Ana and Isa’s blog

Dear Friends,
Thank you for caring to read about our lives again.

Thank you to all my loved ones: Andrew, Tom M., Tom G., Stacey, Olin, Anna, and my family for your persistent phone calls to check up on me during my past hospital days. I truly appreciate your support! I was fortunately surrounded by loving health care workers, some of whom just stopped by to chat socially, and get updates about our book. Our Stanford Hospital staff is truly like a family, and (almost) everyone is so kind and loving.

Despite the warning signs on my isolation door, I also put a sign about the book with “For Sale Within” on it. Shameless self-promotion! I sold three books in the hospital! The Stenzel inpatient entrepreneurial spirit continues! I am thankful that the staff cared to support our story.

I just wanted to let you know that after 8 days, I am finally home from the hospital! My RSV culture was negative yesterday, but since I was sent home with one IV antibiotic, and the home health care company was closed yesterday, I finally could come home today. It sure feels great!

I feel a lot weaker in the muscles because of the steroids and my own laziness not to get up and move. On Saturday, however, Andrew came to visit and we walked a very long way from the hospital all the way to the Stanford foothills, the Dish, and completed the 3 mile loop. Overall, I think we walked 5 miles. It was so nice to re-connect after his being away for a week. It felt great to be outside and breathe the fresh air. My lungs expanded as I climbed uphill. I bumped into my favorite Stanford professor, Dr. Siegel, who taught me Humans and Viruses back in 1993. I happily reported to him that I am teeming with respiratory syncitial virus!

Needless to say, I slept very well on Saturday night. I was sore on Sunday but Andrew and I walked to the Stanford Bookstore and bought some books so he could plan his sabbatical. I love the hospital that is situated in a place so conducive to walking. How nice to be in an environment that is so healing. The campus is so beautiful and uplifting. This is my home.

At home, it’s the little things that I appreciate most. First thing I did was wash my dog of her virus cooties, and then I showered myself after covering my mediport with plastic. Then I did three loads of germy hospital laundry. I did some stretching and muscle workout on the floor while my dog Rupie harassed me to no end. I got my stuff organized and had a conference call with the Byrnes for Congress folks, our parents. Best of all, I cooked a massive salmon dinner.

I am so deprived of Asian food, that as usual, my first meal home from the hospital included rice, natto (fermented soy beans), and a seaweed dish called hijiki. Too bad- while I was not looking, Rupie stole my fried tofu skin and ate it. I ate to my heart’s content, still ‘recovering’ from high steroid-induced appetite. I love home cooking! As Tom G. said, “The amount you girls eat normally makes me wonder what kind of portions you’re pushing with steroids.” Ha! If only I had a videocam.

A wonderful home health nurse named Jose came by to deliver IVs and I sold a book to him! More shameless self-promotion! How I appreciate the interest.

Ana is doing better, recovering on IVs, resting her foot, and taking care of herself. She decided not to go to New York next Friday. Amen! My doctor gave me his blessing to go. So I leave on Friday, and I promise to wear a mask everywhere there are more than a handful of people! I must trust that I can do this; that I will not get sick; that I will be protected.

Now Andrew and I are doing our usual evening routine– We are sitting on the couch together each staring into a laptop. The joys of a ten year marriage. Rupie is next to us fast asleep. Oh, such security and love. It is raining outside. There are baskets of laundry to fold in front of me. There are piles of mail to go through. The joys of simple routine. Monotony. Ordinary life. I just want this. Part 1 of my life had enough drama. Now I just want this. These are holy days.

I wish you the same.

Happy Martin Luther King Day. What an inspirational figure we can all emulate. May his dreams continue to be realized.

Love Isa

Dear friends,

Though Ana gave this a mention, I wanted to write a belated entry to thank everyone who supported our book signings in the last 2 weeks! We had a signing in Pacific Palisades, our hometown in Los Angeles, on January 3rd, and in Oakland, as a fundraiser for California Transplant Donor Network on January 7.  We also had a book gathering at our friends’ home, the Wagners.

The Palisades book signing at Village Books was absolutely PHENOMENAL. I kept thinking, Why are we so blessed?!?!!

