When we think about getting ready for Christmas, we find ourselves running around looking for the perfect present's, trying to turn our house's into a winter wonderland, for all to enjoy.  Then our thought's drift to the cooking and baking that needs to be done.  Most of us, not all, but I really believe most of us make lists on top of list around our calendar to ensure everything is done on time.  
                  This is the first christmas that our family will be home, not in the hospital for Christmas.  Last year, we were very fortunate that Lauren's transplant teams allowed us 2 weeks to be able to go home for Christmas.  But, of course we had to leave the hospital with equipment and a visiting nurse every day.  Lauren had to stay on her medication through a central line and also had to wear a life vest.
              This year is so different.  Lauren's new heart and kidney are doing great.  We did have a little bit of a scare last month, but luckily they caught it early and it was a medication change.
                 As some of you may know I have not been feeling well the last couple of months.  Intestinal problems.  I was so scared I was going to be the one in the hospital this holiday season.  Over the last couple of months my doctors did work diligently trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  I am happy to report we finally received a diagnosis, I have  Microscopic Colitis.  The reason I say happy, is because myself and my family we were thinking the worst the C word.  This type of Colitis is not curable but can be controlled to a point with medication.  I have since, join a support group for this condition.  Knowledge is key, and to be able to relate with others is a comfort.   Now we can start moving forward in our lives as a family.

                      Every family has their own traditions for the holiday's.  The picture's above are from one of our family traditions.  Dean, Lauren, Maddie and myself get our Santa hats on to go pick out our Christmas tree.  This year our granddaughter Maddie picked out our tree,  after that we headed over to Dunken Doughnuts for hot chocolate for our drive around our community to look at all the decorated house's.  I have noticed it's fewer houses, than it used to be, but there are still quite of few of people that go all out and put on a beautiful light show.  Maddie is so cute, before we left the house she gave us the run down on what we were doing.  She said "this is what we always do".  Priceless......

                     In the past couple of months I have added a couple of new pages to my website.  
"Care & Support"​      This page is dedicated to families that have a medical fundraiser.  I created this page with the main intent to help others get the word out about their fundraising venture.  Advertising is so important, so I thought my website's following could help in sharing their fundraisers.  It is only for medical fundraising needs.  So so many people need help.  When we were in that situation, it is a very humbling experience, but living in a hospital or if it the bread winner in the family that is sick, the bills do not go away.  I would like to think this is a small way I can give back, to be able to help others.  Feel free to check out the page and maybe help a family in needs.    If you know someone with a medical fundraising page, please fill out my contact page and I would be happy to post it.
           

             This is a letter I received, and would like to extend it to all my caregiver friends.  When we think about being a caregiver for a family member, most  jump right in, without thinking of all the responsibilities and yes, the work it takes to care for a medical family member.  It is over whelming at times, but we just keep going.
                 I would like to reach out to all caregivers and give them a big hug and say you are doing a very selfless act of kindness. The world needs more people like YOU!!!!!
             I have met so many wonderful caregiver's though Facebook groups.  Sometimes you need to talk with someone you don't know. To be able to relate to your circumstances when you have no more gas in the tank.

 
This is my daughter Lauren, I am her craregiver.  This picture was taken last November, at the International Miami Book Fair.  I am her number one cheerleader at all times, and I can say that she is mine when I need it. 
     After we returned home from this trip, Lauren went into heart failure.  
      We spent the next six months in the hospital, waiting for Lauren's second heart transplant plus a kidney transplant.  
Our book "Strength in a Heartbeat, Diary of a Heart Transplant" is our story of living on the heart transplant list in the hospital, then needing a LVAD to transplant.  We wanted to help other people understand what life is like living in the hospital on the transplant list. 

            To all Caregiver's please always remember how special you are.
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 If you find you need to talk,  remember Facebook has some very compassionate, caring groups out there.  I belong to quite a few.  Sometimes they help me and then there are times when I can help someone.

            My daughter Lauren,  had her heart and kidney transplant on May 17, 2018.  The first 4 weeks after transplant, she needed to have biopsies every week. At this time Lauren needs to have her biopsies once a month.
         During the biopsies, they take a tiny piece of the heart muscle and look for signs of inflammation or rejection. This is the only way doctors can tell early on if your body is rejecting your donor heart.
       Schedule for biopsies after transplant:

• Month 2 post-transplant — every other week.
• Months 3 to 6 post-transplant — once a month.
• Months 7 to 12 post-transplant — every other month.

             After you have a biopsy, you will receive your results 24  hours later.  You always pray for no rejection, but there are times when that is not the results you receive.  Lauren's biopsy have all came back a 0, no rejection until this last one.                                                                There are different stages of rejection.  Lauren's came back as an AMR, antibody-mediated rejection.  First time with a AMR rejection.  After everything we went through over the past 5 years, I thought we knew mostly everything about transplantation and rejection.  Totally wrong.  I know as much as I needed to know, we never heard of AMR.  So it was back to studying.  I wanted to share some of the information I found.  Treatment right now is medication changes.  They are doing blood work now every week, with medication changes to much rejection meds could hurt other organs, which could cause so many new problems.  If the medication changes don't work, then Lauren would have to be hospitalized to have her blood filtered to clean out the antibodies.  Hospital stay could be 3-5 days.

Below is a grading of biopsy rejections:
 **Grading rejectionThe pathologist, the medical Doctor who reviews the tissue slide for the diagnosis of rejection rates the presence and severity of rejection based in the International Society and Heart Transplant  scale.

