CORRECTED FLIGHT TIME

Arrival at 3:04pm ❤️

One Word - HOMECOMING!

It's official!

Patrick has a ticket home for July 12th, and will arrive in Fairbanks at 2:55pm on Alaska Airlines flight 106.

The kids and I are beyond excited. This is the start of a whole new life for our family! We have made SO MANY PLANS.

Of course, his return is contingent on a biopsy that is scheduled for the 10th, and the results that are announced on the 11th. As long as his numbers are great and the doctors like what they see, he will be released from care and allowed to return home.

After this he will return to Washington monthly for three months, and then every two months to finish out his first year post-transplant for repeat biopsies to check on Andrew and Patrick's heart.

Thanks again to everyone who follows this page, who have stopped us on the street to offer encouragement and support, and to everyone who carried us through this time physically, spiritually, and financially. We couldn't have done this without you!

No News Is Good News

I know many of you have been wondering about Patrick, and I have been remiss in my duties as bearer of news. In this case, as in most cases, no news is good news.

Physically, Patrick is doing fantastic. His last biopsy showed mild rejection but it wasn't anything serious. The doctors all said his numbers were excellent. His next biopsy isn't until June 29th.

He will be released from all sternum restrictions on June 22nd. He has been working out his arms and lower body, walking two to three miles almost every day, and getting to know the people and fellow organ recipients who temporarily live in the building.

Mentally, it has been tough on both of us. In a way, it's easier on me. I am so damned busy I hardly have time to miss him. In that way I also feel like it's harder on me. I'm taking care of five people, and as I've said in previous posts, I am the caretaker of the kids physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I'm doing it all, on top of running the shop and the household.

Patrick misses us terribly. We talk several times a day and exchange quite a few texts. We struggle to parent together, and to maintain our marriage 1,500 miles apart. Disagreements are terrible in this situation. The lack of face to face understanding is challenging at best.

In recent weeks I have leaned into my faith, and put my focus on creating products for the shop, maintaining a meager knife inventory, and exploring spiritual topics to enrich my tired mind. If anyone wants a dialogue on how broad and wildly interpretive the Bible can be, those thoughts are fresh in my mind. I suppose focusing on something that is so multifaceted that I will never understand every part of it, helps me put life into perspective. I have my family, my life, and my beliefs and values. You have yours. That is the essence of existence - living in a worldwide society where no single individual has all the answers - hence being a lifelong student and my quest to continually better myself and my understanding of said world.

One last thing - there is a rumor circulating that we may be misinformed about what constitutes Patrick's "three months of local post-transplant care." We assumed it was three months after hospital discharge, which would put him at July 27th. We heard recently that the Powers That Be at UW might want 14 weeks, which would mean August 3rd. But we heard a third possibility that the timeline might have began the day the surgery was completed, which was March 31st, moving the two previous release dates to June 30th or July 30th.

So basically we have no idea when he is coming home.

Gotta love uncertainty.

Until he does return to us, I will likely update every few weeks unless something goes awry. When I say I have been busy I'm not implying the kids and I spend long hours at the beach or lounging at home. I mean I take care of their needs and some chores when we get home after the shop, and most days I spend a couple hours in the evening working either on artistic products, or refining knife handles and cutting antler products in the garage. Then it's shower, prayers, and bed time.

It's after 11pm and I can't stop yawning.

Thank you, everyone, for keeping Patrick and our family in your thoughts and prayers. I'm still making jokes about having to handle his energy level when he gets home, but it's just to cover up how much I truly miss him.

Until next time 💕