The first person who came early, I recognized right away from CF camp. She was a “pink lady” - the older girls cabin- and I thought they all died out. But she is 11 years post-transplant!!! Wow, what hope. She had driven all the way from San Diego just to attend! We reconnected and will meet up at the end of the month! I am sure she has stories to share. It delighted me to know that the guy she met at a bar back in 1993 or so, whom we met, ended up being her husband of 14 years! What a keeper!

Then it just got better and better. My math teacher and his wife came, in a tshirt and sweatshirt that I had painted for them back in high school. So did my Spanish teacher who bought over 10 books! Another couple came bearing a humiliating prom picture with Josh and their son Steve, who rode our limo with us with his date. A girl named Leah from our 8th birthday party came, whom we hadn’t seen in 28 years was there, all grown up. Our old doctor came from the CF Center in L.A. came all the way from the Valley.  Our friends’ parents attended, and friends of friends came to support us.  A few neighbors attended. A USC CF nurse came and cried the entire time. The Palisades local newspaper advertised so there were a few random people with CF connections that we didn’t know. At least 3 CF parents attended. One brother of a deceased sister attended and was in tears. We established a great connection.  He is good friends of Boomer Esiaison and is working on a CF Realty Program to donate funds to CF. Tons of my parents’ friends came, people I didn’t recognize but who were sooooo supportive anyway. The room was packed with standing room only. Even the camera crew from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lead by our newest dear friend Donald Coleman who is making a film on minority organ donation, could barely fit, but taped the entire event. The door was left open and people were piling outside, including my parents who gave up space so others could hear us inside. My mom prepared appetizers and wine so people mingled outside until 9:30pm. Some friends bought multiple books, which is really expensive! We ended up selling 74 books (they stocked 80)!

I was so pleased to see so many people from my past.

My dad was a great sport because we read a passage that sort of put him on the spot. But then we shared our gratitude for how emotionally mature my parents are about our book and my mom’s famous slogan, “We are too old to care what people think anymore!”

The next day a major storm hit and we felt so lucky it was pleasant that evening to have some mingling outside.

Two days later, we gathered at Marlene Wagner’s Century City home for an intimate book gathering with her closest friends and colleagues, as well as those of my best friend Josh. People listened to our long and relaxed talk about the why and how of our book writing process. Many of the attendees were social workers from USC so our talk catered to that crowd. We sold 23 books and then drove straight home to Northern California. Thank you Josh and Marlene!

Two days after that, Ana and I had our grand finale, the Jack London Square Barnes and Noble book signing and fundraiser for California Transplant Donor Network.  It was a dark and cold night, and we worried that many people would not come. Close to the start time of 7PM, barely anyone was there. Fortunately, the queen of CTDN Cathy Olmo was there to lead the show. By 7:15 or 7:30, we were amazed to see our friends from all parts of our lives: our elementary school friends Rachel and Mieke who moved up to the Bay Area, our CF Retreat friends, our Transplant Games friends, our precious lung transplant friends Lara, Joyce and Nahara, our college friend Rosa who had just given birth two weeks earlier, CTDN staff, Andrew’s friend Stephen, a new friend we met once at a Bill Clinton fundraiser, whom we supported for her South African mission trip, a UC Berkeley Social Welfare instructor and another professor from Ana’s genetic counseling program, and a whole host of Kaiser Genetic Counselor friends of Ana’s. Oh, the list goes on…Sorry if I missed you. Even Allison who couldn’t make it bought 9 books and had the store ship them to her home. What support!  The greatest joy for me was to see the enthusiasm of the BN Community Relations Manager Barbara T., who greeted us with a smile, made PA announcements so several stragglers in the store joined. She was so supportive of our story and truly cared. She introduced us, and sat down in the audience to listen to our speech. She bought a book too and two days later, wrote “As I am reading your email, I can’t stop my tears! I took the day off work today just so I can finish reading your extraordinary book! … For the past eight years, I have hosted many events, but your event will be my most unforgettable event yet. You and your family are truly special beings.” Look who’s talking, Barbara! 

