A big sigh of relief!!

Let me just start this post off with David is a life saver!! (will explain in a bit) A little earlier tonight, we completed our paperwork for our adoption!! I screamed and danced a jig…not gonna lie:) If you ever went through an adoption process this is normal…however an international adoption is much more paperwork. I couldn’t imagine them asking you any more questions. We were all done with the paper work, and I went to print it all off, so we can hand deliver all the documents to our counselor tomorrow…I couldn’t find it ANYwhere! Oh my goodness, my heart dropped. I explained why I was freaking out and David so patiently asked questions and finally found out what I did and we found it! SHEW! I didn’t know if I was going to get any sleep tonight:) A HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders. Praise God. Some people have asked me to keep my blog updated about our adoption, so here is what has gone on. Last Saturday (April 14) we went to our Homestudy group, this is something we have to do, we go to our last one tomorrow (April 21). We both enjoyed last week, and I know I am looking forward to tomorrow. We met the other couples that are wanting to adopt and will be waiting along with us. A birth mother told her story, and it was awesome and by the time she was done, there was not a dry eye in the room. At least us girls:) There was also a lawyer explaining what all of the circumstances we could go through and how they would solve it. Very encouraging meeting overall. Tomorrow an adoptive child and adoptive parents will be telling their story. Not sure what else is on the agenda. Hopefully tomorrow we will schedule our one on one counseling and then the Home Study…WAHOO…we will be officially “paper pregnant” once all the paperwork is done!

We are hoping to have a private adoption. So, if you know of anyone now or later that wants to adopt their unborn child, please let us know. We have a couple leads now, but nothing too promising.

As most of you know I have been cleaning houses to earn money to adopt. I have been overly blessed with being able to do this. However, some people have asked me if there was any way they could donate to our adoption without me cleaing your house. Some have asked me to set up a PayPal account, so on the right hand side there is a donation button, it is going into our adoption account, so everybit of it would go to bringing a sweet baby home.

Yogo Mix is doing a fundraiser for us. They are located at The Streets, next to the movie theatre in Hendersonville. They have a heart for adoption and so they are going to give us 25% of their proceeds this coming Wednesday (April 25th). I will be there passing out flyers, because you need to have it for them to give the proceeds. This is an all day afair.
Yogo Mix Adoption Fundraiser

AND, one of my best friends since I was 2 years old sells body wraps. I have heard they working amazingly well! She is giving us some of the proceeds of what she sells now until April 27th.
Courtney and David’s adoption fundraiser

As far my health, So far so good! I am going to clinic this Tuesday for my 3 month appointment, how about that?? I have gone to the doctor at least every month for as long as I can remember. It has been a nice break. Please be in prayer as we have a new director from Duke, which is another top notch hospital when it comes to lung transplants. I have heard he is really picky and looks at numbers that Vanderbilt has never looked at. Kinda makes me nervous, but I have faith and I will do just fine:) I have met the greatest people through this process and I can’t wait to meet more. If anyone knows of someone who is needing a transplant, I can talk to them or have someone else with their disease to talk with them. We all love to talk about our stories. One more thing, April is DONATE LIFE awareness month…so do me a favor and no telling how many other people and check that box:)

Oh darn, one more thing:) I did write my donor family, I have not heard back yet. I know it is in another Donate Life office, don’t even know if they received it, or not. Can’t wait to get a letter someday…hopefully!

Love and Blessings,

Courtney

6 months came and went:)

The past 6 months sure have flown by!  It was 6 months on the 15th.  That day I celebrated by having a bronch, which they put you to sleep (kinda) and put a camera type thing up your nose, look at your lungs, get a biopsy, and maybe a couple more things) this was my 4th one.  They said everything looks great, looks as if my lungs were not even transplanted.  They are very happy with my results, no rejection.  I am going to be honest, this one kicked my butt!  It gave me a tidbit of what I used to feel like.  It gave me so much more appreciation of my new lungs.  I ran a fever of 101.6, which was nothing…I used to run fevers ALL the time before transplant!  However, it put me in bed, made me nauseous, they started me on antibiotics, and of course felt better by Friday.  I truly feel so much better than before transplant, and I am oh so grateful!

