On this past Wednesday, April 22, I celebrated my 11th transplant anniversary. This year, it was a quiet day, and a reflective day. April 22 will always be a day of blessings for me.

I kept a journal, and here part of what I wrote on May 2, 2009:
"It is day 10 post transplant. I have been busy and had no time or energy to do any journaling. I will try to summarize and recall some memories that began with the phone call from my transplant surgeon on the morning of April 22, 2009 at 6:42 AM... I feel elated, thankful, relieved, and in awe of what just occurred. I feel so loved and so blessed to have had a successful surgery; to begin an "uneventful" recovery; to have a wonderful family who is here with me; to have prayers and support of family, friends, and friends of friends. It seems like everyone knows someone who wants to pray for me. They make it sound like I am doing something extra courageous. I am only doing what I 'have' to do. I expect that anyone in my situation would do the same thing. My medical team has provided the hands for this miraculous event. The credit belongs to my organ donor."

When is your tranaplant anniversary? What do you remember? How do you honor the day and your donor?