Then she wrote, “I love everything about your book…it’s just brilliant! One minute I’m laughing out loud and the next minute I’m sobbing…You two have a wicked sense of humor…and I love it! You two have touched my life in a very deep way, and I want to thank you for sharing your story…I’m sure your story will touch millions more, too. I am also placing your book on our “Staff Recommends” shelf!

I have been blown away by her support. This is the first person outside of anyone we have known through our CF/transplant/family/friends connections that has been touched by our book…. and this is someone who reads constantly and works in a store with 85,000 books on the shelf! The best gift from Barbara came several days later when she wrote, “After reading/finishing your book, I will never, ever, take a single breath for granted again. Your story is so amazing and I found a couple of extraordinary things about your story. You see, I’m also an ordained minister, based on the teachings of A Course in Miracles, and your story, for me, just reinforced two of the most important teachings:          

Dear Friends,
Here’s another update on our lives to entertain you - and thanks for caring.

I just wanted to share that Ana went home from the hospital on Monday, free of respiratory syncitial virus, but was limping on a big brace for her fractured foot.

I, on the other hand, felt a cold coming on this past weekend, got a quick nasal swab culture, but still felt energetic. On Sunday I went on a glorious hike to Mission Peak, climbing 2000 feet in nearly 3 miles and back down. The sky was blue and crisp clear and the hills were green from the recent rain. My lungs were congested and I coughed up a lot, so it felt good to clear my airways. It was warm and I wore a tank top like it was late spring! Rupie loved the hike and chased squirrels and cows. When I went to the grocery store, Ana called me and said, “There’s a Byrnes getting admitted with RSV!”
My response: “Well it better the hell not be me!”
Well, I got home to two new voicemail messages. “This is Dr Sista, your RSV is positive. I’m sorry you have to come in.” and then next “This is E Ground. We have a room ready for you.”
Well, apparently, RSV is the gift that keeps on giving.
F’ing A. Big time.
So I packed and surrendered to the orders. My fresh food is rotting in the fridge.
It is amazing to go from such extreme health (except a cold and cough) to being ’sick’. I told my friend, “Sickness is all in the attitude. I’m perfectly fine. I just got some inner stuff going on.”
I truly appreciate the aggressive care. RSV is a virus that is known to lead to lots of lung inflammation, a sure precursor to rejection. So I was slammed with IVIG (immunoglobulin), 1500 mg solumedrol, RSV antibodies, and antifungals and antibiotics to treat more bugs found in my sputum. I do two 2.5 hour inhalations of ribavirin, an anti-RSV med (there is still an RSV epidemic and shortage of the med but Stanford got enough for Ana and me), which dries as a powder. After a treatment I take the mask off and the RT today said,”You look like you’ve been snorting coke.” The white powder is extremely toxic so no one can enter the room during a treatment. It is a severe teratogen, so if I got pregnant the baby would have three heads- maybe it’d need that to live the life I’d give it. Only RT can enter, masked, gloved and gowned. How brave they are to take this risk! I am so grateful to reconnect with these precious health care providers. It is not a burden to be in the hospital, since I’m unemployed anyway. I figure if 5 days here can give me more than 5 years of life ahead, I am extremely grateful for this care.

But I do have some fear. This room was occupied by a dear friend of a friend, a heart-lung and kidney recipient who I thought was discharged but instead went to ICU with RSV pneumonia and is on a ventilator. It is scary how serious this virus can be. Please pray for her today because she needs it. I hope and pray Ana’s or my paths do not unfold this way. Some of it is not in our control. But I am still a control freak. I try to be active in here; I’m playing my practice pipe for airway clearance, I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes while inhaling ribavirin, and did 50 half-push ups on my bed. I just now need to sleep more.

Laughter heals fear. My hilarious friend from the Transplant Games called today about both Ana and me being in. Tom G. joked, “I think it’s just because the doctors are hot for you.” He always knows how to make me laugh. Then he said, “Yeah, this isn’t the kind of Relay I was talking about.” Tom witnessed Ana and me and two others win gold and silver in swim and 100m running relays. Now we are playing musical hospital stays. Ana remembered that the last time we were in together was at Oakland Kaiser in August 1995. Of course, this time, she just waved from the double doors and stay far away from her infectious twin. Tom G. joked about our scars, our broken bodies, in a way to shine his gifts of humor and love so brightly. You rock, Tom G.