David, me and two of our couple friends (Kelli, Michael, and Hunter Yates and Kristin and Chad Collins) went to Gatlinburg this past Sunday and came back Wednesday.  It was an awesome time one of the things we did was hiked up to Laurel Falls, which made me even more thankful for these awesome lungs I have now:)  A couple that are very dear to me (Curt and Emily Campbell) donated a 2-3 night stay in their cabin for my coffee house, and my other dear friends (Linda St. Clair and Barbara Fralin) won the war for it, and decided they wanted us to go and enjoy…kinda to celebrate once more my new lungs!  I am so grateful for my sweet and dear friends for being so good to me and David!  We are very blessed by who God has put into our lives.  I love telling my journey because I get to tell how God has blessed me!  Thank you all so much for awesome memories, can never repay you for that!

There is one thing that I am totally excited about!  As many of you know, the doctors told my parents when I was 14 that they would never be Grandparents, which I am so grateful that they were wrong as I have a very sweet niece, Sofia.  However, having a child of our own is not in God’s plan for us (at least not now, I don’t know what God’s plan will be in the future).  I have always had a heart for adoption, even if God blessed me with my own I have always wanted to at least adopt one child.  I wanted to before transplant, but honestly that would have been very hard, as that would have added to David’s long to do list.  However, God has placed SEVERAL people in our lives and have allowed certain things to happen to allow us to announce we are in the middle of the process of ADOPTING!!!! This is a huge step, but we are totally excited.  I have not wanted to announce it to the “world” yet, because we still have a couple more things to go through before we can be “paper pregnant”, however I can’t stand it anymore:)  This is what we have done thus far, Jan 23rd I went to a meeting, just to see if it “could” be an option for us. Jan 25th I called my nurse to make sure they would approve (I have to have a doctors note saying I was healthy enough to adopt) she said, “of course we would write a letter for you, just tell me what to say!:)  I asked her if there was any reason we should wait, she said “I don’t see why you should, you are doing great”    I had an appointment the next Tuesday so I told her I would tell her then.  We agreed that we would talk about it then.  However, Saturday we got her letter:)  Jan 28th we told David’s mom and Brother in law.  (we were supposed to announce to my family the next day, however we had some sickness, so we postponed till the next week…which about killed me!   Jan 30th we sent in our application…exciting times:)  Feb 5th we FINALLY got to tell my family, they cried and was extremely excited.  Sofia, designed our nursery, was picking out names, and strollers and such…very cute.  Feb 7th people started getting their referral letters.  On Feb 15 we got our finger prints. The last thing we have done is yesterday (Feb 24th) we met with our adoption counselor.  We now have to fill out a huge stack of papers, read another stack of papers, and read a book, April 14th and 21st we go to home study classes, then David and I will have a one on one meeting with our counselor and then schedule a home study.  Once all that is done, we will be paper pregnant about 2 weeks after that.  So maybe in May, but more than likely in June we will be done with our side of the work, then it will be time to wait to get “picked”!  It could be up to 2 or so years before we are “picked”, however long, I know it will be God’s timing.  I can’t wait to hold our little one.  I will try to keep this updated once we know more.  Yes, I did tell a fib on Facebook, if anyone is thinking this:)  For the ones that didn’t see it, or don’t have a Facebook…I am trying to raise money for the adoption by cleaning houses, and I put on there it was for an adoption, but I did not say it was for us.  People commented on there saying oh you are adopting…I was not ready to announce it yet, so I said no…hope you all understand:)  Please forgive me.  Please keep us in your prayers, for my patience…I want our baby last week, however, he or she will be here before we know it…even it if it is 2 or so years.
We appreciate you all.  Love and blessings

