Amy has a happy scar!

When Amy and I went to her doctors appointment last week we surprised Dr. Chamberlain. I drew a happy face on Amy with a sharpie marker. The happy scar!

He laughed and we laughed and he took a photo of her. It was great fun. He gave Amy a clean bill of health and told her she could get back to her normal life and start

doing exercise again. It was very encouraging. Amy gave the transplant center her autograph on the OC Weekly article for her show and everyone was happy. 

Amy has been getting back to life and teaching, moving and working on art and press etc. But, there has been a bit of a cloud over head these days. You see one of the things we never prepared for was Amy feeling uneasy, sad at times and feeling a sense of loss due to her kidney donation. She has just pushed forward and recovered so well that we never thought about that part of the recovery process. 

It is not unusual for a donor to feel twinges of loss and some sadness after donation. Once all the pain subsides your body and mind are still recovering from the trauma of the whole event. Amy has said time and time again that she would do it all over again in a heart beat to save Mike. But, her body is healing still and it has been hard at times.

She has experienced lack of sleep due to vivid dreams which have lead to fatigue and more stress on her body and mind. She worries about Mike and thinks about visiting her kidney in her dreams. She and I laugh about it but we are also try to deal with it in a way that will ease her mind and help the healing process to continue in a positive way. She says she does not want me to worry about her because I have enough to worry about with Mike. But, I care for both of them dearly and worry about both of them. There is no turning that off. 

She and Mike are connected in a very deep way. She has trouble hearing it but she did something that most people would not do or could not do. She is a brave and wonderful lady and I have deep feeling of gratitude for what she did for Mike, for me, for Alex and for everyone who loves Mike. It is an amazing thing.

So, the plan is that we are trying to make sure she gets rest, she and Mike make time to get together and hang out and chat about iphone applications and other tech stuff that they enjoy, she gets time to herself and time with Kevin. It is all a balancing act. I know we will get though this OK. 

It is hard to think about so much all the time. We have been under so much pressure for so long. But, the clouds are clearing slowly and we are all alive and well. 

Speaking of well, Mike got the thumbs up that he is clear of the E coli in his blood. The doctor told him he could get back to exercising and even ride his bike again. So tonight we went on a long ride and it was amazing and beautiful out. We celebrated and rode through the streets until it was dark out! He rode past me at one point and said with a smile.....I'm Alive!   

posted by Andrea