• Acute Cellular Rejection (ACR)
  0 = No evidence of rejection (NER)
  1R= mild rejection
  2R= moderate rejection
  3R= Severe rejection.
• Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR): Is a type of late or chronic rejection.  It represents a continuum of humoral responses to the cardiac allograft. AMR is diagnosed by both the biopsy and by the detection of antibodies specific to the donor in the blood.

              Transplantation is the act of transferring cells, tissues, or organs from one site to another. The malfunction of an organ system can be corrected with transplantation of an organ (eg, kidney, liver, heart, lung, or pancreas) from a donor. However, the immune system remains the most formidable barrier to transplantation as a routine medical treatment. The immune system has developed elaborate and effective mechanisms to combat foreign agents. These mechanisms are also involved in the rejection of transplanted organs, which are recognized as foreign by the recipient's immune system.
         Understanding these mechanisms is important, as it aids in understanding the clinical features of rejection and, hence, in making an early diagnosis and delivering appropriate treatment. Knowledge of these mechanisms is also critical in developing strategies to minimize rejection and in developing new drugs and treatments that blunt the effects of the immune system on transplanted organs, thereby ensuring longer survival of these organs.

           I have to say this, when we found out Lauren's biopsy came back with rejection, called AMR, we were scared.  And when we were told Lauren might have to be hospitalized, PTSD set in.  I kept thinking, what do we pack, how long will we be there.  I know what the Dr's say, but we know how things really happen.  3 - 5 days could lead to 10- plus days.  Also I have been trying my best to take care of things around the house, if I'm not going to be here.  As you all know, when Lauren goes into the hospital I go with her.  It's a scary and lonely place to be.  We travel as a team.  
             We are home, and the plan is to stay here for now.  Lauren is having her next biopsy in three weeks.  Pray for no rejection.  

             Now onto a new subject, me.  I have been experiencing some stomach issues for the past month. I have had complete blood work-up, urine and stool tests.  Yesterday I had a CT Scan done, just waiting for results. At this time, I have no idea what is going on with me.  Hopefully some answers soon.  Time to take care of myself.

            I have added a new page to my website,  Care & Support.  This page is dedicated in helping families with their medical fundraising needs, please check it out.   When being diagnosed with a life threatening illness is one thing, then to add the financial burden, can really put a family over the top.  Every little donation helps.

                    When Lauren was first approach to speak at the New England Donor Services  Conference, she said "Absolutely, tell me when and where".  
                 Lauren has become such a great advocate in organ donor awareness,  through her public speaking events.  To be able hear first hand from an organ donor recipient, so many people who work in all the different fields of organ donation don't  get a chance to meet and listen of how grateful and appreciative of all the hard  work that goes on behind the scenes in the orchestration of how the organ's are selected in where and who is to receive them.
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Please click on link below to learn more about
      New England Donor Services 

              gofundme
is the #1 personal fundraising website out there,  you can trust.                     

                         When I created this website, my purpose was to help educate and promote organ donor awareness.  Since my daughter Lauren Meizo had her first heart transplant on December 30, 2013, then unfortunately needed a second heart and a kidney transplant on May 17, 2018  I kind of know a thing or two about what is entailed in what life living on the transplant life can be.
                 I also published my journal from when my daughter needed her first heart transplant.  The goal is to be able to help others understand what to expect and what life is like living on the transplant list.  To date the book has been doing very well, and I have been told it has changed their lives.  
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      Click on the title to find out more information on
Strength in a Heartbeat, Diary of a Heart Transplant

              Gofundme is a great website to help raise funds, when you're in need mainly for medical issues.  When my daughter and I were living in the hospital waiting (2 hours away from home) for her second heart and kidney transplant, my sister mentioned she wanted to start a gofundme page for us.  First I wasn't on board then, realizing how much it was costing me to live in the hospital I said okay.  
               When you are faced living in a hospital, the patient and most of the times a family member would be staying with them, is VERY EXPENSIVE.  At times I would only eat one meal, to get just a salad and a drink was $10.00.  Anytime Lauren or I would need just the basics, I would walk to CVS or Walgreen's.  It all adds up.  Plus when my husband would come up for the weekends, parking alone is very expensive.  Months of living in a hospital is nothing you financially plan for.     

                 Fundraising is also for the family because the patient was a contributing financial member of the household.  All of a sudden that paycheck is taken away.  The stress of a family member in the hospital is so worrisome, plus now you have a huge financial burden to try to overcome is extremely hard on the family.
               Fundraising is needed for when the patient is released from the hospital. Medical bills and prescriptions accumulate plus any other medical devices they may need as well, all trips back and forth to the hospital for multiple check-ups.   A transplant patient takes close to and or over 30 pills a day.  Depending on the insurance, the cost of everything is mind boggling.  Now remember, this is something you are never prepared for   Most people don't have that stash of money just sitting around.  

Transplant patient's need to raise thousands of dollars,  
​The button below is my daughter's  gofundme page to show example

                I would like to help everyone with a gofundme page with my website.  If you or you know someone with a gofundme page, I am willing to help.
        Please send me your link to your gofundme page.  I am going to dedicate a post with everyone's gofundme page link.  
          I truly believe in helping any way possible to somehow ease some of the worry the families are enduring at this time.

         You can subscribe to this website, ​www.strengthinaheartbeat.com by filling out the contact page. You can find it on the top of this page in the menu with your information.  We all need help at different points in our lives.  I've needed help, now I would like to help others.

            Please pass this along to anyone you feel could benefit with some advertising about their gofundme page.  My website has many followers all over the world that could  read your story and may want to contribute.
            Remember subscribe and fill out the contact page with your info and link to your gofundme page.  Once I have received your info , let's get the world to read your story!