I thank my healthy friends who are courageous enough to visit, like Rob and RD. Thanks Stacey for dropping off a card. I also thank Rob for his last minute help to take care of Rupie. Thanks to everyone else for all the loving phone calls. I believe this is my “Retreat”. I’m taking care of a lot of inner business-reflection on what I’m supposed to be doing right now with myself- and outer business too. Thanks to wireless internet, I am getting a lot done for book stuff, writing emails, and writing other things too, like Spirit Medicine in the CF Roundtable. I am extremely manic on solumedrol and hyper. Ana was too, until she got home and last night slept 11 hours. We go home from the hospital to rest!

Anyway, I’ve written your eyes off and thanks for reading. You all keep us going.
Love to you, and stay away from people with colds!
Love Isa

Dear Friends,
Thanks for reading our blog!
Our year started with a bang and continues to be interesting.

On my birthday I went on a gorgeous hike with my friends Tom and Monica, in stormy, pouring rain. We were all prepared and I personally did not feel cold, so don’t worry if you think I’m going to get sick from this. On the contrary, breathing fresh air felt fantastic to my lungs. It was so beautiful and exhilarating to hike 1700 feet down and up in howling wind, over downed branches and inhaling the fresh fog in the air. That natural energy reinforced my conviction in the joy of life! The hillside looked so green, nurtured in water. Amazing that in the dead of winter, nature is so fully alive.

I did not see Ana for the first time on our birthday, because she had a bad cold. The day after our birthday, unfortunately, Ana’s nasal swab culture came back positive for a dangerous virus for lung transplant patients called RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), so she was promptly admited to the hospital for inhalation of the somewhat toxic medication called ribavirin. It is hard for her to stay put in her isolation room, but this is good for her rest. Unfortunately, she also received 1500 mg of solumedrol, equivalent to very very high doses of prednisone, so she cannot sleep and is jumping off the walls. She feels fine, and her cold has resolved. There is a nationwide shortage of ribavirin so she may be discharged early… I know- doesn’t make sense to me either!

Ana got her foot x-rayed because she continued to have severe pain after a fall on Christmas eve. Well, it turns out that she fractured a bone in her foot! Oh, the joys of being 36 and having the female gift of osteoporosis. So, Ana is wearing a silly black brace and will have to use crutches for several months. It is a drag and she worries about her training for the Transplant Games. Is God trying to teach her something?

Nonetheless, Ana is in good hands with Trent and other non-transplanted visitors to keep her spirits up. I just pray she doesn’t catch any more germs from the hospital.

I spend my mid-week reconnecting with my dear friend Olin who visited from out of town. In gray, wet and foggy weather we drove through San Francisco, went to Japan Town for lunch, and drove to the north bay. Seeing the rolling green hills lead into the rough waters of Bodega Bay, while engaging in the kind of conversation only close friends share, was simply out of this world. We hiked the coast briefly and heard the seals and birds in the distance. Again, the world is so active and how great to get out of our routine to witness this! Together we visited Bodega Bay to see the Bell Tower made in honor of Nicholas Green, a young boy who was killed in Italy and donated his organs. Ana and I were invited by the Green family to put up a bell, with the names of our lung donors into the tower. After some seeking, we found it and felt tremendously honored that the Greens allowed us to pay tribute to our donors on their tower, especially when there are thousands of recipients whom they have met over the years. I left a momento on my friend Nahara’s “Surrounded by Angels” pillow- the race bib for the Relay that promoted organ donation awareness that Nicholas’ dad Reg wore when he joined Ana’s walk team “Got ORgans?” in May 2007.

Today Andrew, Rob and I went running and completed 5 miles. Six months from now I will be competing in the US Transplant Games in Pittsburgh, so my training has to start today! I am glad I can still do this, after my training plummeted since doing the half marathon in October.

Tonight Ana and I will be interviewed about our book for “Results Driven Radio” show in Los Angeles. To listen from 9-10pm, check out http://krla870.townhall.com/. The interviewer Anthony Vultaggio is very supportive to spread the word about cystic fibrosis.

