double lung tranplant Archives

Photos: Excitement on the Reefs of Cozumel!

July 9, 2015 By Tam Warner 11 Comments

Not only dives! The snorkeling has been amazing as well. The little stuff has been incredible! Diving isn’t all sharks and huge pelagics, it is also the tiniest members of the ocean community that fascinate.

Randy and I have been snorkeling every day for the first time since his double lung transplant almost two years ago! He has been thrilled to be back in Cozumel. We have really been enjoying our time here, and on our snorkels we have seen several reef squid hanging around. I didn’t know if they were cuttlefish or squid, and a couple of readers let me know they are squids…Caribbean Reef Squid or Inshore Arrow Squid, they are still fascinating, even magical, creatures. On Tuesday, July 7, we were doing our usual route over the reef system in front of our house, and I saw a few squids. After looking around, I realized it wasn’t a few, it was an aggregation! They fly in the water like a squadron, and they were everywhere. When I swam between them they separated into groups, then regathered. They are intelligent, and you can see a lively curiosity in their large beautiful eyes. Like an octopus, they change colors, white to lavender to iridescent. I wanted to stay and watch them for hours, but finally Randy dragged me away.

Since the hurricane Wilma in 2006, sea horses and pipefish are hard to find. On Palancar Gardens on July 6, the dive guide, Yasser, found a pipehorse! It was so tiny, even for a pipefish! So tiny, and so precious! Again, I could have spent the dive observing it, but I had to move on.

My dive guide points out the Pipehorse...so tiny! — My dive guide points out the Pipehorse…so tiny!

Incredib le Pipehorse. — Incredible Pipehorse.

Prior to this trip I replaced my prescription dive mask, which was at least 5 years old. I feel like I am seeing a whole new world! Nothing like being able to see! For instance, I have always loved Christmas tree worms, but now that I have my new prescription I realize they have a body, or tube, which is also quite pretty! It is so easy to miss things…I could spend 24 hours a day for years on just this one reef and never see it all. It changes minute to minute.

A Hydromedusa — A Comb Jelly, non stinging. We see this often in the summer here.

2015-07-05 18.44.16 queen triggerfish — A gorgeous Queen Trigger teen turning into an adult.

The entire trip has been Squid Fest! It must be time to breed.

Look at the color of this Cuttlefish! — Look at the color of this squid!

2015-07-05 19.05.52 cuttle — Squid are very intelligent.

I do not know what they are doing, but their colors are amazing!

As I said, even the small creatures can be exciting!

Want to enjoy Cozumel? Check it out! http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/category/midlife-journey/transplant-an-unexpected-journey/

Another Surprise from Transplant World

March 26, 2015 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

At Shamrockin' for a Cure, March 7. — At Shamrockin’ for a Cure, March 7.

One thing I can say about living in Transplant World: it is never dull. Actually, we could all use a little dull.

Randy and I went to Atlanta earlier this month to attend a Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser, and while there, we both caught a bug. The rest of our vacation was spent fighting illness, on and off. When Randy started with symptoms, I made arrangements to get him home….fast. We were near a couple of transplant centers, but we had no confidence in them because Randy had a blood test at Emory in Atlanta, and it was complete SNAFU. We never did get the results, if you can believe that. I made reservations, put him on a plane home from Charleston, and drove home by myself.

When he went to the doctor here at UT Southwestern, his lungs were clear, and he was already beginning to improve. Ah, sweet relief. Yesterday morning we walked our dogs, Luke and Lucy, ran some errands, and began talking about getting life back to some sort of routine. Yesterday afternoon the Transplant Clinic called with the news that Randy tested positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a respiratory virus which is as common as the cold, but in those with compromised immune systems it can be very dangerous as it can cause pneumonia. Last night Randy was admitted to an Isolation room, and will have breathing treatments 6 hours on, 2 hours off. He is not allowed visitors. Hopefully, it will be 5 days then he will come home. Maybe then we can get to some kind of a routine?

Life never runs along simple lines, it seems. I wrote a blog the other day about the importance of doing what you want to do NOW. To that I hold! Go and do things now! You never know what is around the corner, and I am hoping that the next corner will show us something marvelous…but until then, breathing treatments!

Fabulous Photos Friday: In the Blue

July 18, 2014 By Tam Warner 22 Comments

To celebrate my husband’s rapid recovery from A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT (see the category An Unexpected Journey, Lung Transplant here on my blog!), his clearance to travel internationally, and to scuba dive (snorkel first, of course), I have decided to feature photos from our home in Cozumel, of our beloved ocean, above and below, and some of our wonderful friends! PS Our home, Villa Coronado, is on Vacation Rentals by Owners at www.vrbo.com/368692. I call Villa Coronado my Blue House, not because it is blue (it is not), but because of our view of the bluest water anywhere!!!!!!