BLESSED AND GRATEFUL

Good afternoon from a beautiful city of Adelaide where the sky is blue and not a cloud to be seen, a fairly brisk breeze is helping to dry my washing which is on the clothes line.

It is deliciously cool after a sweltering weekend and this is truly a blessing.
The only things I like about summer are stone fruits, crisp salads and cool changes - and days like this one.

The weather cooled late last evening and sleeping should have been much easier but somehow the sleep fairy forgot to call here and I had a very restless nigh but it was pure joy to rise this morning to a cool day and such a pretty blue sky.  The birds were appreciating the cool too because their choir was in full voice.

I am blessed in so many ways and have so much to be thankful for - both the big things and the little things.

I am thankful for my family and my friends who are there for me on good days and not so good days, with encouragement and support.  I am grateful for wonderful medical care and a team which keeps a watchful eye on me and ensures that I have regular checkups and procedures.   Some of the procedures are not pleasant, but I am grateful for them and the protection they afford. 

I am blessed and grateful to the man who gave me the gift of life which allows me to see so many wonderful things in this beautiful world.   The list of beautiful things is endless and some of them are very tiny things, some not so tiny and some are events and outings with friends.   

Dinner out with friends is something I enjoy - I don't have to cook or clean up so that's enough reason to be out and about and we have just made arrangements for a birthday dinner for one member of our Group, which I affectionately call "Guys and Dolls".

Never lose your sense of wonder at the beauty around you or the blessings you receive and remember to be grateful.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart and for sharing the joy I feel and the gratitude that lives within my heart.    I hope you can find joy in your days and be present to each moment - Life is so very precious.

Love and hugs,

Linda 

Please visit The Pages of Avalon and enjoy 

http://thepagesofavalon.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/no-one-ever-mentioned.html

PART OF MY ROUTINE

Good morning from Adelaide, where yet again it is deliciously cool.   The summer sun is shining in a clear blue sky, but the ferocity of the blistering heat it not with us at this time - it is truly beautiful.   It is lovely to stand hanging washing out and feel a gentle breeze embrace me.

Laundry days are much easier now the children have grown and there are no sports uniforms to wash and school uniforms to press.    I miss the piles of laundry though - I miss the socks, I miss the skirts and shorts and the changing of the sizes which would remind me that my little brood was growing up.   I would peg out the socks and think of each child and hope and pray their feet would carry them on safe pathways.   When winter came and it was laundering winter woolies, I would think and pray that they would always be warm and safe.    Each child's specific needs would cross my mind and I would hold them close.

Those days when the whole hockey team uniforms came home to be washed, because my little star had said  "My Mum will wash them"  are clear in my mind and I loved the "flags" flying in the breeze.

Then of course there were the  "odd" socks - just where that other one went never failed to amaze me but we had an "odd sock basket" and each school holidays we would gather round and try to sort them in pairs.   It was fun and we did achieve sometimes, but always there was that little lonely odd sock.

Wow - I have taken a detour here and gone way off track from what I intended to write today, but I think I can steer my thoughts back to my plan.

The quote at the top of the page about scars and healing was my focus for today - we all have scars (some much bigger than others) and they are badges on honour for what we achieved and should be worn with pride   They tell the story of the difficulties we have overcome.   

Today it is my day for sorting my medication into daily doses and this takes awhile and like with the socks, I use the time as thinking time.    I think of my Donor, the man who gave me the gift of life by donating his organs and I was the blessed recipient of his liver.   I think of him and his life and his family and how that every day of celebration for me is a celebration of a totally different kind for them.   I am thankful for every day of life that is mine and I correspond with his wife sometimes and she assures me "he will be looking down from heaven smiling that you are doing so well."   I have named my liver 

"OLIVER" and Oliver and I are getting along famously and I am thankful.

I am thankful too for the wonders of modern medicine and the drugs available to keep me from rejecting my gift and although there are a lot of them - I take them willingly and happily.

