listened to our worries, and prayed so many prayers of healing words. Mike's journey is not done...but I know that whatever comes his way God will be there every step of it. We know our village!

Happy Birthday...We got whatever 40 will bring to us!

Comments

Miracles Do Happen

It's been 3 days since Mike got his new heart, and I can hardly believe that it actually happened. On Thursday September 5th Mike was told we had another match. Dr. Hooker said he was bound and determined to get Mike a new heart by the Michigan game that Saturday. At this point Mike was a level one on the Unos Heart Transplant List and basically top of the top. With both sides of his heart being supported he needed a new one badly. Mike, the boys, and I shared this little secret that Friday and went on about our day. The more we learned the more we became excited that this was actually the heart. This heart was a DBD heart (Donation after Brain Death). Througout the day we learned that it was a great match and Mike's OR time was set for Saturday, September 7th at 10am. We were confused that we were not given a donor OR time, and as time went on we realized there was no transport time for the heart...the heart was in the same hospital as Mike. I got to spend time with Mike th

Lub-Dub Lub-Dub

A normal resting heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute. If you listen to a heart it often is describe as if saying Lub-Dub Lub-Dub. Mike's heart rate is between 120-140. If he laughs hard (which is often), gets agitated, or someones gets him on his favortie topic of finace it starts to soar about 140+. Every once in a while it will peak up to 180 when he gets into V Tach and it skips a few beats. The nurses watch him carefully as he walks on the treadmill and talks away or while he is working, and sometimes they have to shut him down for a bit. Except for some weight and muscle loss Mike's body and mind are in good working condition, but his heart is just failing him. I had previously reported that on August 7th Mike recieved the Impella Pump to support the left side of his heart. Since then the left side has significantly decreased in function and is almost not moving at all on its own. Over the past few weeks they have been watching the right side of heart and s

Free Ice Cream & A New Heart

As we celebrated 7 months off the heart transplant list we quickly found ourselves back on the list. Many of you will be shocked by this news...and I won't lie...we were too Mike came down with the tiniest of colds and a little cough at the end of June 2024. His appetite dwindled and he just wasn't interested in being super active. By the devine grace of God and His perfect timing Mike's doctors office called and randomly wanted a blood panel completed. The results caused them to call and Mike expressed his concerns about his little cold and other small symptoms. They had him come into the office gave him an IV to help get some fluid off his body. He lost 10 pounds in less than 24 hours...and his cough went away. They set up a right heart cath for the next day to see what was going on. The results came in a bit worse than the previous November 2023 cath, but not too alarming and they released him to go home. We took the boys to SpringHill, enjoyed some alone time, picked

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