This is really in no specific order
but I would like to give #1 a tie to both Alayna and my beautiful wife Maria.
1.
Our little
miracle Alayna - Just typing this on my blog gives
me goose bumps. To think of how far we have come to have our miracle in our
life it is just unbelievable. She is the BEST thing that has ever happened to
me minus Maria of course. Every time I hold Alayna I just feel so blessed to
have her in our life. I cannot imagine
life without her!!!
2.
My wife Maria
– Maria is my soulmate and I believe that when god created her she was created
to be my partner in life. We have been through a lot in life together and she
is not only my wife but my best friend.
There is no better person in this life to have by my side than her. She
understands me, she even thinks like me and best of all she cares more about me
than anything in this world minus Alayna :)
Through this past year she has shown me that no matter what happens in
life we will get through anything. Going
through IVF and the PGD process it has brought us even closer in our
relationship. Maria, I am so blessed and
thankful to have you in my life. I LOVE YOU!!
3.
Family – Maria
and I both value our bonds with our family.
We live very close to all of our family which makes it easier to get
together for holidays and birthdays. The
holidays are meant to be spent with the ones you love and we love our
family. They have been there for us
through everything we are very blessed and thankful to have them in our
life. Also, today is a day where we can
reflect on the memories that were made with the family members who have passed
away.
4.
CF Clinic - I feel that I have one of the best
doctor’s that anyone could ever ask for.
He is so dedicated to his practice and you can just tell how much he
loves his patients and his commitment to cystic fibrosis. To be honest, if it wasn’t for him and the
nurses I do not think I would be as healthy as I am today. I will always
remember that the day that I was diagnosed with CF, my father was determined to
find the best doctor in our area and I know he found him. Thanks again dad and I will never forget
that!!!
5.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - I think all of us
fibros and cysters are thankful for the foundation. They have added many tomorrows to our
lives. Just think of how far we have
come through all the fundraising events that they do. I cannot thank you enough if you have ever
donated to the cystic fibrosis foundation.
They have been instrumental in funding the work that is being done at Vertex
Pharmaceuticals. With the drug Kalyedco
approved it is only going to be a few years I am hoping till they have
something to the market that will help many other fibros and cysters. If anyone is wondering what Kalyedco is
please read this http://www.cff.org/treatments/Therapies/Kalydeco/
6.
IVF/PGD - If it wasn’t for this amazing technology we
would not have had our miracle Alayna.
We are so blessed to have access to such a great opportunity. Thank you god for creating these wonderful
doctors, nurses, scientist who work every day creating miracles for
couples. The work that you do does not
ever go unnoticed. Thank you again and
again from the bottom of my heart.
7.
Cysters and Fibros having children – Yes, I am so thankful for my fellow cysters and fibros who
are expecting children in the near future!!! Speaking from experience it is
more than a blessing to receive the gift of a child. These people I could not
be more happier for as the first two couples have went through IVF just like
Maria and I did Jeremy and Monica Parks and Megan and David Murray. A cyster that I know is also going to
experience the greatest gift as well Cindy
Baldwin. Also, for those of us
cysters and fibros that have children I could not be more thankful to know
you Inhaling Hope and Ronnie Sharpe. Just think we are defying the odds
everyday!!!!!
8.
Organ Donors - I am very blessed
to be an organ donor and I am thankful that people are willing to live on
through others by donating their organs.
In fact recently, while I was attending my grandfather’s funeral I was
informed that he donated his corneas to an individual who is blind. What an act of kindness grandpa!!! Also, I know of cysters and fibros who have
been saved by lung transplants who are getting a second chance at life to be with their loved ones!! It is just
amazing that we have the opportunity to benefit from organ donors and also help
other families if we are organ donors are selves. I want to mention a cyster who has been
listed on the transplant list for the second time. Yes, she received her gift of lungs a few
years ago but is now in very poor health and needs another set of lungs. I am praying for her husband and
children. If you haven’t read her story
please take a moment to it is very touching on how much this family has
endeavored. The blog is called Confessions
of A CF Husband.
9.
Airway Clearance and HTS -
Just think where we would be without
our airway clearance devices we have
today. For me it has made a world of
difference. There is nothing better than
feeling your lungs clear. Hypertonic
Saline has improved my airways for the better and I am so thankful that there
is something out there that works for me to help get that mucus out!!!
10.
I am thankful for YOU!!! -
You may be wondering what I am
talking about but it reads how I meant it.
For anyone out there who reads my blogs and enjoys reading my life I
commend you! : ) For the people who read
every blog post I am very appreciative.
I know there are readers who read this blog every post but never leave
me comments. But I love to hear what people are thinking when they read my posts. So if you are a consistent commenter on here
thank you, I enjoy reading and responding to all of you. For those of you who have never commented
drop me a line and let me know what your thoughts are.
Again,
I love this CF blogger community and it has really opened up my eyes of how my
fellow CFers live their life. Having
this disease isn’t much fun but when you read and follow other people’s journey
you know you are not alone. I have met
through my blog some of the nicest people I have ever met who are similar to me
in one way or another. I hope that one
day we can all meet in person once this disease is cured!!!! We can have a “cure
found” party. I know it is right around
the corner!!
So
I hope this post finds you all doing well and healthy. Hopefully you are/were enjoy thanksgiving
with your families and have had the opportunity to take a minute and reflect on
what you are blessed and thankful for!!!
Beautiful picture at the end! Great list!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ronnie! I do love that shirt:)
DeleteI have to agree with Ronnie that I love your list! Hope your little turkey had a great Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThanks IH! Alayna had a wonderful thanksgiving.
DeleteWhat a great list! And I can't believe how big Alayna is looking already. What a cute baby (and a cute shirt)! And I agree, I'm so grateful for other CFers having children and embracing parenthood. CF brings some very unique challenges to pregnancy & parenthood and it's nice to have a community that can understand!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy! Alayna is growing like a weed :) We are living in a very exciting time in our community and I cannot wait to see what that future holds for all of us!!
Delete