Some photographs of medication sorting time for you  - for those familiar with transplant these will be ordinary and a very familiar similar scene.

It is part of my routine of the "new normal" - a routine where I can take one days supply with me or a whole week or more - all sorted ready to just "pop the pills" and again I am thankful.

Thank you for visiting the Musings from my Heart and for coping with the detour my mind took us on today.    Wear your scars with pride (whether they are physical or emotional scars) let them fade with time and be proud of the journey you have taken.    Be strong and be brave.

My heart is peaceful and thankful on this lovely Tuesday.

Love and hugs,

These are very useful and bring lots of smiles. 

WORDS FOR THIS YEAR 2013

Welcome to my world - a much cooler place since we were graced by a cool change at three this morning.   I sat outside for a while after the wind changed and enjoyed the leaves tossing in the trees and watching clouds race across the moon.

I have been exercising my hand at regular intervals and am happy to report that even typing is a little easier as the fingers are a little less still and as little stronger.  I have been touch typing for nearly 50 years and have found it so limiting to not be able to do it - but I am on the road to recovery and hopefully will be able to blog regularly again.

I am also in the process of discussions with a beautiful lady who is going to design a template for my blog - I did think all pinks and soft colours, but at the moment my thoughts are heading towards something much bolder and brighter - perhaps making a statement of how glad I am to be alive and living a good life.

The blog will remain "Musings from my Heart" irrespective of what design I choose.   If you have any ideas I would be interested to hear from you.

Today's beautiful cool weather has made me restless and I was thinking a while ago that I would go to the River for a while - then I realized that I am still not to drive - so that will have to wait.

It's been a tough couple of weeks in the Transplant Community and in the Group I manager - we have lost three members in a very short period of time. Such different stories:

 Sandi who had her transplant over twenty five years ago and lived every moment to the full.

Greg who chose not to be listed for transplant and to just let nature take it's course.

And this morning I woke to read the news that Scott - a beautiful young husband of 38 young years had died, leaving his wife Jennifer and their three young children Caitlin, Benjamin and Mason.  He had been number one on the list for the last month but there was no call for him and the sinister nature of Liver Disease took his life.

Working and being involved in the Transplant Community we ride the roller coaster of highs and lows, successes and failures but constantly live with the hope of a gifted life.

I also had news of Big McKenzie (Bone Marrow recipient) who is failing fast and is now being sent home on Hospice care.  I hold Melinda and McKenzie in my heart and feel immensely sad as I have traveled the road with them for over two years.   This child is now 11 and could not have had better or more loving support and care and I promise my love and care to both of them for the coming days of their journey.

All of this has touched me deeply and with tears I rejoice for the years that Sandi had, the strength and the courage of Melinda and McKenzie, the wonderful care given to Scott and to Greg by their respective spouses and bow my head in humility that I was blessed to receive the gift of life and that my journey has been guided by wonderful medical teams and that I am alive and well.  I came so close and I am thankful for each day of my gifted life.

These past weeks have strengthened my resolve to work towards better education and understanding in the community of the value of Organ Donation, to talk freely with anyone who will listen, to work towards educating perhaps the young in our High Schools - let's get them when they are young and they will go home and do the educating of their parents.

My transplant does not define me - it is not who I am - it is what happened to me and if I can use this gift to help others then I will happily do so.

Talk with your friends and most importantly have the conversation with your family so they know your wishes and be sure to register in the State where you live.

Yes I am back, and yes I am still championing the cause and I will go on doing so - it's what I do - it is the action of a caring and compassionate heart and one who lives every day with gratitude.

My worlds for 2013 are "CELEBRATE" and "EMBRACE" and I will go on celebrating the wonder that Organ Donation is and my wonderful life ~ and will embrace the cause and work steadily for it.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart today a heart that is filled with wonder and touched with sadness for those for whom the path has not been so easy.

Love and hugs,

I CELEBRATE LIFE

Today I celebrate life in all it's beauty and with all it's complexities.

