Howdy, Hello, Aloha, Hey, SSSSUP! What’s shakin?, Hi, and any other greeting you find comforting. Fast fact: early Christians would greet one another by saying “He is risen” and the response was “he is risen indeed”. Wow! What it must have been like to exist in those early days. The sense of tragic loss, yet the immense hope the true believers had been given. And those who had realized what they had done, what they had participated in. Though, at that time they were few. I hope, when I get to heaven, there will be stories from those days. The miracles they had witnessed. The feeding of 5,000 men, which would then include the wives and children beyond that number, with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread. Wow.

     Well, as you know, we made the pilgrimage to Rochester for my first annual heart checkup. We left Des Moines on Sunday, to get up there and relax in the pool and the hot tub before my appointments began Monday morning. Caitlyn is in Florida (actually as I write this, she is back in Iowa, and will be home in a couple of hours.) so, Jordan invited a friend to come along with us. It made things interesting and kind of fun at the same time.

     Monday dawned bright and promising, as I awoke, and showered at 0500 in preparation to catch a shuttle to Mayo. Of course I was unable to start the day properly with prayer and coffee, so prayer had to be enough. Somehow it always is. I got to the lab early, and had my blood drawn, and headed to chest x-ray. The first day, was a testing day, so each test required me to be fasting. Not the most fun when you have a gut full of nasty meds, and nothing to buffer them from the stomach acid. Anyone who has ever burped and tasted cyclosporine, would attest to the fact that food is a necessity. Regardless, I knew what to expect, and was able to get through the day, seeing familiar faces, and reuniting with fellow patients pre and post transplant. There was a slight scare, when dermatology decided to remove and biopsy a mole on my back. She sliced it off with the dexterity of a hockey player (no offense Pastor Terry) and the finesse of a viking. This proved to be the first in what was to be a myriad of holes in various strategic locations along the length of my body.

     Day two was not as hectic, with only a couple of tests, and ending in the treadmill stress test. I can now assure you all, that my heart will exceed 150 beats per minute, without any serious consequences.  There was some fatigue afterward, but that is to be expected.  If you are keeping count, I think at this point, that we were up to about 5 holes acquired since arriving at Rochester.

    Wednesday, the final day, was a different story. This is why us patients become somewhat cranky when doctors cover us up so all they have to look at is a 3” by 3” hole in a surgical drape in which to attempt to force a needle, rather then  acknowledge that they are working on a living, breathing, human who is nervous, and conscious. Local anesthetics are good, but they don’t insulate us from the pain that comes from repeated failures to break through the scar tissue. After 45 minutes of muted swearing, and apologies for the pain which was becoming excruciating, they aborted attempts to enter my neck and went into my groin. After that, the procedure went quite smoothly. The damage was already done, though. I am home now, but I am still in pain, 5 days later. Mayo is a great teaching hospital, but I think I have paid my dues. I have earned the right to demand the “first string” doctors and let the trainees watch.

     After recovery, We (Mary and the girls had left the hotel, and were waiting to take me home.) had one last consultation with the transplant docs, to discuss all of the results from the testing throughout the week. PRAISE GOD! The answer to my prayers throughout the week was NO! No cancer, No heart disease, No kidney dysfunction, No clogged arteries, No rejection, No negative results whatsoever. I thank God for my biggest complaint being a sore neck and groin. I read some back blogs, and what we have been through together, and here I am whining about my neck. Well, my neck hurts, so, I will whine for another day or two, but I will not forget to thank God for the miracle that my life represents.

     I have lived over a year, with a transplanted heart, but beyond that, I have lived since October 24th, 2005 after a massive heart attack, or two. I will continue to live for God until I breathe my last, and then I will live forever. (John 3:16). The last few years have taught me, that we only need to trust him. The docs are often great men of medicine, and the nurses are arguably angels in human flesh, but they are limited by their own humanity. My God is only limited by our small thinking minds. All we have to do is stay out of his way, and let him work. Where I work, at Jordan Park Camp, we see miracles daily. We are a cut and patch group of men who believe in miracles, and God provides our needs, often before we even realize we have them. Keep strong in the faith. Believe you are special, and belong with God. And know that, with that belief, comes eternal salvation. God bless, and please, pray for each other. As always, I love you all.

