Girls' Day

July 30
Day 7 - Post Transplant

It's hard to believe it's been a week since Mark's transplant. On one hand the sting and excitement of July 23, 2017 is a day that will never be forgotten; on the other, it seems like at least a year of time has passed by in the last seven days. So much has been jam-packed into the past week.

I started the day heading back to the hospital to see how Mark's night went.  We had some mild concerns with the electronics of his new heart on Saturday.  I was thrilled to hear the transplant cardiologists assessment that Mark is doing "tremendously well!" Please continue to pray specifically that his new heart will stay in rhythm on its own and not need to be paced.

We watched our home church online and talked through a couple of needed conversations and caught up on Mark's progress from various medical team members.

Once the girls and Cari were up and ready, I headed back over to go to one of our favorite new spots for brunch.  Over the course of my visits, especially the three visits in the past 4 weeks, I have become a "regular" at several restaurants mere steps away from the hospital and hotel.  It is not uncommon at all to have someone ask how I liked this or that from my most recent meal. :-)  It is also not uncommon at all to be stopped in the hospital to be asked about Mark from other families—or to have staff visit Mark's room to get the latest check-up on his progress.  We certainly have built a network of friends who in some way are connected to this new club of heart transplant families. The girls are pretty amazed at how connected we are and how often we get stopped to talk about Mark.

After a visit with their Daddy in his hospital room, the rest of Sunday was a day to focus on my girls. They have missed so much of my time lately and I wanted to make sure they were able to relax and have fun—Rochester style.  This area has incredible parks.  We visited three different parks and enjoyed time playing in the beautiful weather known as a Minnesotan summer day.  I have been amazed at how crisp the sky looks and how comfortable it is even on "hot" days.  We have had many chuckles at the perceived "high humidity" they have been having.  (Bless their hearts, they would not survive a North Carolina summer day.)  The girls found the book houses and we went on a scavenger hunt by car to find more locations.  There are cute little "house" boxes around the neighborhoods that have free books from friends of the library.  You can take a book, return it or keep it.  You can even give away your own books. It was an adventure to see what we could find.  We also started making our list of the things we want to do while here in Rochester.  It is a beautiful town and we have all been impressed with the beautiful houses,  lush landscapes and flowers that dot the yards and streets.  Alivia just wanted to ride around and see more.

We visited Daddy again in late afternoon, before heading out to a Girls Night dinner with Aunt Cari. All in all, it was a great day full of girl time.