Each Day Is a Gift

So happy Leslie texted me last night to meet up for a run.  Foggy slow drive through early morning rush hour traffic, made it to lab at 7 but there were long lines of out patients always on Mondays.  Made it back home by 8:15, then out the door at 8:30.  Temp was 14F but felt much colder due to the humidity.  I'm so slow these days...super nice of Leslie to jog and do all the talking.  I kid you not, AP 10:38, is a tempo run.  (11:47, 10:39, 10:28, 10:15, 10:00)

Got the call from transplant coordinator at 4pm that hubby's UA is cloudy, white count is up, so yep, the UTI has returned!  Got him started on Cipro straight away!  He was running a fever of 101-102 and tachycardia of 114 in the evening.  He didn't want another trip back to the ER so I monitored him closely through the evening and night.  Jeff showed up at the door miraculously and gave him a blessing.  That brought us peace of mind and peace of heart!

Rough night last night with hubby's elevated vital signs.  Got about 2 hours sleep, mentally drained and physically exhausted.  So no running today!  I truly do not expect hubby's recovery to be this rocky.  It's almost 6 weeks post op. of which 4 weeks have been in hospitalization.   He's lost close to 20 lbs since transplant surgery.  He has many side effects from the 23 medications he's on.  Our only "outings" are to the IMC campus for lab draws, clinic and doctor visits which average about 4-5 trips a week.  I also make numberous pharmacy trips.  BUT!  I am grateful for medications and excellent medical care from the IMC Transplant Team.  I know that day by day he will get better.  
 

Foggy early morning drive to clinic.  When we got home around 12:30, hubby's sister and her husband were waiting in the driveway.  She brought us yummy BBQ ribs fro lunch. So nice to visit with them.  Another zero running day!

Foggy morning drive to 7am lab.  Drove hubby home so he could sleep for an hour then returned back (yep foggy drive) to urologist appointment at 10:15.  I nearly fell asleep waiting for the doc.  I was one grumpy grump all morning!  It was too cold and foggy to run outside so after feeding hubby lunch, I jogged on the dreadmill with Netflix.
 

Only had time for 3 dreadmill miles before going to visit teach. 

I am so slow these days that no one would have the time to run with me!  My friends are not training for any marathon, so they have no reason to run long.  Karen is in AZ for her daughter's soccer tournament.  Leslie is in Alabama.  I am forever grateful for a true and faithful friend as Wendy.  She is always there for me!  Once again she's willing to run with me.  She did 14 with me last Sat. but today she can only do 11.  We left shortly after 8:30.  Temp was 20F that felt colder because of the 90% humidity and foggy condition.  The air quality was so bad that you could taste it.  I took 2 puffs of Albuterol 30 min. before the run to avoid asthma attack.

We walked through all the icy tunnels and uphills and stopped at the restrooms to drink.  We gu'ed at the restroom by Lone Peak High (mile 5.5) then turned back for home.  After I dropped her home at mile 11, I continued west to 1600 W restroom.  I should've gone in the house to fuel but in my delirious mind I didn't, BIG mistake!  I hit the wall hard at mile 12+ and struggled to keep one foot in front of the other.  My PF in my left heel and medial calf ligaments were hurting bad.  Both legs were on fire after I got home 4 hours later.  Nearly FOUR hours for a measely 15 miler!  I seriously don't know if I can make it to Boston.  How did I get so fat, slow and old?!!!

I ate a quick lunch of oatmeal with berries, showered and watched the last 5Ks of the Women Olympic Trial Marathon!  Brought back memories of my first Boston in 2008 where I watched the Women OT Marathon on Boyslton.  These athletes are truly amazing incredible human beings! :)

On another happy, non-running note...our dear friend, Brent Estes, who was hubby's former executive secretary in the stake presidency and later became bishop of his ward, came by for a brief visit.  He brought me a dozen red roses knowing that hubby wouldn't be able to do so for Valentines Day.  He also brought me daily lunch at the hospital the second week after the transplant.  These acts of kindness mean the world to us.  We have felt the love and support of many of our friends, family and neighbors.  Their prayers on our behalf have continued to sustain us day by day, moment by moment!  We are blessed beyond measure!  THANK YOU!