I celebrate every breath I take and each morning when I wake reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive.  Each morning brings a new song of gratitude from my soul to the man who gave me the gift of life, to the surgical teams and nursing staffs who restored me to health, stood me back on my feet and helped me on my way.

I am thankful for my family who cared for me and loved me when I was unlovable because that's when I needed them most.

I celebrate daily the joys of friendship and the kindnesses shown to me, the love expressed and the care given.

I celebrate every sunrise, sunset, rain storm and the changing of the seasons which all serve to remind me that I am alive to see them happening.

I embrace cool shady spots on hot days, hot chocolate by the fire in winter, lovely books, perfume, flowers, outings with friends, deep and meaningful conversations with those who love me just the way I am and who rejoice that I am still here.

I am taking this life I have been gifted and grasping it with both hands and although I know I live on borrowed time, I am happy and living my life to the full.

My words for 2013 are "celebrate" and "embrace" and I know I made the right choice with those as I know also did my dearest friend did when he chose "Carpe Diem"  - I celebrate and embrace and seize every day.

Take hold of your life, grasp it with both hands and waste not a moment in self pity, wallowing and misery - find joys in the smallest things, laugh, love and be silly - splash in puddles, dance in the rain, walk by the river and splash in the sea.

CELEBRATE and EMBRACE your life.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of this pensive, thoughtful and happy heart and go peacefully and celebrate and enjoy.

Love and hugs,

Linda.

SECOND BITE AT THE CHERRY

Welcome to my Thursday evening where the storm is raging and the winter wind blowing and rain falling heavily at the moment and the days when cherries are available in abundance are yet to come for us.   Our northern hemisphere friends have the sweet pleasures of summer fruit at the moment and I know they enjoy it.

Cherries are my favourite fruit (although there are others close by) and I enjoy the summer days with a bowl of cherries, some shade and a good book.   Turning the pages slowly as I read and spitting the pits into a bowl.  To have the sweet sweet taste of cherries, I must also have the pits and how I handle them is up to me.

I can moan about them or I can just spit them out and go on enjoying the beautiful cherry flavour and that's what I do and intend to go on doing.

I can't have the cherries without the pits, the sunshine without the shadow,

the rainbow without the rain but I can spit the pits out, turn my face to the sun so that the shadows are behind me and I can put up an umbrella in the rain.

Life is very tough for many people at the moment with severe illness, family members who are in the last days of their life, those who are ill in the grip of an illness that only a transplant will save them from and those with children who will always be children and linger in the shadows of childhood.

There is little I can do to ease the pain of these dear people, but I can be supportive, prayerful and encouraging.

I can be an advocate for the things I believe in and as a living, breathing example of the success of organ transplantation that's my intention to be part of a team to educate and inform members of the community about the very special wonder that organ transplantation is.

I have friends who are actively involved in this all over the world and next week a dear friend is stepping up to the first meeting post transplant. 

It is rather like going to AA - when asked who you are and what is your connection to transplant  my response is "I am Linda and I am the very fortunate recipient of a new liver".   It is wonderful to share with people the difference that transplant has made in my life and the lives of many I know.  I have contact with many people in various stages of their recovery - one back to work almost full time, planning trips, gardening and living each day present to the moment.    Another walking daily, riding a bike, walking the dog and celebrating life with a thankful heart.

As a group we are very blessed to have been the recipient of an organ because someone made the decision that when their time came they wanted to "donate life" and they did the most important thing of all

THEY DISCUSSED IT WITH THEIR FAMILY - so that there was no doubt in the minds of family members as to what their wishes were.

Wherever you are in this beautiful world - if summer is your companion and summer fruits on your menu, or if you are relishing winter soups, breads and casseroles, sometime over dinner - bring the subject up and make sure that those who love you KNOW and UNDERSTAND what your wishes are ~ it will help them very much at a time of immense sadness and stress.