Counting my blessings one by one…

As I am starting to write this post I wander what my life would be like today if I wouldn’t have gotten the phone call exactly 5 months from this moment.  I tell you just few things that are different, I have been able to take down and put up my Christmas decorations in record timing and enjoyed every second of it.  I have been able to organize our closets, drawers, under cabinets and pantry (several times) .  I make my bed pretty much every day.  I take the trash out to the road and bring the trash can back.    We have organized our attic.  We are planning on going on a couple trips this year (and I don’t have to worry about making sure I am not sick by being on IV antibiotics weeks before).  I can go shopping with no problem, except for not being around people that are sick, so I go at the non busy times.  I have been able to spend some quality time with some of the people I love most, and I am looking forward to spending time with those whom I have not been able to see.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about the spring time, actually being able to help with the yard work and being able to enjoy the weather without getting out of breath!  I enjoy food more than I EVER have:)  If any of you have seen me recently, you can tell:)  Definetly not complaining, but I am afraid at my next doctors visit they are going to warn me to start watching my weight.  Who would have ever thought I would have to worry about that!  PROUD OF IT!!!  I hope everyones Christmas was a blessed one.  I had a WONDERFUL time celebrating the whole month of December.  I was able to spend some quality time with the “Grapevine gang” girls…we went on an awesome hummer limo ride and looked at Christmas lights in North Brentwood, Opryland, and some in Hendersonville.  What an awesome evening it was and I was able to put another check on my bucket list.  David and I enjoyed celebrating with our families and some close friends.  This new year we have been able to celebrate being a Great Aunt and Uncle…can you believe that???  David’s niece, Lindsay had a sweet little girl Kailyn Grace on January 3.  I was able to be in the hospital room, totally blessed!  I am really looking forward to what all this new year is going to bring!  Totally excited to see God working already:)  Have a blessed day everyone and count your blessings!

Love to all~

Courtney

I am going to try to post pictures, if I can figure it out.

 

Yesterday was a milestone

I hate to post too many things on here, as I don’t really have much new to say, except for how good I am doing and how blessed I am.  However, yesterday was a milestone…a BIG 4 MONTHS!!!  I cannot believe it has already been 4 months, sometimes I think it has been a really long time, and other times I think it feels just like yesterday.  Before I know it, it will be a year:)

I have had a blast loving my new lungs.  A sweet friend took me to one of my favorite stores Tuesday at Cool Springs mall, she parked a really long way away from the door, 4 months ago, I would have had a panic attack looking at the door, instead I talked the whole time I walked to the store:)  I have enjoyed Christmas shopping more than I ever have.  I have not had to worry about having enough kleenexes, parking, or if the item is at the very back of the store.  I like to go from one side of the store to the other now:)  I am able to walk and talk at the same time, and I have been able to talk to all of my friends that I see, believe it or not, I used to sometimes avoid some people, not because I did not want to talk or to see them, I was just trying to do what I needed to do, and not cough.  The only thing I have to worry about now is getting germs…hand sanitizer and masks are my best friends these days!

I have already had a blast enjoying the Christmas season, decorating this year was just so easy:)  I have been able to do things I have always wanted to do.  Marking things off my bucket list:)  I have already celebrated about 5 times, and have about 7 more celebrations to go!!  I hope and pray everyone realizes the REASON FOR THE SEASON, and celebrates!  I just can’t wait to see what the New Year holds!

Blessings and Merry Christmas

Love,

Courtney

Being thankful

As a lot of you know my favorite holiday is coming up quickly!  CHRISTMAS:)  I love everything about it…I love buying the ones I love gifts, I love decorating, I love all the traditions that comes with the coming months.  I have some big plans made, and absolutely cannot wait to live them up:)  We have our Chirstmas stuff down from the attic and I am eager to start putting it out.  It is a little late for me this year, but better late than even later:)

Since Thanksgiving is first, which I am very excited about as well.  This will be my first Thanksgiving in a long time that I will be able to eat tons of stuff without feeling sick after!!  YAY!!!  Thanksgiving falls on the 24th of the month this year, so I have decided to list 24 things I am extremely thankful for…I encourage each of you to do it!