We continue to be blessed with very positive comments about our book and thank you all for all your support. We are so grateful for all the connections that have been sparked or strengthened because of this book endeavor.
Best wishes to you all and have a fabulous weekend,

Isa

Dear Friends,

Thank you again for your continued support and interest in our blog. Today, I’m proud to say that Isa and I are celebrating our 36th birthday. Unlike many people in the general population, we have no shame about announcing our age. The wisest thing I ever read in Glamour magazine was  an article on aging that stated, “the only way to not grow old is to die young.” And we certainly don’t want that, not for us, nor anyone . Thus, we celebrate another candle on our birthday cake, another wrinkle, another ounce of fat, another aching joint and poor eyesight, and even gray hairs- with a huge grin of gratitude and awe.

As a genetic counselor by training, I assess my age based on my risk of having a baby with a chromosome disorder  (as women age their risk of having babies with chromosome disorders such as Down syndrome increases). Last year, when we turned 35, I was ecstatic to reach what geneticists and obstetricians call “advanced maternal age”-  the age where women rountinely are offered amniocentensis when pregnant to test for chromosome disorders. Another unflattering medical term used for women over 35 is “elderly primigravida”.  Well, today, at 36, I’ve reached the age where my risk of having a baby with a chromosome disorder is now 1 /104, or 1%. In the big picture of my life, this is a moot point as I don’t plan to have kids (my lungs are my “kids”) but to reach the statistic of 1% is significant to me. I aspire to live at least ten more years, where my risk of having a baby with a chromosome disorder at the age of 46 will be 1/8! My ultimate goal, which I shared with Isa, was to live the same number of years with a transplant as I did with CF- so that would be 56- since I had my first transplant at the age of 28. My dear friend, Nahara, who turned 50 in 2007 with a CF Transplant, is my role model in that goal.

So today, I reflect on age, on years past, on the body’s resilience and the surprises that the universe has given me. I reflect on the very close call I had that I almost did not celebrate my 36th birthday. I befriended a wonderful woman with CF who lost her identical twin with CF in May 06, and her heartfelt sorrow in celebrating her first birthday alone without her twin. It pains me to think that Isa almost did that, and I am so grateful that hasn’t  happened yet for us.

 As we enter our 36th year, we are full throttle in the excitement of our book tour, of new possibilities and new goals. Many thanks to those of you who attended our December and January book signings in the Bay Area and in our hometown of Pacific Palisades. We appreciate the time and effort you took to come out during the cold and dark days of winter to listen to us talk and read, and to share in the moment of our book’s release.

Life is good, and we are privileged to be surrounded by good people like you who make our life so rewarding and fulfilling.

I am having a quiet birthday at home, relaxing due to an injured foot and head cold. But when I heal, I will celebrate my birthday with my favorite things:  a good hike and all-you-can eat Sushi. : )

For those who have reached out with birthday wishes, I thank you all for remembering and for your kind words of celebration. I am honored to be in the company of people who “get it.”

 Wishing you health and wellness on this rainy January day.

Ana Stenzel

 May God’s love be with you always (Michael Stipe)

Dear Friends:
Happy New Year to you all! I hope your end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 has been enriching so far.
I have been extremely busy, and it feels great to be healthy enough to be so active.

The action started on December 29 when our family hosted a fundraiser for Larry Byrnes, my father in law, who is running for Congress in Southwest Florida (www.byrnesforcongress.com). The Stenzel-Byrnes family was all together. My mom prepared a grand feast, there was a fabulous turnout of supporters, and we heard positive speeches including my own words about the parallels between the Byrnes family pizza recipe and the Byrnes campaign. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Some of you may know that I spent the last few days in Pasadena, as a privileged “Class of 2008″ Donate Life Float Rider!
OH MY GOOOOOOOD, I am STTTTIIIIILLLLLLLLLL EXCITED!!!!! There are few words to explain how I have felt in the last few days. I am intoxicated on life; I am thrilled to be part of this beautiful organ donation community! I feel blessed to be able to be a spokesperson, an ‘ambassador’ to the public, about organ donation.