Have the conversation, register, talk to friends and give others like me the chance for a second bite at the cherry of life.   Yes there are the pits of medication, fatigue and constant blood tests and check ups ~ but they are nothing at all to pay for the price of life itself.

Life for me is definitely A BOWL OF CHERRIES.

Thank you for visiting and sharing the musings of my heart - one which is constantly aware of how blessed I am to be alive, living well and loved.

A heart that is thankful for my bite at the cherry and for the lives of those I love that have been saved by organ donation.

Love and hugs,

Linda.  

CALM AFTER STORM

Welcome to Saturday in my little corner of the world where Mother Nature has turned on a beautiful day for us after an almost freezing start - the sun is shining and the sky is blue and a gentle wind is blowing.   A perfect day for Saturday and Saturday weddings and outdoor functions - all in all a perfect day.

The sky is blue and the sun shining but it is still very cold - a lovely white frost on my grass this morning and I took the opportunity again to walk barefoot through the frost as I am want to do.

There is within me a pure delight in the calm that follows storms - whether they are the physical storms where the wind blows and the rain falls or whether they are the emotional storms that leave us damaged and tossed about.

My heart reaches out to American friends who are struggling in areas where the weather is fierce, heat, storms, rain and wind - and lots of damage.

To those for whom these last few weeks have been a turmoil of emotion and pain and for whom the eye of the storm has passed - I reach out with love and care and rejoice with you that the fiercest part of the storm is passed and  that now you can rest, restore and recover.  May you look back on these days and be proud of the courage you showed and the support you gave to others whose pain was acute.

After the damage of the storms there is much to be done with recovery and restoration and for those things the time is now - with rest and relaxation.

Take all the time you need to rest, spend time with those you love and enjoy the beautiful world we live in.

I spent a lovely evening with family - I did beading and they watched a crazy movie, but we were together and that's what counted.  We had lots of comfort foods - soups, casseroles, lovely bread and the most delicious chocolate pudding - it was a nice evening, but a late night which has left me a little weary today.

Life is strange - we think things are going along well and then out of the blue something crops up that makes us feel fragile and vulnerable again.  Unwittingly I had a drink last night that contained grapefruit juice and have had a reaction to something today - so I am assuming it is the grapefruit   I have had the itches that I used to get pre-transplant and have had a call in to the support team and spoken with the lovely Adele - who wants me to watch this and if it gets worse/doesn't clear to go into Emergency and have someone look at it.  She is getting in touch with me on Monday to see how things are.

I give thanks for the wonderful team and incredible medical care I have at my disposal - two minutes between the phone call to have the team paged and Adele called ~ I have so much to be thankful for.

I am richly blessed in so many ways - a precious friend who made me promise to call the team, and a team of caring people who care for me - and the knowledge and assurance that "there is no such thing as a silly question" leaves me with a great security.  Not only does the sun shine in my world - it shines in my heart too.

The morning has gone very quickly for me with lunchtime arriving before I could blink - going to get some chicken soup and my book and sit outside in the warmth of this winter Saturday and be thankful for all the blessings in my life.

I hope that when Saturday arrives for you that you are able to enjoy the weather, the company and all the lovely things that are ours in our beautiful world.  If you are fragile and damaged from the storms of your life, I hope that you can heal and that the love of friends and family will buoy you along as you struggle with your little boat in rough seas.

My love and care goes out to you all from the musings of a very thankful heart.

Love and hugs, 

Linda 

DARLING I AM GROWING OLD (ER)

Good Morning from my little corner of the world where, after a very grey few days, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.   It is very welcome and much appreciated.  The nights are colder and with clear open skies of course the temperature comes down.   It was, shall we say "crisp" this morning but very beautiful.

My beautiful "Eiffel Tower" pink rose is continuing to bloom and I thought I had picked "the last rose of summer" some weeks ago but it continues to bring beauty to even those grey days.

I spent yesterday afternoon with a group of women and among us was a dear soul whose eyes have lost their sparkle and whose mind is no longer clear - advanced stages of Altzheimer's Disease, and it got me thinking of growing older and what the future holds.

Growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional is as phrase I have often heard, but never really given much thought to until now. Yes I am growing older and my hair is no longer the lovely brunette with red highlights that it was and there are lines on my face and my skin is "different".  But and it is a very big BUT - I am alive and my hair is coloured often (I'll take all the help I can get) and the lines on my face tell a story of my journey and at times I notice a dimple still there when I smile.   My skin is functional not decorative but I am blessed in so very many ways that I don't think this growing older is too bad at all.

I can find joy in so many things about growing older - and a very big plus for me is being able to laugh at myself for the silly things I say and do.

Being able to get up in the morning and think "What shall I do today" and not have to rush to the Office and miss the glorious days outside.

I find joy in the simplest of things and am learning to worry less and laugh a lot more.    I have learned much during my life and particularly in the past three years about tolerance, compassion, care and understanding.

I have learned that love comes in through doors you didn't even realize you had left open and that friendship is a treasured gift.  I have learned even more to let my girls go and make their own lives, but I do enjoy it when they ask for advice or ask me to cook something special for them.   Even today is special because Naomi and Alexis are coming home from Melbourne and have asked us to pick them up from the Airport.   Those little things remind me that they still need me but in different ways than before.

I have learned that if I don't make my bed the world doesn't go into a holding pattern and if there are dishes on the sink that they will get done eventually.

I have discovered the joys of coffee and a good book in the warmth of the sun for what starts off to be half an hour and develops into much longer.  The delight of a cool shower in the middle of a hot night and ice cream for breakfast when the temperature sizzles.

I enjoy the company of little children very much - but can be honest enough to say that whilst "I love children I couldn't eat a whole one" and that shopping without them is delightful and when they go home the relief and peace is audible.

I love splashing in puddles and dancing in the rain, walking barefoot through the grass and the delights of being silly with one who understands me.  Silly is good and imagination is wonderful and I have not lost the ability for both.

With growing older comes the freedom to stay up late, sleep in late or do crossword puzzles for half the day.   

I love the honesty that comes with being older - I don't have to make an impression - I am here, I am alive and I am me and I have got to the stage where I like me - I think I am doing fine.    I am accepting challenges that I could not have done before and slaying dragons that have haunted me for almost a lifetime.  I am who I was born to be. 

I will find my way albeit I may need some help and I am thankful that I have such special help, care, advice, love and  support - you know who you are - Thank you.

How are you travelling along the aging pathway?  Are there thorns and brambles on your path?   I hope that clarity comes for you soon and that you are able to enjoy every part of living and that the things you have learned on your journey will serve you well for future days.  Live in today - not in your past, you can't change things or undo them.

On that happy note I shall close this musing from my heart - a heart today filled with gratitude for so many many things and a heart filled with love and life.

Love and hugs,

Linda

SILVER GREY CLOUDS ON SUNDAY MORNING

Welcome to Sunday Morning in my little corner of the world and where I am the sky is silver grey with darker pewter coloured clouds and a cold stiff breeze blowing.   I really like the quiet of Sunday mornings and the heavy cloud seems to make that quiet even more intense and although I suspect the roads are busy, where I am there is peace.  I am not far from the beach and may this afternoon go and spend some time there with the cold salt sea air and the plaintive cry of the gulls for company.

I have this morning spent some time with Grace and Henry who are growing up so fast.  Grace went to the Football with Papa Ray yesterday and seemed to enjoy it very much - (although she did tell me quietly it was a bit boring).  The children have grown in the weeks since I saw them last and they are keeping their parents on their toes.  Fortunately they travel well as they are in the car such a lot traveling to and from Adelaide.


I was able to witness some papers for Melinda and to share sweet buns from Baker's Delight with them all.  It is lovely from time to time to step back from adulthood and to see the world through the eyes of a child and find joy in the most basic of things.   Colouring books and pencils, construction sets and Lego and of course soft fluffy toys 

On this Mother's Day I think about you all - those of you who are Mothers,

Expectant Mothers, those who miss their Mother and those for whom this day is difficult.   My particular thoughts are with Donor Mothers whose loved one's gift has enabled people like me to spend time as a Mother to my daughters.