1. Jesus Christ’s love for me!  I am very thankful that He loves me as much as He does, I really don’t know where I would be without Him in my life!
2. My lovely husband, who used to have to wait on me hand and foot, who loves me no matter what I say or do, who took off work for over 2 months to help me when I needed him the most.  I suggest that I would like something to be done, and he most of the time jumps up and does it…  Seriously I could go on and on…Love you babe…to the moon:)
3. My family.  Each of them love me for who I am, they forgive me when I disappoint them, just as Jesus does!  I am so blessed to be a part of a family that loves me unconditionally!
4. Davids family…I am one blessed girl and who would have thought I would have married a man with such an awesome family…love you all!
5. My transplant family, I have met some awesome people over the last couple of months and I am so thankful that we have built the friendship that we have.  We can compare stories with each other and keep each other accountable.  I am very thankful that God has placed each one of them in my life.
6. My friends, new and old.  I have the best friends a girl could ask for…the end:)
7. My facebook family.  I know a lot of you have been praying for me for a long time…all of your words of encouragement have truly been inspiring!  Love you all!
8. The Grapevine Gang.  Geez louise what would I do without you guys??  Each of you are like family, I love each of you!  You guys ROCK!  Thank you for all you do, I wish I could pay it forward for all you do for me, but I don’t think it is possible!
9. My church family, LHBC, and Bluegrass.  I really don’t know what people do without a church home.  You guys are awesome and I am really looking forward to being back at the beginning of the year!
10. My health.  Now that I know what “feel good” feels like…I can’t believe I did what I did for so long!  I am loving feeling good and having energy to do what I can do now!
11. For the boy who lost his life but gave me many many many many many more years!  I am eternally grateful and thankful for him and his family!!
12. For God’s artwork.  I really do not take for granted the small things which when you think about are HUGE things!!  Every tree that turns a beautiful color this time of year.  All of God’s creations are beautiful and I really enjoy sitting back and watching what he has created for YOU and ME:)
13. Food.  Oh me oh my, I am very thankful for food these days…I am eating like crazy and desserts are my best friend!  I am now up about 20 pounds since transplant.  I feel and look a lot healthier than I have in YEARS!!
14. My home.  I am truly blessed with a roof over my head, and I love being home.  There really is no place like home!  (you know a lot of people don’t have this around the world!)
15. I am already thankful for what God is going to do in my life!  He has done soooo much already, can you even imagine the plans He has for me??  WAHOO!!
16. I am thankful for my husbands work.  Each of them have been very understanding and flexible with him while he is having to be home with me.  What would we do with out them?!?!
17. I am also thankful for my work family.  They have also been very understanding for the 5 and 1/2 years I have been there.  They support, visit, call, text, send me cards, and all while I have been sick over the years!  I am so thankful and appreciate each of you!  Can’t wait to see you all again!  A lot of you guys treat me like your own child and for that I am very grateful!
18. For all of you that did not know, we had a fundraiser in September and I am EXTREMELY thankful for that!  It has eased our minds with the financial problems that could be caused because of David being off work for so long, and with all the expenses that comes along with Transplants.  All the volunteers and the people that gave are amazing…everything was much better than I ever imagined!  A HUGE thank you!
19. I am thankful for each of you that are Organ Donors…my family and my new transplant family all appreciate it!  If you are not already, what are you waiting for:)  DO IT!!!
20. I am thankful for nurses, doctors and everyone that is in the medical field!  I couldn’t do it, but I really appreciate all that you do and have done for me!  Most of you are more like family than my nurses…I probably see them more than I do most of my family…ha ha!
21. I am thankful for just being able to walk.  I walk about 5K five days a week, and I LOVE IT!!  I can’t wait to run my very first 5K.  I will never take walking anywhere for granted again.
22. I am thankful for each and every new day.  Every morning I just thank God for my new lungs.  I just jump right up and get going…without coughing…PRAISE GOD!!
23. I am thankful for Christmas music…I just love it! 
24. Like I said before, which I cannot say it enought I am very thankful that Jesus died on the cross for me and YOU!  He loves me even though I don’t deserve it!

Of course, these things I am thankful for is not in any specific order…

Here is a video that my sweet friend Elizabeth Suter made of the coffee house.  Her website is elizabethsuter.com  While her husband Richard took the pictures of the families.  His website is richardsuterphotography.com.  You should hit them up if you need any video or photography!!  Thank you guys so much, for your selfless time and energy you put into the Coffee house your work like always was amazing!  http://youtu.be/XtkUibb_kak

Better go, gotta make dessert:)  YAY!!!

