Our plan has been approved! I talked to Stephanie this afternoon and, as long as there is no rejection or other issues that need addressed, we can head for home on the 12th! I've already made our hotel reservations so all we have to do is start packing!

Bill's last day of rehab will be the 7th so he will graduate and get his certificate from the girls. I will really miss them!

We saw our friends Bud and Charlotte this morning and Bud was transplanted on Nov. 15th. Charlotte was supposed to call me but she lost my number. He looked great and was starting rehab this morning. So, we will sit and visit next week while they are being tortured!

We've had a busy week, airport Monday, all day Tuesday at the dentist getting Bill's new dentures, rehab Wednesday. Haven't done anything this afternoon except walk up to get the mail and put supper in the crockpot. It's starting to smell really good, but still has a couple of hours yet to go.

Now that we've been given the go-ahead tomorrow will start the cleaning out process. Our friends John and Cindi will be here Tuesday and they will take most of the VAD supplies off our hands. I'm keeping a few of them since they are generic medical supplies, but they are taking the bulk off our hands. Then we'll start packing things we won't need.

I'm gonna try to do something here that I haven't done yet. I'm going to try to insert a picture. For anyone who is reading this that doesn't know us, it's a picture that was taken last week. So...here goes! Hey...it worked! Didn't put it where I thought it would, but I'll take it! So, here we are. Hope you enjoy looking at us!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with my sister. We didn't have dinner until Friday since she didn't get here until Thursday afternoon. We did a little shopping on Saturday and Sunday we drove to St. Augustine for the afternoon. Didn't do any of the "touristy" things. Just drove through and had a nice lunch. Spent a little time on their pier which sits way higher in the air than Jacksonville. It is also not as level as Jax with slight ramps up. Bill did quite well walking it. She left this morning and, with flight delays, finally made it home...just as it was starting to spit sleet.

Bill has an appointment tomorrow morning to get his final set of dentures fitted. We have to be there at 7:45 so we'll be fighting the morning traffic. Fun, fun, fun!

So, all for now. Hope everyone had a good holiday with friends and family.

As you can tell it's been a pretty uneventful week for us. Bill did have to have a blood test yesterday as his Prograf level was low. They added an extra pill and it's still low, even lower than it was, but Dr. Yip wants to keep things the way they are right now and they will check it at his biopsy. The only other thing we had changed was when he took his meds. We had been told that the Prograf and Cellcept should be taken on an empty stomach, but others weren't told that so I asked Stephanie and she said it didn't matter. We started taking them with the other meds after he ate. So, we're going to go back to taking them before he eats and then 2 hours after dinner and see what happens.

I'm really excited today, not because it's Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for, but because my sister is coming to visit! She'll be here this afternoon. This is the first time that anyone on my side of the family has been able to come since the transplant, except for my daughter and her husband who got here jsut after the surgery. We haven't been together since August of 2011.

Since it is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for, I wanted to share a portion of one of my daily devotions. This one really hit home. It's from the book Jesus Calling and if any of you are also reading it, it is the devotion for November 12. It sums up my life for the past few years in just a couple of sentences.

"This is a time of abundance in your life. Your cup runneth over with blessings. After plodding uphill for many weeks, you are now traipsing through lush meadows drenched in warm sunshine. I want you to enjoy to the full this time of ease and refreshment. I delight in providing it for you. Sometimes My children hesitate to receive My good gifts with open hands. Feelings of false guilt creep in, telling them they don't deserve to be so richly blessed. This is nonsense-thinking, because no one deserves anything from Me. My kingdom is not about earning and deserving, it's about believing and receiving..."

While this recovery time may not be a time of complete ease, the stress of the past 6 months is over. I have learned so much during this time, about myselft and about God's comfort. I've also met some wonderful people just when I needed them, whether I knew it at the time or not. So, yes I'm extremely thankful...for Bill's life, for everyone who has seen us through this, and especially for Bill's donor. While this is joyous Thanksgiving for us, it is most likely a sad one for this family. We haven't been given the information for us to write to them yet. I only hope they have been comforted just knowing that they were able to help others through their tragedy.

I'm also reminded this morning of the words to a hymn..."I  know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future, it's a secret known only to Him."

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, however you are celebrating. But remember to give thanks, even for the little blessings, like finding a parking space!

BREAKING NEWS!!! We got our December biopsy date and it is December 10th. If everything goes well and there are no other problems, we should get to head home on the 12th. So, it looks like we could be home by the 15th!

Now that we have a date, it's kind of bittersweet. I will miss our little condo, although Bill will be glad to get out of "jail". I'll also miss the nurses and therapists here. I'm not scared of being so far from Mayo, but it's kind of like a military move. We haven't gotten close to many here and it will be sad to leave them. But, we can see them when we come back in Feb. for the next biopsy.