I started my time in Pasadena placing a rose onto the Float as part of the Family Circle Dedication program. When I walked into the tent and saw the float entitled “Life Takes Flight”, my heart dropped. It was gigantic- 30 feet high (but could collapse to 18 feet high to go under the freeway and for decoration)- with 40 floragraphs (photos of donors made of flowers/seeds) of blood, tissue and organ donors. The floragraphs were placed around 4 large hot air balloons. There were seats for 24 riders from 18 states, and tethers- ropes covered with petals- connecting a few floragraphs to their donor parents or siblings who would walk alongside the float. The entire float was decorated by hundreds of Californians and volunteers, with only final touches done by professionals. I wish I could’ve smelled the fragrance of the roses and flowers- must’ve been spectacular. There was such a strong community feel among the Donate Life volunteers. FYI, there were two men underneath the float: the driver who sat in darkness and one man who peaked out of a tiny window right next to my seat who gave the driver directions. There was a tank of 40 gallons of gas underneath me.

Ana and I dedicated roses to our donors James, Xavier and John Doe from 7/13/07, the University of Missouri Press, our friend Kathleen, and we placed a rose for the donor of our dear friend Nahara Mau. We also posed with ED Tom Mone to place a rose dedication for all deceased organ donors in Japan. The float had over 1000 rose dedications, represented by 50 states and 15 countries.

I loved meeting all the other Donate Life float riders and walkers. The riders were all organ, blood and tissue recipients, and donor families walked. I felt like I could just talk to anyone and feel comfortable from the start, because of our transplant connection. We all had to give speeches, and I was humbled by everyone’s similar story of near-death and resurrection with transplantation. I was so touched by the generosity and altruism of the donor families. This was just like the aura of the Transplant Games, without the burden of physical competition.

On the 30th, I gathered with my Stenzel-Byrnes clan to decorate the float. We cut dried petals off yellow and red strawflower, which were glued to the Honda float by professionals. It was an easy task and fun to be part of the action. Ana and I wore masks; hopefully we won’t catch aspergillus from this fungal fest… We had a great reception where I gave another speech, and where I met more fabulous people.

On the 31st, we got up at 3am for a 4:30am taping of the Today Show with Al Roker which aired nicely. We just stood in the background decorating the floats with our Donate Life shirts. Then in the afternoon I had to sit on the float for the judging. When the music came on, and the judges walked around smiling and tearing up, all the walkers (donor families) started crying. So did a few riders. I glanced at the audience and Ana was looking at me my crying, so I lost it. I was amazed she was there with me, 5 months after her transplant, to be part of this, sprained ankle and all. All because of organ donors.

Bryan Stewart, the coordinator from the Los Angeles One Legacy organ procurement organization, was fabulous. He showed great leadership, true passion, a sincere heart and boundless energy and positivity! The entire One Legacy staff- Tenaya, Luis, Stephanie, Sabrina, Vanessa, Tom and everyone else- went above and beyond the call of duty and worked soooooooo hard to make this float happen! These are people who make me want to be a better person. For more info see www.onelegacy.org. Please consider dedicating a rose next year.

I met some more amazing donor families and bonded immediately. We conversated about the cycle of life together; that pain enlightens love, that grief marries joy, that life and death both heal. I felt such a strong bond with everyone this past week, and look forward to keeping in touch or seeing some of these new friends at the Transplant Games. I was touched by the faith of many.

On New Year’s Eve, I went to sleep at 10pm with a little help from Ambien, and missed the midnight celebrations. I woke at 4am and was in the lobby by 5am. We watched the sun rise as all the floats were lined up in Sierra Madre. There is so much to appreciate so early. This was an unusually warm morning. Around 7am were were informed that “Life Takes Flight” won the “OUTSTANDING SHOWMANSHIP AND DRAMATIC IMPACT” AWARD!!!!! Hooray!

