An attitude of gratitude

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a village to care for me. I am truly blessed with friends and family who help me on this crazy journey.

Every Monday, Tuesday,Thursday and Friday around 6:00 am these two cool cats pictured below take me to our community gym so I can do my cardio workout. Micheal and April are extremely supportive friends. I have never seen a more giving family. They are true examples of Christlike service oriented people.

This last month I had the opportunity to run into this guy during my speech appointments. Ben was my occupational therapist. He was fantastic and I really enjoyed our sessions. I made a lot of progress with his help.

There has been a lot going on at the Smith house and we're are just getting started. I thought things were going to slow down, but coming up on my 1 year transplant anniversary has included a whole new list of appointments and procedures.

• Continued bi-weekly blood draws

• Weekly speech therapy

• Dermatologist check up and screening for skin cancer since I am at a higher risk due to my anti-rejection meds.

• Another gastric emptying study. Depending on the results, I may have a procedure to help my gastroparesis and be able to eat and digest more foods.

• Utah heart transplant clinic

• Utah lung transplant clinic

• Heart MRI

• Gynecologist

• Family doctor

• Electrophysiologist

I'll be heading back to Stanford the first part of May for transplant clinic, a bronchostomy, ENT (check up and approval with Stanford to proceed with a vocal cord surgery), and a right/left catheterization and biopsy.

I met with an ENT (ear nose throat) doctor and voice specialist to see if there was anything I can do to strengthen my voice and regain my singing.

They discovered that I have a scar band on my vocal cord (pictured below). Apparently, where my scar band is located is rare and uncommon so of course I am given this "gift". (I hope you caught the sarcasm). I've decided I cannot do anything the easy way. Thankfully there is hope that with a small surgery it can be corrected and I will be able to sing again and speak a little easier. This procedure is scheduled for May 14th.

Even though things seem a little hectic and never ending, I can honestly say my quality of life has improved. At one point I was sad and disappointed that my plan of running a marathon looked grim. I decided that I'm not giving up on that dream of running a marathon, instead I'm altering my dream. I've always wanted to run a marathon because I couldn't and it wasn't an option. Now my goals and interests have changed. I still want to experience running and I'm going to continue working on it, but I'm not going to consider it a loss or failure anymore.

My sense of gratitude has changed as well. I am looking at my trials, challenges and set backs as defining moments. They helped me develop a greater appreciation for my life, family and friends. They motivated me to work harder. They've helped me realize what my priorities should be. They've showed me how strong I am. I am grateful for my experiences and trials.