Transplant World: Let’s try it again!

The last try: In January Randy (who had a double lung transplant in September 2013) and I were going to Cozumel with friends, and Randy had been cleared to dive!  Instead, he ended up in the hospital fighting the CMV viral infection.  It was a serious viral infection, and it took him 2 weeks in the hospital, and over a month at home with IV medications to get to this point: his CMV viral count has gone from 500,000 to 234!  So we are going to try it again. Sort of.

On Friday Randy had his last weekly dose of Cytogam, a strong anti-viral med which has to be given by IV and administered by a nurse.  From now on, it will be monthly infusions until his count is zero.  He is no longer taking his daily IVs but has switched to oral medication, Valcyte…and all lung transplant patients are familiar with good old Valcyte!  An appointment with his transplant team is scheduled for Tuesday, and if all is well, fingers crossed, we’ll be heading off on an adventure!  Our plan is to go to Atlanta for the Shamrockin’ for a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser on March 7 followed by a trip to Savannah and environs, and then a trip to the Isle of Palms outside of Charleston, SC. for some beach time. It may not be a dive trip in foreign lands, but a road trip in the good ol’ USA makes sense right now….the land where Transplant Centers can be reached if need be.

I missed a trip to Vegas with my daughter and her friend in late January, which was sad, but the girls went and had a great time.  They saw Britney Spears…a rock idol of their teen years.  They said the show was awesome…mostly because of the costume changes and lighting.  I know I’ll be able to go back soon, but I really did want to be with the girls.  Oh well. Next time!

Last weekend we held an engagement party for my daughter and her fiance at our home, and it was an absolutely lovely evening.  I blogged about hiring a party planner for it because of Randy’s illness and all the confusion, and believe me, it was well worth it.  Minted Artistry is named well, it was definitely artistry!  I cannot thank Marian Timmer enough for a spectacular evening.  Enjoying my own event was fantastic…and I plan to do it again!

Diving in the south sounded good to me, so I checked it out and discovered that the PADI 5 star dive center was not open right now.  I had planned to dive in the Cooper River where there are ancient fossil beds full of shark teeth.  And I mean mega-sharks, like Megoladon, who may, or may not be, still around (*this photo is from Sarasotafins article “Debunking the Discovery: Megalodon is dead.”)  I was in a cage when a Great White Shark accidentally came in, and truthfully, I hope Megalodon is no longer with us, because if it is, it could swallow the damned cage!  I did get a piece of advice from a reader to visit Edisto Beach for shark teeth, though.  Excellent.

I love Savannah and Charleston, and plan to go to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center off of Savannah.  The director has been kind enough to offer me a tour and a beach walk!  I’m very excited to go….they help with sea turtle rescue in the South Carolina / Georgia areas.  I will be sure to take many photos of the center and the beach.

We are meeting family in Charleston, and I look forward to some great history tours.  Maybe a ghost tour of Charleston?  I will have to look into that, one of my cousins is very into ghosts.  I also want to try a few of the finer dining options in Charleston and Savannah.  I’m doing my research, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Keep your fingers crossed….