Ethan’s Journey

​I ran errands after work today. I did my grocery pick up at two different stores, a liquor store run as well as a stop into the $1.25 store. Not the dollar store anymore. Inflation! I picked up some dirt for over at Ethan’s house. I plan to spread it around in a little spot between the sidewalk and the house. I don’t like that that area is lower than the sidewalk. I can easily see water getting trapped there and just sitting. My chores for this weekend are piling up. Our house is so cluttered and unsettlingly chaotic. I have been trying to pick away at it but it is somehow now worse.  It will get there. We have a lot of things we are juggling.

​I hadn’t seen Avery in a while. I set up to get together today. I was so excited. We were supposed to go to the thrift store to find some “Thrift store formal” the theme of the Halloween party we are going to.  Avery came over and off we went. We had a good thoughtful chat in the car and Avery was voicing some frustrations.  We got to the thrift store and tried on some silly outfits but didn’t find what we were looking for. Boo! We made plans to meet up with my Mom and Gene to exchange some items to and from their storage unit. Avery had some homework to do but I suddenly became hungry and needed to stop at Margaritas. This was not in the plan at all. Avery said she had time to do so.  We participated in the buy one, get one margarita Tuesday special. The drinks were delicious. I am trying really hard to force Avery to LOVE tequila. We had such a good evening there. Someone had a birthday near us. We clapped and sang a long.  Avery said that her frustrations and lou...

​Ethan’s MMDX results came back. It also confirms negative for rejection. Ethan’s Prospera came back- the test that started all of this. It came back elevated at 0.34% which is now considered his new baseline. There is NO explanation as to why this suddenly changed from zero. Ethan’s medical behavior has stayed true. Keeping the team on their toes and me on the worry rollercoaster. I did more digging today for the cutoff level for the kidney (since Ethan’s doctor didn’t provide it to me). Luckily their threshold is 1.0%. Phew!  He is far below that. I did some more laundry. I am airing out my couch pillows so I can apply my seasonal pillow covers. Fall….here I come. Moe got his bath today and no longer stinks like dog. One day in a row! I called Avery to see how things were going. We made plans tomorrow to look for some “thrift store formal” outfits for our Halloween Costume party in a few weeks.  What a fun theme. Apparently Kendall has an outfit. I am hoping to find Paul som...

​I woke up this morning and had my coffee with my Aunt and Uncle. It is our routine when camping. I then packed up the dogs, Paul prepared the jetski’s and I trailered them home. I always get tripped up when towing them because I don’t do it that often. I am not sure how many times the jetski’s caught my eye in my rear view mirror. I thought it was someone following too closely each time. “What the…” I would say out loud….then “oh” after I realized they were attached to my vehicle. I also was not thrilled about the big FAT spider 🕷️ crawling around on the inside of my car on the windshield.  I told that spider he needed to mind his own business and he could live another day. I sort of want a charlotte’s web situation to happen in my van the next time I walk out to it. I want a message in its web tomorrow! I got home and bathed 3 out of the 4 dogs. Moe will be tomorrow….maybe. I cleaned out bedding and did the usual dog maintenance complete with ear cleanings today.  I did som...

​I am not someone who enjoys eating, or smelling things that live under the water being served as food. None of it….with the exception of fried clams. The caveat is that the fried….to clam…ratio has to be “just perfect”. More fried, less clam. The Shorline Lobster bake did not make me want to eat lobster. Watching people pull apart the lobster and avoid “the green stuff” that oozed all over the plate while using utensils I had never seen before (because I don’t like sea food).  They were getting “lobster juice” on their hands, clothes, anything that was around. It was neither graceful nor appetizing. Lobster water was leaking out of the lobster anytime a lobster was manipulated to try and crack it open. Shooting and dripping all over ALL surrounding areas.  I was trying to figure out what “the green stuff” was.  Is it poop? Liquified organs? Nope! I had to google it. It is called Tomalley. It acts as the lobster’s liver and pancreas. So it literally filters toxins all day...

​today was chilly in the morning. It didn’t stop me from sitting and chatting with our shoreline neighbors sipping coffee. We were having a nice chat and lost tract of time. I was a little late to sign into work. Woops! It was chilly in the camper. The heat was on. Jiminy needed his winter jacket on. I got the call from the heart team today. Ethan stayed true to his oddity and is not in rejection. Yay! Ethan’s heart team is on the ball. I get so much information from them. We are still waiting on the mmdx test and those will come next week. He also is getting another Prospera test done to see what the results are. That is the test that looks for donor DNA. That was the test with elevated levels that started all of this. I connected with the kidney team to set up a kidney biopsy. His doctor has done more research and decided that with the information they have, we do not need to move forward with a kidney biopsy.  While this is good news, I did feel cautious and asked for more clari...

 It was a calm day. Much better than yesterday. My work day was full of squashing fires and helping coworkers. I talked to a coworker that is fairly new and discovered that she wasn’t as prepared as she thought she was for a big meeting. She was able to reschedule until next week and we meet together tomorrow to plan. I want her comfortable and confident when she holds her first meeting. After work I drive up to camp. The leaves are changing. It is pretty to look at the leaves that are brilliant. They are in hospice when they are the most brilliant. As I drove the familiar roads to camp (a delightful drive traffic wise), the sun was starting to set. The colors blended and changed across the sky as the darkness arrived.  There was still artistic colors splashed across the sky when I pulled up. The air was still, the lake was still and the sound….just bugs singing away.  I put some things away and fed the dogs. About a half hour passed and it was dark. The temperature was s...