With much love and gratitude,

Courtney

Wrapping my mind around my “new” life…

Well, today was a big day for me!! I GRADUATED rehab!!! I was supposed to go for 36
visits after transplant, but they let me off at 26 because everything was good:)
My vitals were good, and I had no problem doing my daily exercise. I am unable
to do more than 30 minutes of cardio because I still need to gain weight instead
of losing. It was like I graduated from high school all over again, definitely
bittersweet. This is a HUGE step for me and knowing how well I am doing and that
I got out of there TWO weeks before I was supposed to, just makes it that much
better. I still have to do daily exercises. I will be joining the YMCA later
this week and plan to have a friend who had a transplant over a year ago be my
accountability partner:) I hate saying goodbyes, and today was definitely a
goodbye that I was not mentally ready for. I will miss my workout buddies, and
the trainers tremendously. I had NO idea that I would cry, but I did…it was
one of those UGLY crys…poor David walked about 10 feet in front of me and said
oh no, lets go! Ha ha!! So, needless to say I am totally excited that chapter is
over, and I am ready for the next:) They gave me an “I Survived” t-shirt and a
little Congratulations certificate:) See above photo:)

I want to apologize for not keeping this updated like I thought I would. My attention
span is like a 2 year old these days. My mom said I have had all this energy
built up over all these years and now I can actually use it all:) I have some
new jobs I have given myself…one is getting the mail EVERYday. I have even
gone to the mailbox several times a day just to find that I have already gotten
it. Ha! That is something I will never take for granted again:) I love cleaning
and cooking, it is like I have never been able to do the smallest things. I am
truly amazed by what I can do, and sometimes while in the middle of cleaning I
think about what it was like before the transplant and I get choked up. I am
doing things I NEVER thought I would be able to do, especially without
problems.

Stepping back a little…we officially got to come home on Thursday, September 22. It was an
amazing feeling being back home. Like Dorothy said, “There is No Place Like
Home!” I love eating out, however it was really old doing it for a little less
than 6 weeks! I have never wanted something home cooked so bad in my life:) I
also did a bronch on Monday September 19th which is running a camera down into
my lungs to make sure everything looks good, they also got a biopsy to see if
there were any signs of rejection. Needless to say, no signs of rejection and no
secretions:) Good news all around!! Looking forward to the three month mark,
where I will have another bronch and will be able to be alone. That means David
will be able to return to work, which has been awesome, by the way!! I have
really enjoyed being with him and spending quality time with him. Tomorrow is
his birthday by the way:) He has been such an encouragement, my nurse, my
driver, my workout buddy, my everything and there is no one I would rather spend
this much time with!! It truly has brought our relationship to a whole new
level. God knew what He was doing when He put him into my life!! I truly believe
he is who I have prayed for my whole life!! I am excited to be able to have
dinner ready for him when he gets home from work! I am telling you it is the
small things that I dare to take for granted!!

I have so much energy, I have to remind myself to sit down and relax. I am hungrier (is
that a word??, well it is now:)) than I have ever been! I gain weight daily! I
eat two servings and then I still want dessert! I am planning to do a 5K in the
spring! I have never ever understood why anyone would run, or would want
to…now I am super excited to!

Words cannot express what I have been through. It is really hard to wrap my mind
around everything. For those that don’t know…my Coffee House was a wonderful
turn out!! We raised tons of money, we are extremely blessed! My sister did a
wonderful job at getting it all together while I was not able to:) Thank you
Sis, you are the best and I don’t tell you enough what you mean to me and that I
love love love you!! So many of my friends and family all pulled together and
made it way better than I ever imagined! Everyone that served, did t-shirts, baked, sang,

gave donations or auction items, came near and far, or even didn’t come, because you were
sick and were thinking and loving me enough to stay away:) I can’t tell you
enough what everything meant to me. I was personally BLOWN away.  Thank you, Thank

you, Thank you!!! Love you all.

Please continue to pray for me and my new lungs. I have a very low immune system and
the winter and cold months are extremely scary! Also, please continue to pray
for the donor’s family. I am hoping to sit down long enough to write them a
letter soon. I am hoping that I will have a future relationship with them. One
more…please pray for my sister. I am finding it hard to hear her cough, I want
to see if she is ok…like most have you done all these years for me. I love her
and want her to breathe easy like I do now! Research has come a very long
way, so hopefully the miracle drug that is in the pipeline will get FDA approved
soon and she will be able to start taking it.

