Look Towards the Heavens

 This past week was filled with adventure, firsts, and movement forward!

The boys are finally healthy...except for a lingering cough. This means that we can finally be all together in the house. Eating meals together, reading the bible together at bedtime, and just enjoying each others company. We took this opportunity to reset and make it a no technology week, the boys did not like this idea but it worked out so well! We were able to focus on just being a family and not worry about the other stuff. Mike and the boys watched football together, played games, went on walks/bike rides, and helped with homework....Mike has the math brain in this household! 

Mike and I were able to take a trip to Grand Haven and enjoy the last 78 degree day of the year. We ate at our favorite bakery, Village Baker, and enjoyed some of the best soft pretzels I have ever tasted. We walked downtown and window shopped, and enjoyed a stroll on the boardwalk before having lunch on the beach at Noto's. It was a beautiful day and much needed escape. I start back to work next week, October 22nd, we are so blessed that I have a job where I can work from home and still be here to support Mike as he recovers. He is perfectly capable to be on his own now, but I love that I can spend time with him throughout the day. 1 more week to enjoy together! 

We also were able to view the Northern Lights! This has been on my bucket list for quite a while. I saw them in May but not at full strength. We left the house around 8pm and headed north to the Algoma Sports Park. We sat outside in the crisp cool air waiting and watching before they finally appeared just after 10pm. The boys didn't understand what we were waiting for until the sky light up and danced before our eyes. It was worth the late bedtime on a school night and will forever be remembered. We are so blessed to be able to watch this together as a family. It was such a neat reminder of the amazing things God can do in our lives and in the world. Reds, Blues, Greens swirling around to create a masterpiece that can't be created the same again. 

Mike is still at a level 1 rejection and doing well. He is walking 3-4 miles a day and just received a weight bench to start lifting some weights. Mid November he will start Cardiac Rehab so he can continue walking despite the cold and snow. This past Monday, October 14th, Mike did not have a heart cath and biospy. He is starting to space them out and move past weekly visits. He did however have an appointment with the surgeon, Dr. Hooker, and he was cleared to drive and "live his life"! His chest is healing nicely and the xray shows that the bones have come together beautifully. He still has his blood draws and medications are adjusted accordingly. His heart will take 6 months to a year to fully settle into his body. Right now it is ridged and stiff but acting normal for a transplanted heart. His EF is now at 59%...which is amazing as is old heart was at 10% before the transplant. A normal ejection fraction is 50%-70%, it is remarkable that Mike was walking 2 miles a day while at 10%, the normal person would be bed ridden. If you google 10% ejection fraction it tells you that is a nonfunctional heart and the person could die easily...another reason not to google medical things! 

Every heart and person is different and every heart has it's own journey. We are so glad that Mike's journey went the way it did. He is a walking miracle and we look towards the heavens and thank God for him, his donor, and his new heart.