Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep

Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby from White Christmas

Do you remember Rosemary Clooney? Yes, George Clooney’s aunt and famous singer from the 40s 50s 60s era. In White Christmas, Bing Crosby sings to her, “if you’re troubled and you can’t sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep.” I have so many blessings to count, I really do not know where to begin.

Lao-Tzu says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I don’t know how many steps our family has taken since August 2013, but I’m sure it has been more than a thousand miles. Last August, my husband of 33 years, Randy, was rushed to the hospital with respiratory distress, and to make a very long story short (the long story is in the category, LUNG TRANSPLANT, an Unexpected Journey, go to the first post, you’ll see the most recent) he spent 2 weeks on life support, followed by a miraculous double lung transplant.

The blessing of lungs for transplant is always bittersweet…yes, someone died in order to give Randy life. That person, unknown to us, saved several lives. While Randy was having the double lung transplant, the other operating rooms were busy transplanting his/her heart, kidneys, and liver. It is almost incomprehensible that Randy survived. At the time I never doubted that he would. A year later, I am much more familiar with the odds and the truths of transplant. It is nothing short of a miracle that he is here right now.

There are so many people who love him. His friends rallied immediately, and stayed in touch, visiting, phoning, emailing, texting. Our friends sent meals, they sat with me in the hospital, they prayed for Randy, and I felt their presence in our lives every moment. During those dark days, I never felt alone. You all know who you are, but do you know how much I love you? How much I appreciate everything you did? I felt the collective wishes and prayers of the people in our lives, and although I can’t say I know what lies beyond this existence, I can say with confidence that something does. Is it energy? God? Love? Goodness? I don’t know, but I know it exists. I felt it in the days surrounding his life saving surgery.

The nurses, doctors, and medical professionals at UT Southwestern are miracle makers. Beyond the technical medical abilities and technologies, they provided a steady, calm demeanor, much needed at the time. If you are looking for a worthy cause, the UT Southwestern Medical Center Annual Fund is going on right now. The future of scientific research depends upon the philanthropy of the public. I would certainly never have guessed we would ever need the UT Southwestern Heart and Lung Transplant Team!

My children were devastated. I am so grateful they had significant others to support them. Those significant others will grow our family in 2015: there will be two weddings in our family! We look forward to celebrating with them and with their families. 2015 will be a year of joy, and believe me, a year of joy is very welcome! Bring it on.

One year ago tomorrow, Randy took his first step alone since his ordeal, without a walker or any supports. Today he is walking, working out every day, and feeling great. How fortunate, how lucky can one family be? The depth of my gratitude is bottomless.

“So when I’m troubled, and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. I fall asleep, counting my blessings.”