This and That and Talk - My Transplant

Posted by Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor @rosemarya, Apr 9, 2017

As our Mayo Connect community grows, I am constantly meeting organ transplant members on a wide variety of forums with a wide range of issues that are not directly transplant specific. However, because we are all transplant recipients, we have a special connection: a unique journey and best of all - a new life! We don't always need help or advice. Many times we just want to chat with someone like us! That is my purpose in starting This and That and Talk.

Drop in and say 'Hi'. You are welcome anytime.

What do you want t to talk about? What words can you offer to someone who is on the journey? Do you have any questions for another recipient?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

@colleenyoung

Hey @jodeej, I was thinking about you tonight. We haven't heard from you in a little while. How are you doing? Did you do anything exciting (or just plain relaxing) for the holiday weekend?

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@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

REPLY
@jodeej

@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

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@jodeej Deep breaths. Shake it all off. Roll your shoulders. Relax as you can. We're here for you!
Ginger

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@gingerw

@jodeej Deep breaths. Shake it all off. Roll your shoulders. Relax as you can. We're here for you!
Ginger

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@gingerw thank you!
I'm so glad I started doing (almost) daily yoga at the beginning of the year. It's been a God send for me. I have to take the time everyday to breathe. My sister has mentioned more than once that she can tell a difference.

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@jodeej

@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

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@jodeej I am so glad to hear from you, I was getting concerned. It sounds as if you have everything possible under control, good for you.
I sincerely hope things will improve for Tim's cognition.
It doesn't seem possible that it's been a year since Tim's transplant. I presume during the intervening year he goes locally to a transplant center for check-ups. I had still been going monthly for lab work but it has been so consistently good that I got a call last week that I can now go bi-monthly.
I really want to try yoga too but I keep putting it off but you make me want to try it even more. I'm not good at new things, I always hesitate, and I don't have anyone to go to it with. One of these days I'll take a deep breath and just go though.
Do be proud of yourself. You are doing a great job.
JK

REPLY
@jodeej

@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

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@jodee
It is so very nice to hear from you!!! I'm sure you were buried in paperwork for a while, but I'm glad everything is done now and you are able to relax.

The wedding sounds like a beautiful event. I'm so glad that you love your new daughter-in-law, that is such a blessing.

So glad to have you back on Connect, we did miss you.

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@jodeej

@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

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So great to hear from @jodeej. What a lovely reason for your absence - a son's wedding to a girl you both adore. It sounds like it was a great time with family and in-person connections.

You're not alone in being buried by paperwork. In fact there is a discussion dedicated to it in the Caregivers group. You may wish to add your tips or ask questions as you work your way through the process:
- Too much paperwork. Its overwhelming. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/too-much-paperwork-its-overwhelming/

Welcome back!

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@contentandwell

@jodeej I am so glad to hear from you, I was getting concerned. It sounds as if you have everything possible under control, good for you.
I sincerely hope things will improve for Tim's cognition.
It doesn't seem possible that it's been a year since Tim's transplant. I presume during the intervening year he goes locally to a transplant center for check-ups. I had still been going monthly for lab work but it has been so consistently good that I got a call last week that I can now go bi-monthly.
I really want to try yoga too but I keep putting it off but you make me want to try it even more. I'm not good at new things, I always hesitate, and I don't have anyone to go to it with. One of these days I'll take a deep breath and just go though.
Do be proud of yourself. You are doing a great job.
JK

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JK, I do the majority of my yoga in my living room while watching a YouTube video! No need to go anywhere. Lol

Tim goes to the local hospital for bloodwork. It started as weekly, than went twice a month and in May went to monthly. His normally looks really good, too. I still can't believe it's been a year!

Tim's speech therapist did an assessment on him recently and there was definite improvement in the score. Something's are still a struggle, and they probably always will be, like math, but we can live with them. There are so many things he can still do and that he is improving on doing. I'm so happy with his progress.

Blessings,
JoDee

REPLY
@jodeej

JK, I do the majority of my yoga in my living room while watching a YouTube video! No need to go anywhere. Lol

Tim goes to the local hospital for bloodwork. It started as weekly, than went twice a month and in May went to monthly. His normally looks really good, too. I still can't believe it's been a year!

Tim's speech therapist did an assessment on him recently and there was definite improvement in the score. Something's are still a struggle, and they probably always will be, like math, but we can live with them. There are so many things he can still do and that he is improving on doing. I'm so happy with his progress.

Blessings,
JoDee

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@jodeej I think if I went to yoga at my club a few times I could probably do it at home but I need that feedback initially. I am not a natural at all.
I am so happy about Tim's progress. Don't worry about math, that's what calculators are for!
JK

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@jodeej

@colleenyoung @hopeful33250 @rosemarya @contentandwell
Hi all! I have not fallen off the edge of the earth. lol Things have been chaotic at our house.

The fun stuff is that our son got married to his long time girlfriend that we just adore. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location in Snow Canyon, Utah. A week of family and friends. I loved every minute of it.

My husband, Tim, was medically retired from his job due to his cognition issues. Therefore, I've been buried under many pages of paperwork and phone calls. We won't know the railroad retirement boards decision for 9-12 MONTHS. Until then, he will get disability pay.

Disability was a whole nother fiasco, as our new family doctor abruptly left the practice and we had to find a new one to fill out the needed paperwork. It is done, all is filed and it was approved after several weeks of no pay coming.

So, some days I am struggling to keep my head above water. Others I'm proud of myself for getting done what needed to be handled.

In a few weeks we will be at Mayo for Tim's one year checkup. It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. It has been very eventful!

Thanks for inquiring about me.
Many blessings,
JoDee

Jump to this post

@jodeej, I am happy to hear from you. You, your husband, and family have had really busy year since the transplant. I can easily imagine that the wedding was espcially beautiful, and all of you gathered together to celebrate life andlove.

When you get your head above water and feet on the ground, I hope that you will find some time to meet a whole new group of pretransplant patients and their caregivers.

Have you and Tim made any plans to celebtare yout 1st anniversary of his transplant? Tom and I like to go out for a 'special' dinner and we share an iced tea toast!

REPLY
@rosemarya

@jodeej, I am happy to hear from you. You, your husband, and family have had really busy year since the transplant. I can easily imagine that the wedding was espcially beautiful, and all of you gathered together to celebrate life andlove.

When you get your head above water and feet on the ground, I hope that you will find some time to meet a whole new group of pretransplant patients and their caregivers.

Have you and Tim made any plans to celebtare yout 1st anniversary of his transplant? Tom and I like to go out for a 'special' dinner and we share an iced tea toast!

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Hi @rosemarya We actually haven't talked about what to do to celebrate! Lol We are going to visit our son and our new daughter-in-law for a couple days before Tim's one year check at Mayo, so we will have to have an anniversary supper with them. 🙂

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