                                                                                                                                                   Mark 8/1/08

      Hey, it’s me. Yes, I am still here, in fact, I am doing quite well! I know I haven’t written much since May, but I have been busy witnessing miracles, and acts of God on a daily basis. How often can you meet someone, who genuinely loves his/her job? It seems, as though, everyone who spends any length of time out here (Jordan  Park Camp, West Des Moines, IA – www.jordanparkcamp.org) gets so infused with the history, and beauty of this place, that they never want to leave. I often awake in the middle of the night, dreaming about this place. I want to share a little on the miracles out here, and for those of you who are skeptical, well…

    The first miracle…Duh! I wake up every day, full of energy, okay, but at least I am highly functional. I feel great. I walk around with a big ole’ smile on my toothless face. Sometimes I even pop my dentures in and smile bigger than life. It is funny, just to sit and ponder on what an incredible journey I/we have been on. If you told me this story, I would think you were full of it, or at least slightly nutty. Since I got this heart, I have experienced things I would never imagine. I was in an “Easter drama”. I played in a volleyball league. I am currently playing in a slow-pitch softball league. I work long, hot, hard days, and come out of them feeling pretty darn good.

     Today is August 2nd. Yesterday was my first “heartversary”.  What an incredible day! The day dawned to find me patiently waiting at 0630, for Rick and Terry to arrive for a much needed morning of fishing. Rick has been telling me about this place since we met, and every time we had plans to sneak away and go fishing, duty called. But today, finally, we got there. OH BOY! DID WE GET THERE! Those of you who have met me in person would know that I have huge hands. I say that for reference. We were catching bluegill the size of my hand on a consistent basis. We kept 37 fish, which was enough to satisfy the hunger or 5 grown men, and 4 boys with a couple of pounds left over. But, alas, the day was full, so we had to boogie out of the fishin’ hole and head back to town, for other pursuits.

     We had a softball game scheduled for 1200hrs, and a stop to make before getting there. It was an incredible game, with both sides playing good solid defense. We eventually won the game, and had a wonderful time doing so. We are often referred to as the “pastors team” as we have 3 pastors playing for us. We are also referred to as the “old guys” team, because with the exception of two guys, I am the youngest man at the age of 38. So to beat the young pups, was not only a big win for us, but also a moral victory. We now stand at 4-3 on the season.

     Now it was time to eat. I had taken my meds at 6am, and had not eaten a single thing all day, which is not good for my stomach, so it was not only upset, but was growling and hollering trying to get my attention. Patience my friend. It was time for the aforementioned fish to step up into the spotlight. Rick put on a fish fry, and it was nothing short of spectacular. I, being a loving and caring person, took on the responsibility of “food safety inspector”, a job I take very seriously. I repeatedly taste tested the fish, to ensure consistent bone free flavor for the guys. There is no comparison to eating fish you have caught yourself. It is simply the best.

    After the gut stuffing ended, a cake was produced, seemingly out of nowhere. I had been had! Our “fish fry” turned out to be a celebration of my 1 year anniversary of my heart transplant.  The guys I work with on a daily basis, had gathered round, to help celebrate a special milestone in my life. These are a group of amazing and diverse guys. I am the youngest of this group also. These guys are men who come to work each and every day as unpaid volunteers, and pour their hearts into the work of serving the lord and restoring Jordan Park Camp. It was a time of fellowship and laughter, and something of a sendoff, in preparation for my upcoming trip to Mayo.

     I returned home to find Mary, and Jordan (Caitlyn is currently traveling to Orlando, FL, for 10 days) sitting on the floor amidst a huge pile of laundry. Too late, they saw me, and pulled me in! They were packing and repacking, and packing again for the trip to Mayo. As I previously mentioned, there were leftovers from the meal to be shared. Neither of them are fish eaters, but the cake was a different story. Later, Mary popped some popcorn, and we watched a movie. Then off to bed. As I said, one of the best days a guy could ask for.

     I want to thank all of you who emailed, texted, and called with warm thoughts, and prayers to help celebrate my year. What a year it has been. Life has been crazy, a good kind of crazy. Things have settled down enough to get back into writing, so be on the lookout for new posts. We are leaving later today for Rochester, MN. It is time for the 1 year checkup and it takes about 3 days to complete all of the testing. Please be in prayer that all is well. Also, be in prayer that God will guide my hand, in the letter I am writing to the family of my donor. As always, I love you all.

                                Mark