Again, I love you all and can’t wait to share more good news!!  Praise be to God!!

Courtney has new lungs!

This is Raichon posting for Courtney:

As we were anxiously waiting for the call to tell us Courtney had a lung donor, we tried to think of everything that would help us be more prepared for the big event.  We knew to make sure our cars had gas and our cell phones were charged, and I bought crossword puzzle books and packed my toothbrush.  I made sure I had cash for vending machine snacks, and had phone numbers of those I knew I needed to call.  I told Courtney I felt like I was waiting for her to go into labor, since she was going to have a ‘new life’ in an uncertain number of days.  There were many blessings that happened while Courtney was getting her new lungs that I would like to share.

We kept very busy during this time planning Courtney’s Coffee House.  We had volunteers to enlist, planning meetings to hold, a t-shirt to design, silent auctions donations to solicit, flyers to design and print, and countless other details to wonder about.    We had our second meeting on Sunday, and Courtney and I decided that many of our questions could be answered by going to the Lighthouse, our venue. 

We knew it was risky delaying anything these days, so I arranged with the owner (the wonderful Margaret Latham) to meet at 6:00 the next day.  At 5:17, Margaret texted me that she was there if we wanted to come then.  I called Mom and told her I would be there soon to pick her up.  I called Courtney, and she said she was almost at the Lighthouse, so she would go ahead and stop by. 

After eleven days of holding my breath whenever Courtney called, my phone rang.  It was Courtney.  It was time.  “I’m in labor!” she said. 

This call came at 5:35 Monday evening.  Had Margaret not called inviting us to come early, Mom and I would not have been together when we got the call.  Mom would have not been able to drive amid her cornucopia of emotions, and she certainly would not have been able to navigate to Nashville.  We were only a minute or two from Courtney when she called, so we picked her up and headed to the hospital.  It was a tremendous blessing that the three of us got to be together during this critical time.

I found a note in my Bible on Sunday I had written during a past sermon that said, “Worry is a bad advertisement for Christianity.”  I thought this was timely, and made a point to keep this in mind during our upcoming events.  Also, I had a dream that our church kept repeating the same verse of “How Great Thou Art.”  I felt like I was reminded of God’s majesty, telling me not to worry, that He has it all figured out.  I happened to have a CD with this song on it in my car, so we listened to it the whole way to the hospital.

The trip to the hospital was one that I will never forget.  I have never been responsible for anything as urgent, in my life.  I noticed as I was zipping down I-65 that there was an unusually rare amount of traffic.  It almost seemed that the other cars around us were providing a protection around us, that God had placed them there to escort us to the hospital.  Another thing that sticks out in my memory is that it seemed that I had no control over my accelerator.  If I had, I may have driven more like Bo and Luke Duke and not gotten us to the hospital at all. 

Mom and I were quite emotional the whole trip, while Courtney was in the back seat singing into her phone as she called friend after friend to tell them the great news.  She had an unbreakable smile, and a bounce in her spirit that she had not had in some time.  When we finally reached the Emergency Room, she climbed out of the car, threw her arms in the air, and yelled, “WOO HOO!!!” as loud as she could.  She knew that she was about to get to live life again instead of just watching it from the sidelines.

Another huge blessing was that one of Courtney’s long-time friends, who is on the surgical staff at Vanderbilt, saw her Facebook post that she was headed to the hospital.  Andi Lee had just ended her shift, and probably should have already left to go home.  Instead, she was at the admitting area when we got there, and she was cheering for her good news.  She assured us that Courtney’s entire team was top-notch, and that she would be in very good hands. 

Well wishes were coming in from all directions, and this was an amazing comfort for us all.  While we were ecstatic for Courtney’s new lungs, we were equally mournful for the family of the donor.  He was a 19 year-old boy, and the only thing we know about him now is that he was very active.  Oh, how we would have liked to be at his funeral to hug his family’s necks and thank them personally for this amazing gift.

