Buckeye Mike

That's right, you read it. 1 year old. Her birthday is today, Christmas Day. Ok Maybe her birthday 2.0 One year ago today, at this time, my wife Tiffany was in the operating room at The Ohio State University's Ross Heart Hospital. The transplant team was hard at work with Dr. Bassam Shukrallah overseeing the operation. It was a  stressful day  but the first of many awesome days as she started down the road to recovery. She was released from the hospital January 8th. She was so happy to be home with nothing attached. She left her LVAD, pacemaker, and defibrillator in the operating room. She slept a lot the first 2 months. She was able to go out for short periods of time to see family or go to church. By early ,March she was feeling strong enough that the transplant team let her travel to Myrtle Beach. She sat in the sand and cried, telling me that just a few months earlier she thought she would never see the beach again. Before her new heart came, she had prom...

Earlier today, I posted  The Pocketwatch  as part of my continuing Christmas Tradition. And while that story is close to my heart, nothing can top my new favorite Christmas story about my Little Red headed sweetheart and her new heart last Christmas. It is a cool story, and A LOT has happened since, which I will detail in a different post today or tomorrow. But I wanted to share what I wrote last year, 3 days after her surgery. Before you read it, please be aware of three things: First, I cannot express to you what I was feeling when she received her gift. Last December, her health was going downhill. Her complexion was gray, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she was on oxygen. Everyday I woke up wondering is that was the day my heart was going to shatter. Going from that feeling to planning the rest of our lives with my very healthy wife has been amazing. Second thing: At the end of this post there is a picture of both her old and new hearts together on the o...

Nine years ago today, I wrote a post entitled "The Pocketwatch". It is a story about my mother, who was my best friend and is the inspiration for this blog.  It has always been my favorite Christmas story, and is become an annual tradition.  And while this story about my Mom is still so close to my heart, the story of my wife's new heart last Christmas is now my favorite Christmas story ever. Still, my pocketwatch means more to me than anything I own (right up there with another watch I received this year.) So please, enjoy this story, and look for several new posts overt the next couple of days. As a kid growing up, Christmas Eve was always the most special day of the year. Aside from the Santa visit, the day was filled with so much tradition and family that is was more like an event than a holiday. Everyone would gather at my grandparents house for Christmas dinner. Cars would fill the drive way, be parked on the hill, and even in the front yard. My Uncle Ronnie woul...

More photos of this year's vacation. We wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket but didn't realize how far in advance you have to reserve your spot if you want to take your car on the ferry to either island. Now we know better and we will be visiting both next year! Smuggler's Beach Coast Guard Beach Coast Guard Beach My mini-me Nauset Light 3 sisters lighthouses He is too cool for words Highland Light My favorite lighthouse picture Radar Station Entry We saw this place in 2015, drove right in. Felt like we had stumbled upon something straight out of WWII. Glad we found it again this year! Duck Harbor The sun was in ours eyes, we couldn't see at all! Tanner decided he wanted to bring a small boulder back to Ohio with him. He named it Rocky and is carrying it to the van in this picture.  Tiffany and Tanner at Heath and Kettle Roure 28 Di...