Mother's Day could well have been very different for my girls, thankfully an unselfish act of kindness means they have their Mother with them still.


Some of you are celebrating Mother's Day as a first time Grandmother and I hope the new arrival in your family brings all the joy in the world to you.


I drove past a flower stand and they were very busy and as I passed The Cheesecake Shop they were doing a roaring trade as people collected cakes for luncheon celebrations.


My family celebrations will take place next weekend but I have spoken with both of my daughters and I understand that life gets busy at times for everyone and commitments with partner's family make all getting together at the same time difficult.   At times it is a bigger production that Ben-Hur.


I don't need a special day to celebrate - I have so much to celebrate each and every day.  


I celebrate life and love,
kindness
care
friendship
Motherhood
family and so many other wonderful things.


Thinking of you all as you move through your Sunday and wishing you calm and peaceful thoughts.


Love and hugs,
Linda. 

IT IS NICE TO BE BACK

Today is Saturday for me and I haven't been here since Tuesday ~ the wonderful piece of machinery that allows me access to the Internet, email, Facebook, web cam and Google decided to be difficult and has spent most of the week in with the repair man - it is working again and everything is in hand for me to have and work with a new computer.

It is a strange feeling - almost that I have been detached from my life support system and I found it difficult.   I was able to access things from the home of a friend and special phone calls and text messages made it much easier to bear.

The time away gave me cause to think about why I blog and how it started.  It started when I had not long come out of hospital and there were lots of people wanting to know how I was doing, so I chose to blog to keep everyone in the loop and then it became a place for joy and thanksgiving for my life.

It has moved to be a general musing on how life is treating me and how I am feeling and I am happy to be back and not to have forgotten the source.

It is good to be reminded of how far I have come ~ there are less and less medical reports in my posts and more and more of the joy I find in my life.  The discoveries I have been able to make and share with you all.

Life is indeed good for me - my health is so much better and I live with a thankful heart ~ not only for my health but for the continuing health and strength of other transplant recipients.   I wonder and marvel at the skill and knowledge that allows this sort of surgery to go ahead and am astounded at the difference in the quality of life for so many people.  There are many thankful hearts all around the world.

I am having trouble believing how quickly this year is passing - tomorrow is Mother's Day and here we are in the middle of May and summer gardens are getting ready to bloom in the northern hemisphere and down in the south we are dealing with much cooler temperatures, falling leaves and grey skies.

My daffodils have been in for a week now and I wonder how cold it is in the soil and I look forward with great anticipation to seeing the first green shoots making their way up and then on to blooming.

The mail this week has brought me letters, cards and books and all of these things are a wonderful reminder of the love and affection of friends.

I have been stepping out of my comfort zone and doing things which are a challenge to me, but I do them with loving support and am managing quite well.

There has been much sickness around and I wish you all a speedy recovery and bright and happy days.   I hope that even if your days are challenging and pain filled - that they serve to remind you that you are indeed alive to feel the pain.

Life is beautiful and we live in a beautiful world - so no matter where you go or where your stream travels be sure not to forget the source and go back to your roots and enjoy it all.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - today a heart that is filled with wonder at the pure joy of living.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

WELCOME TO THE JOY OF SUNDAY MORNING

Welcome to my world and welcome to my Sunday morning where the coffee is hot and sweet, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I am filled with gratitude for all that I am and have.

Where do I start - I have had such a busy few days and yet haven't achieved very much ~ well that isn't entirely true either.   Friday just came and went in a blur and Saturday went by in a blur of a very different kind.   Friday is too long ago to really remember what happened but yesterday was very busy and a great day.