The first incision was made at 11:15 pm on Monday night, and we got the call around 6:30 Tuesday morning that the surgery was over.  The surgeon spoke with us, and told us how well she did, and what we could expect the next few days. 

Her ventilator was removed Wednesday afternoon, and she was officially breathing on her own.  What a miracle!  She was moved out of ICU during the night on Thursday, and continues to do marvelously.  She has been in a lot of pain, but that girl hasn’t complained a bit.  She is so overwhelmed with the miracle of breath she has been given, that the only way we know about her pain is because her nurses keep asking her.

She is expected to be discharged on Monday, just a week after her transplant.  Her incredible husband has found them a room at a nearby hotel, where they will have to stay for several weeks to be sure she doesn’t have rejection.  Please continue to pray for her, as rejection will always be our biggest fear.

One of the surgeons told us that he had actually rejected some lungs the Sunday prior because they were not good enough.  Looking back, we now realize that this is the Sunday that Courtney’s cell phone battery died while she was in church.  What a blessing that she did not miss out on her opportunity.

God has shown us in so many ways how He has been in control of this experience.  When I was going home Tuesday afternoon around 2:30 pm, the traffic headed to Nashville was completely stopped on the interstate.  This could have easily have been the case when she got the call, but with the Great Engineer on our team, this was avoided.

The outpouring of support, love, compassion, and friendship through this experience has been overwhelming.  We want to thank each of your who have walked us through this journey so far.  Your calls, texts, gifts, prayers, and visits are all greatly appreciated, and you will never know how much it helped.  We look forward to celebrating this great news at the Coffee House on September 11 with all of you.  Please come!  If you would like to donate any sweets or anything for the silent auction, please email me at raibob@hotmail.com.

 Then sings my soul….!

–Blessings,   Raichon

Ok, well it is officially official!

I have been anxiously awaiting the phone call letting me know the insurance did approve my transplant.  They called today with the official word that I am actually on the list…

What’s next???  Well we have to wait for that phone call to say there are lungs available.  The lungs have to meet my blood type, and my body type.  The nurse said there was ONE person in front of me (here at Vanderbilt), however he is taller than I am.  SO…it could really come at ANY time.  WOWSERS!!  While I have been getting evaluated I have been extremely excited.  Now, that it is REAL and I have some butterflies, almost a nauseated feeling…shew…it could really be ANY time!

What happens when I get the call???  I have to be ready to go and get to the hospital within 1 hour.  Yep, no shower nothing…straight to the hospital!

I will be in the hospital for at least a week.  Then I will have to stay within 10 minutes of the hospital in a hotel or an apartment anywhere between 2-8 weeks.  I will have to do pulmonary rehab for a long time after.  Ok, now I am getting a little more excited again…just sitting here thinking of ONE day I will be able to do SO much more than I am now:)

~~This is what I would like to ask of each of you…Please prayerfully consider being an organ donor.  The way I look at it, you are not going be using them once that time is here…  Please tell your family what you have chose to do and make it official.  I have met some really neat people in this short time and some of them are on the list.  My friend posted this on her facebook, and I thought I couldn’t have said better…

Right now, there are enough folks waiting for an organ to fill a large football stadium twice over.  Each year, there are appox. 2.5 million deaths in the US.  What if all of them were donors?  What an amazing gift you can give someone:)

The next, well some may find this offensive, but PLEASE STOP SMOKING!!  I go to pulmonary rehab 3 times a week, I am the youngest by far.  However, EVERY single one of their testimony is if I would have stopped smoking sooner…  PLEASE, for me please stop smoking!!  If you knew how hard it is for me to breathe just walking to the mailbox, you would think twice about the cigarette you smoke.  I love each one of you, (if I know you or don’t) please, please, please QUIT it already:)