After nervous trips to the bathroom, I finally sat down at 7:45am and the parade started around 8am. I was extremely privileged to sit in front of the float, on the camera side! I enjoyed chatting with kidney recipient and Vanderbilt professor Dr. George Hill and watching the beautiful view of Colorado Blvd and the mountains in the distance. The flowers just shined gloriously and I didn’t know if I was dreaming (I hardly slept in 4 days due to ‘emotional caffeine’ so I couldn’t tell the difference between being awake and dreaming)! I didn’t want that Parade to ever end.

I smiled and waved and screamed at the top of Xavier’s lungs for 2 1/2 hours straight, yelling “Donate Life! Done vida! Happy New Year! It’s a beautiful day!” the ENTIRE 5 1/2 miles! My throat is still hoarse!! There were a million people on the streets, of all ages and backgrounds. I was struck by the feeling that I am just one more person in this world- why am I so graced with this fabulous life?!?! I had an existential moment- suddenly I felt so connected to these strangers- smiling, waving, feeling friendly and loving towards everyone- and I think it was because of the message of our float- we are all in this together, we are all part of the human family, we all have the same life and organs and tissues that can be shared equally, and that there is a powerful love that spread from our float to its participants, to the entire community.

For 3 hours, the loudspeaker on the float blasted the song from High School Musical called “Breaking Free” - here are the lyrics:

We’re soarin’, flyin’
There’s not a star in heaven
That we can’t reach
If we’re trying
So we’re breaking free
You know the world can see us
In a way that’s different than who we are
Creating space between us
‘Til we’re separate hearts
But your faith it gives me strength
Strength to believe
We’re breakin’ free

Boy, was that appropriate, because I am soaring and flying with my new lungs, and transplantation has given me the ’strength to believe’! My transplant has allowed me to reach for the stars in heaven, through hiking to the highest peaks, to experiencing the highest emotional highs like riding the Donate Life float.

To see images of the float, check out: http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/journal/

To see a video of the float, copy and paste the link below into a new browser. Pause the player while the complete video loads, then move the arrow to the 12:28 mark to watch the Donate Life float segment:

http://video.ktla.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?clipId1=2059608&at1=Newstream&vt1=v&h1=2008+Rose+Parade+%2D+Part+3&d1=831800&redirUrl=http://www.ktla.com&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat

On New Year’s day, my donor mom Martha called her local Fresno TV and got a story about me riding the float with her son Xavier Cervantes’ photo (Kerman High class of 04). Here it is: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=5864188. It did bring me to tears. What a legacy he has left, to be witnessed by 43 million people.

Someday, hopefully years from now, my transplanted life will wind down, and when I am struggling with rejection or at the end of my borrowed time, I will close my eyes and think back to these days, and me sitting on the Donate Life float, watching the sea of people ahead of me as the sun rises, surrounded by colorful fragrant flowers and extremely loving grateful people, and I will be thankful to have truly lived. The boundary between heaven and earth has already blurred for me now. And then, all shall be well.

Sekou Sundiata (kidney recipient) said transplant is redemption for suffering, and if all the gifts I’ve received including my transplant and riding the float are redemption, it make me wonder what kind of struggle I’m in for ahead because my CF suffering pales in comparison to the gifts I’ve received thus far.

On the early morning of January 2, Ana and I were on a fabulous radio show with host Dr. Alvin Jones. It was an interview about our book. If you’d like to hear this 14 minute segment, copy and paste this link into your browser:

www.dralvinjones.com/content/01 Isabel & Anabel Stenzel.wma

In the afternoon, we were interviewed for a film on minority organ donation awareness sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Transplantation. What an honor! And in the evening we enjoyed the fine company of Reg Green and family, family of Nicholas Green, who died in Italy in 1994 and donated his organs. His parents have become the best spokespeople for organ donation. We could very well be alive because of them. This is a holy family.

Anyway, today is my rest day but tonight is more action- we have a book signing in Pacific Palisades, and then another book event with our dear friends, the Wagners on January 5. Then a book signing on January 7 for CTDN, our local OPO.

It is a full life, a climax of our lives and we are basking in this joy.

We wish you all a healthy 2008. I appreciate your ongoing interest in our lives, and for walking alongside these adventures with Ana and me. We truly are who we are because of you. I wish you all the same fortune we’ve received.

Best of love and luck to you,
Isa