The day started with an early departure for the Airport to meet Rebecca and Nick from their flight from Prague/Frankfurt and Singapore - and of course the flight was late - but the Airport coffee was great and as always it was delightful to watch the "passing parade" and the person who caught my eye most of all (besides all the gorgeous children) was an Indian gentleman who looked stunning in a pale pink business shirt and matching pale pink turban  ~ my he was handsome and the pink looked wonderful.   I am intrigued as to how those turbans are wound  - and of course being a "Google Girl" I have been busy ~ this link is interesting.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8636641_wind-turban.html

It is my understanding that turbans are very long and I would love to have a try at winding one.  

The flight arrived and without too much delay the kids were off and with us again - it was lovely to see them and reach out to them.  They have had a wonderful time and taken lots of photographs so we will be having a photo session soon I suspect.   Our journey then took us to collect their cat from the Cattery and although glad to see them I think this cat is going to take a while to forgive them for their abandoning him.  

Then for me it was time to brush my hair and get off to lunch at the Hilton Hotel here in Adelaide - a lunch sponsored by The Royal Adelaide Hospital and I was part of a Donate Life Group.   It was a lovely meal, and it was great to meet new people and renew friendships with others.   It was great to see again my lovely Donor Mum I worked with during Donate Life Week.  I talked for a long while with a Donor Sister and it was a lovely time - she is in the advanced stages of her third pregnancy and looked absolutely beautiful.   I wrote this poem when I got home and share it with you now.

http://thepagesofavalon.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/little-baby-yet-unborn.html

The food was great and the "Bollywood Style" Entertainment was good too - and I stepped out of the comfort zone and had a henna tattoo painted on and also wore a Bindi and here's the proof:

All of the glitter on the tattoo has gone but I am left with about three weeks before the henna will wear off.   

I came home with another invitation to another meeting - life is on the move for me and I rejoice that I am alive and well enough to be part of it all.

Weekends are often busy for families and there are many family functions to be attended and I gave thought this morning to Donor Families and the fact that I can celebrate with my family because of the generosity of another family.   I am thankful and humbled by their decision and keep all Donor Families in my thoughts and prayers.

Remember to attend your family functions, talk with people, take photographs, laugh and if you are anything like my family - you will eat lots too.

It is cold in my City this morning - as is to be expected with the advent of winter, but the sun is shining and God's in His heaven and all is well in my little corner of the world.

I did take some photographs of my City Square from the steps of the Hilton yesterday afternoon.

It was a lovely afternoon and there must have been a wedding in the Church in the background because the bells were pealing - it was beautiful.

That's it for me for today - I hope your Sunday is beautiful wherever you are - whatever you are doing ~ if you are busy with family - then relish it or if you are like me, enjoying the bliss of solitude - enjoy that too.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of this busy and thankful heart today.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

MONDAY MORNING MUSING AND MEDICATION

Good Morning and welcome to Monday in my little corner of the world where the sun is shining and the sky is blue and we are experiencing a flush of warm days before Mother Nature packs her summer clothes away and dons her autumn gowns.   It is truly a lovely day and far too nice to be inside, so I have been sitting outside in the warmth and in the shade, having lunch and sorting my medication for the coming week.

Pictured above is a complete weeks array of the medications I take and I like the feelings I get when this is done and I am prepared and ready for the coming week - ready to take the day's medication with me in my handbag or the whole week if I am going any great distance from home.  I always have a good supply at home so there is never a panic to rush to the Pharmacy and it should come as no surprise that I am on first name terms with the Pharmacist and the girls who work there and often have a chat.

I am thankful for these medications, for the skills of the people who worked and researched and came up with the idea of preventing rejection.    Or indeed discovered that there was a problem with a body rejecting a transplanted organ.

I recall the first heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa in 1967 (yes I'm that old) by Dr. Christian Barnard.   He performed the world's first human heart transplant operation on 3 December 1967, in an operation assisted by his brother, Marius Barnard; the operation lasted nine hours and used a team of thirty people. The patient, Louis Washkansky, was a 54-year-old grocer, suffering from diabetes and incurable heart disease.  Louis Washkansky died 18 days later from complications due to a suppressed immune system.