Ok, so for a MUCH better note…YAY!!!  I have been very excited to spread the news about this…  My sweet friends and family are doing a fundraiser in honor of my transplant.  The cost of the transplant is going to be more than I can imagine…so, part of having one the transplant team asks patients to have a fundraiser to help pay for out of pocket expenses.  The great people I have in my life have come together to have a coffee house fundraiser.  In 2004 I held one to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with the help of my friends and family we raised a little more than $3,000:).  Because, I am not able to do it all by myself my gang has stepped in.  GUYS, I get a phone call almost everyday with some exciting news about it.  You will not want to miss out…TRUST me!!  We are going to have live music, and you will never know who may show up:)  There’s going to be a silent auction with some really neat items.  There will be a minimum 10.00 donation at the door, single slice desserts and startbucks coffee to buy.  We are going to have a photo op station for family pictures, the pictures will be emailed to you for a 5.00 donation (great way to get that Christmas card picture).  So far, the lineup is pretty outstanding!  I am still new to this blogging world, so I am going to try to post the flyer, without help.  Bare with me!  This will all be held at the Lathams Lighthouse, on Sanders Ferry Road in Hendersonville, on September 11 2-5.  If you are reading this, you are invited…invite ya friends, invite everyone ya know!  Please send me an email, if you have something or know of something you want to place in the auction, or want to help.  My email is cnic614@gmail.com.

You guys are amazing and thank you so much for praying with me while on this journey.  Enough of me rambling, I gotta go pack…

I just had the most important phone call of my life…

Well, we all have prayed, prayed, and prayed some more and the phone call went like this… Courtney this is so and so, how are you, good how are you.  I am great and I have great news for you:)  I said YAYYYYY!!!!  So, another words I am going to be listed on Tuesday…they just have to get the final approval from the insurance company:)

I was hesitant about posting anything about this process until we have received the final word that it was a go ahead, but I am very thankful I did.  Each one of your sweet words of encouragement, willingness to serve, and promises of prayers have been very uplifting.  Please keep the prayers coming, as this is just the beginning of my journey.

I have been thinking about my life after my “new” lungs, I know it won’t be easy at first, but just thinking that I will actually be able to run, walk the beach with David or dance to the Wii with Sofia, without getting out of breath one day just amazes me!  A lot of very exciting things are already in the works and I cannot wait to share them with you all.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.  Praise the LORD.  Psalm 150:6

On a side note: I want to encourage each of you to subscribe to my blog.  Doing so just means you will get an email everytime I update my blog.  I have asked my sister to keep it updated, while I am not able to do so.

Love you all…Courtney

My journey

I have lived a wonderful life, I have a wonderful family, friends and husband.  I have been blessed with 31 years that I would not trade for anything!  The only thing I would trade in for is a new set of lungs, and I am going to be able to do just that:)  I know this is new to some of you, but I have been praying for this time for a long time.  When I was younger, I did not know if I would even consider it.  Now that I am more mature and know this is the next step, I am ok with it!  Don’t get me wrong, I have had a lot of emotions.  I was really quiet, I did not tell ANYone about this for a little while.  I slowly started telling people, just because I was nervous about them worrying too much about me.  I have been upset, and maybe have had a little bit of anxiety about it, however I have turned it over to Jesus and ever since I have had an amazing peace about it.  Everything is just falling into place, the people I have met, amazing stories I have heard, and encouragement even from people I don’t even know are to just name a few.  I have an amazing team of doctors, nurses and staff that have been more than supportive of this.  I have even gotten a couple of emails from my friends (nurses) at Vandy telling me how great they think I will do.  I couldn’t and can’t pull through this alone!

This is not going to be a smooth journey.  That is why I am asking for all of you to be in prayer with me.  Please pray for myself, my husband, and my mom who will be taking excellent care of me.  Pray for the doctors and nurses, not only to do everything right, but that I will be a witness to them.  Also, pray for the family that will loose their loved one and donated their lungs to give me a chance to breathe easier.

I had to go through an evaluation process, which concluded of a lot of doctors visits, tests, and starting Pulmonary Rehab.  I am trying to build up energy and strength so when the time comes, I will be able to recover like a champ.  The evaluation process also includes all the doctors, nurses and other staff to agree that I am a good candidate for a set of lungs.  They are supposed to “Present” my case this Friday, which has been postponed two times now, so I am praying this Friday we will hear awesome news.

I ran across a verse the other day.  I will be leaning on it in the days to come…

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 17:7

Thats it for now~ will be back soon.

Courtney