Gratitude

Hi sweet friends!

I am grateful tonight. I found kindred spirit this week-end. The first was an in a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where I celebrated 2 years of clean living for a healthy, strong young man. I sat surrounded by family and friends and listened to confession after confession from these healing, broken spirits. Theirs was a horrendous tale of misery then, and now, a huge climb back and full of setbacks. The theme they chose to discuss was “never give up” and “gratitude”. They wept and described the many gifts of sobriety in an effort to stay strong one more day. I felt their desperation, their physical and emotional pain, there regret at the cost of their disease to the ones they love. I felt their joy, their pride in working the program, staying strong one day at a time. I was grateful to be amongst such bravery, honesty and emotion. Thank you!

Then a victory of quite the other kind. My husband softly nudged me, the smell of fresh coffee wafting upstairs. My stomach turned and my eyes refused to open. My tot is still asleep too. I snuggle back in to the warmth and relative comfort offered by the bed. The phone rings- Tracey’s up with her family. They’re on their way to Stanley park to cheer on our friend Kevin as he crosses the finish line after running 21 kilometres. He has fundraised to pay for our nanny and has raised well over his goal. If he can run I can get up. I manage to get my clothes on. One glance in the mirror reveals a shocking sight! Oh well- I better hope we’re not judging the book by it’s cover today! Tot wakes up confused but excited. I tell him we are going to watch Kevin run a race in Stanley park! “Oh... BIG park” he replies. I explain that Kevin is racing so that we can have nanny Elizabeth. His eyes widen and he says earnestly, “Thanks Kevin!”. We pick up Uncle Cookie who entertains the tot exceedingly well and we zoom down to the race. Somehow we miss seeing Kevin actually cross the finish line but managed to find him shortly afterwards still gasping for air and hungrily ramming bananas and water down the hatch. He separated for a moment and circled a tree. I think he was gathering himself. It seemed to have helped! I cannot imagine the stamina it must have taken to run 21 kilometres without stopping. His face was full of life and pride. The spirit of endurance dripped from the trees and echoed from the pounding of feet on the pavement. I can keep running too! Thank you making us all feel proud today Kevin. I plan to finish my race with the same spirit you finished yours. I hope you won’t mind if I need to circle a tree every now and then as we go along. You are a champion!

Michelle

The Marathon

Today Kevin ran his 1/2 marathon in honor of Michelle and her family. Now one might think I'm off my rocker, but I honestly felt so pumped and emotional as I squeezed myself into a position where I could see the runners crossing the finish line. There were people of all kinds; young, old, heavy, thin, some looking exhausted, others looking like they had just finished a leisurely jaunt. There was a woman pushing a wheelchair-bound youth, and an elderly man who exclaimed with raised, shaking fists of triumph "I DID IT!"(this man made excellent time!). You could see many get that extra burst of energy as they saw their goal in sight. I felt tears stinging my eyes as I shared these people's moments of triumph.

Kevin had a goal to make the run in 2hrs. As the clock ticked away, nearer and nearer to the 2hr mark, I felt that adrenalin rush increase. I couldn't turn away from the race as I didn't want to risk missing him. Silly me forgot my camera *boo*. Kev flew through that finish line in just under 2hrs, he made his goal! We could see at that very moment as he crossed the line he was spent. But he did it, and he did it perfectly! Kevin inspired Michelle and I to set a goal to train for a run once she recovers from her surgery : )

Kevin spoke of how he cramped up during his race and really started to struggle around the 17km mark, but he pressed on. I got to thinking this afternoon how Michelle is already running a marathon. Her marathon is of an undetermined distance. Lucky for us she too continues to press on, taking all those hills and keeping her chin up when she hits road blocks. With all of our love and support, and her fantastic team of doctors, she will reach that finish line. This will be a happy day!

Congratulations Kevin on your terrific run and your amazing gift!

Love
Tracey

Oops...

So my original plan with selling t-shirts on the blog flopped. I have adjusted the prices so that we don't lose money. Sorry!
We got some awesome black fitted shirts printed up for the ladies. They are hot off the press today and I just love them!
tracey


edited to add: we have also switched post offices. Please email for new address.

Quick Note

Michelle is back in town after a nice visit with her brother and his family. She came home to her mom's husband and her step-sister! How lovely to get to see so much family this past week : ).
Michelle continues to do what she does: seemingly managing so well despite everything. I'm looking forward to catching up with her when she's rested again. Hope to share more soon.
We're having some great new shirts printed for the ladies; black, fitted, with a white logo. Will post a pic and details when they're finished.
Tracey

Back To The T-Shirts

So I've been pondering this for months, whether to go forward with selling our awesome Way To Live t-shirts here on the blog. This is what I've come up with:

unisex white with black logo: $20 plus shipping
girls black with white logo: $30 plus shipping

Payment would be accepted by credit card or cheque.

If anyone is interested in shirts, please let me know either in the comment section or at my blog email way-to-live@hotmail.com.

And just for fun(?) here is a poorly taken photo of moi sporting my favorite shirt ever! You may notice a few spaghetti stains, or that the camera adds at least 10lbs, but try to focus on the great logo designed by one of our fantastic team members!



Thanks for reading : )
tracey

Oh and just a reminder! We didn't go to some budget printer. The logo is supposed to be to the right, to represent where your liver is! Pretty witty of us hey ; )

Resilience

A couple of days in bed and Michelle's on the move again! She is moving slower though, and I can see she is uncomfortable. She is hoping to make it out of town for her sweet Nephew's birthday this weekend. Praying for safe travels and some reduction in the pain.

Tracey

"How Would You Rate Your Pain On A Scale..."

"How would you rate your pain on a scale of 0-10; Ten being the worst pain you've ever felt, and zero being no pain". Have you ever been asked this when you're seeing a doctor/nurse? I hate being asked this question. What if I give the wrong number and my pain is assessed inaccurately? Luckily this question is only part of a pain assessment. Michelle has so much pain, yet objectively one might not see that right away. I haven't asked her what her "number" is, probably since the appendicitis scare two winters ago. I know her pain is bad, because she tells me, and because I have seen her wince and catch her breath. I saw Michelle this weekend after a few days apart. She was so thin despite an 8+lbs spleen, her voice soft, her head aching. Today she spent a lot of time in bed feeling very unwell, and I could feel her spirit was being tested.
Please miracle, come quickly.

Tracey

And So They Wait...

Michelle had her 3 month check-in with the transplant clinic this afternoon. The summary of the appointment is...continue to wait. As mentioned before, organ transplants are down this year. The live donor transplant remains an option for the future, but the doctors feel the best choice right now is to continue to hold out for that whole liver.

Michelle's liver function continues to decline. A major blood vessel at the liver is working less efficiently than previously, and her spleen continues to have reduced blood flow resulting in subsequent pain.

Prayers are needed for this family to have the physical and emotional strength to get through this long wait.

Thank you to all who continue to keep Michelle and her family in your thoughts. The Ways are so grateful to you all for keeping them in your hearts.

Tracey

So What Is A Bean Count Anyway???

You may have seen both Michelle and I refer to a "bean count". This is Michelle's way of describing how much energy she has. It is basically a scale of: none/few-------------full can of beans! I came across an article during my own blog perusing(have I mentioned I am a blog-reading addict?). I thought it was such a good analogy of Michelle's "beans". Please take a look if you're so inclined, it's a great read : )
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/navigation/BYDLS-TheSpoonTheory.pdf

And Michelle's mama is coming out tomorrow! Michelle is sooo excited, she would have a marching band and confetti at the airport if she could! Safe travels J, see you soon!

Tracey