So, I'll keep everyone posted on what's happening in the next month. Anyone want to come help us pack?

Woo Hoo! No rejection again! Status 0! This is also the 2nd biopsy since being off the Prednisone and things are going well. His Prograf level was low (one of his anti-rejection drugs) so it's being increased again. He'll have a blood test again next week to check it. So we are still on track to go home next month. We've requested that his biopsy be as early in the month as possible and to get the date as soon as possible.

I talked to Kristin, our landlady, about us leaving the other night. She said just to let her know a date as soon as possible. She only requires a week notice. I will probably pay for the entire month and then get a refund when we leave. She's excited for us, but also a little sad. But, she usually has a waiting list and if John gets listed the first of the year, they want to move in.

Bill helped me set up his meds yesterday. I don't think he's ready to tackle it on his own yet. He says he'll do it when we get home because he always did it at home. That's the easiest task in this process. There's also his vital signs twice a day, and making sure his meds are given on time.

We tried to get his permanent dentures made today but they couldn't see him. They have switched to an appointment based practice instead of walk-in. So, he gets them done on the 27th. That will be an early day since his appointment is at 7:45 and it's a minimum of a 20 minute drive, just depends on traffic.

We're getting excited for Thanksgiving and seeing my sister. Of course they are now talking about a nor'easter for Thanksgiving week. If her flights don't get cancelled, it doesn't matter if it rains the whole time she's here.

All for tonight. We were up early yesterday and today. Tomorrow we're sleeping in...until at least 7:30!

As you've probably noticed by now, I haven't posted anything since our week-end away. It's not because of anything wrong, it's because it's been a pretty boring, normal week. Rehab was cancelled Monday because the monitoring computer system was down so Bill got an extra day off. He was productive and did his balance and arm exercises. He did have rehab Wednesday and again today. He also saw the Physical Therapist today and she was very pleased with his progress. He improved enough in all areas that she tests that he has been released from PT. Of course she will still keep an eye on him during rehab and if she sees a problem developing again will step in. So, one more step down the road to recovery and home.

His next biopsy is Monday morning and I have a list of questions for Stephanie concerning any other out-processing appointments we may need. I've heard we have to see the social worker before we go. I would imagine that is to make sure we feel secure enough to make it on our own. Of course we've pretty much done that for the last 2 1/2 months, but we won't be 10 minutes from Mayo when we go home. They will still be only a phone call away but they want to make sure we know what to do.

It's been pretty cool here this week but supposed to warm up tomorrow. I miss not having my nice cuddly bathrobe in the mornings and curling up with a cup of coffee in front of the fire...won't be long now and I can do that! We'll need to start packing things up before much longer so we don't have to rush to do it.

All the trivia for now. I'll update after the biopsy unless something major happens over the week-end. Enjoy your week-end and the holiday. Thank a veteran this week-end for their service. I'm not only going to thank mine, I think I'll give him a big hug and kiss!

We had a wonderful visit with Don and Shirley! The drive was very pleasant and the weather was cool but sunny. Yesterday we went to a state park that is there. It's a nature center and animal refuge. We took a boat ride to the center itself from the main center and as we reached the counter to pay we found out that as a disabled veteran, with a service connected disability, Bill gets in free at all of Florida's state parks, and that includes up to 8 people...except for that particular park and it's only for 2! But, it still only cost $21 for 2, with a senior discount. I wish we had known that sooner! Anyway, we walked all over the park and Bill did not need to rest much at all. We also went up and down stairs and had to walk sideways at times in the campground so he got his workout in. There was an underground observation area and we could watch the manatees eat. Those things are huge!

We got home about 2 this afternoon and are ready to settle in for the night. We've gone out for something to eat and we're just waiting for it to get a little later. I will also appreciate the extra hour, but I've got to figure out what this does to his med schedule. They may have to be adjusted a little over the next few days to account for the change.

Received a package from my mother with homemade egg noodles for Thanksgiving. My sister is coming and it is the first time anyone from my side has been to visit so we're really looking forward to that. The package also contained some homemade caramels and I hope we weren't supposed to save any to share with my sister because they may not last through the week-end! Her haircutting tools were also in the box and I'm so glad. I only hope I can wait the 3 weeks until she gets here without going crazy! It's been almost a year since I've had a haircut and I'm not going to look like Cousin It this time, I'm going to look like Granmama from the Addams Family! Bill on the other hand looks like a mad professor! We both need a trim!

My computer decided to crash this afternoon. Luckily a system fix program finally came on and it repaired itself. So, tomorrow I'm going to spend the day backing up files in case it happens again. I haven't backed up my bookkeeping for awhile and I can't afford to lose those files. Hopefully it will make it through the night.

All for now. Enjoy the extra hour of sleep tonight!