The first liver transplant took place in 1963 in Denver Colorado, USA and I was number 194 to receive a transplant at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia  and I am thankful for the improvements and skills of modern day Surgeons and Doctors.    I take my medication automatically and without fail, it is keeping me alive and for that I am thankful.

I know other transplant recipients who are are more and different medications and it is rather like "horses for courses" in finding what works for each patient and there is generally much adjustment during the early days to get it "just right"   Taking it all becomes part of the "new normal" and is just a part of LIFE -  it becomes rather like breathing - you just do it because you do.

I am going to finish this blog and then sit outside again in the warmth of the day and write some letters,  - pen to paper and I love it.   I know the staff at the Post Office rather well and they are joyful happy souls.

I am thankful for so many things - for the joy of just breathing in and out and for the solitude of long autumn days, for friends and family and those who visit here.   I am waiting for some beading supplies to arrive and then I have a project to work on and I am really looking forward to that.   Narelle did a class on Saturday and did beautiful work and I admire it very much but lots of tiny tiny beads would have made my eyes sore I think.   We are planning another class very soon and I shall look forward to that.

We had our movie afternoon yesterday and saw "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with Judy Dench and Maggie Smith and both were wonderful ~ a delightful film, filled with delicious humour and a sensitive story about the joys of aging.   I would recommend it ~ and will probably go to see it again.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart ~ a heart filled with wonder at the advances in medicine and surgery over the years.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

BORROWED TIME

Today has been sunny and cool in my fair City  - a typical Adelaide autumn day and truly beautiful.  I have done much writing and lots of thinking.

I was out and about early this morning to have my Mammogram - I have always had this done regularly and made a promise to Vicki who recently lost her battle to Breast Cancer, that I would continue to have the examination, ask questions and seek opinions.   A wonderful legacy for her to leave if she can get a whole bunch of women to commit to this.

I have lost three Facebook friends in two weeks ~ Vicki and then Kristy who was too ill for transplant and Patrick who just couldn't overcome the complications from his heart transplant and this has only served to make me realize that we all live on borrowed time.   None of us are guaranteed tomorrow and that we do have a duty to live our lives to the full.

It is a duty and an honour to stand in the sun, to listen to the wind, to walk the shoreline, pick up shells and stones, to stomp through autumn leaves and indeed to stop and smell the roses.  To deliberately walk past the Bakery to smell the warm bread just coming out of the oven.   To visit a coffee shop and drink in the aroma of the coffee beans freshly ground.

To walk outside and smell freshly mowed grass and to smell rain on a warm earth ~ to observe the changing of the seasons where Spring is awaking and bringing joy to tender hearts. To dig in the earth and help to promote new life with new plants.   To experience the drawing in of the evening and the cool wind that blows around four in the afternoon.  To watch the phases of the moon and stand under a diamond studded sky.

To watch the planes take off and wonder where they are going and the purpose of their journey  ~ to write letters and to share love and laughter.   These are very special gifts and ones we all take so much for granted.

I am glad for the reminders that life is short and should be lived and I plan to honour Vicki, Kristy and Patrick and by remembering them as I get out and about and enjoy my living.   I will miss them all ~ I will miss what I became when I was interacting with them ~ I shall miss so much of their lives, but will go on living in possibility and hope.

I shall honour too the gift of life from my Donor whose name I have learned was "Owen" ~ I am blessed so very much to have received this gift.

I have had wonderful conversations recently over time and distance and also received beautiful mail and these are the things that make my life sweeter, my sky bluer and my sun shine a bit brighter.

I am thankful for small mercies, small miracles and for the privilege of living on borrowed time.

I am alive and well and living life to the full.

Love and hugs and thanks for visiting the Musings of My Heart  ~ a heart that has been totally overwhelmed in recent days by events, by life and  by love.   A heart that is truly thankful.

Linda.