Our Transplant Adventure: June 2019

Written by: Lincoln

I wonder how many of you can identify the object in this picture? Thankfully not many know what the above picture is about. Only those who have been really sick, usually post-surgery have ever seen these before. This small item is a sponge sucker. It is made by gluing a small durable sponge on the end of a sucker stick. When patients are not allowed to eat or drink they are given this sponge sucker in a small cup of ice with very little water in it. They are allowed to wet the sponge sucker and then wipe the sponge on their lips and inside their cheeks and tongue in order to try and moisten the salivary glands that get so dry when someone is not allowed to eat/drink, and for my boy this sometimes went on for several weeks at a time.

When my boy was going through his adolescent years we had long stays in the hospital. Many of them were post-operative and he would spend many weeks trying to recover from the latest trial of his intestines not functioning properly. I think the longest stint was for 28 days in a row at Primary Children’s Medical Center. This sponge sucker was/is such a lifesaver. It would calm my son’s unquenchable thirst as he waited for his intestines to awaken after being operated on. I remember so vividly how he begged to have this soon after surgery. The first few days he was not allowed to have anything by mouth. As the days wore on the doctors finally relented and the small cup of ice with a new sponge sucker was brought into the room. It was always such a marvelous event! I would watch my small son savor every bit of water from that sucker as he rubbed it over his cracked lips and dry tongue. It brought so much joy into my life just watching him enjoy that ice cold sponge sucker. I was always so thankful for the comfort that this little device could bring to my son.

As I sat in a chair next to him, in his hospital room one night, as he slept (I don’t remember exactly which time…they have all ran together) I remember looking at that cup and being amazed at how such a small and simple item brought so much comfort into my little boy’s life. I stood up and took this picture wanting to try and capture those feeling I felt that night. Feelings of gratitude for the many small blessings in my life, far too numerable to quantify.

I have kept this picture for years. To many it means nothing; yet every time I see it I remember the feeling in my heart that night. The commitment I made to try and be grateful all the time, to carry gratitude in my heart continually. But being the weak man I am I have failed numerous times. Yet as with many things my gratitude goal is a journey, not a destination.

I am here in Cleveland spending a few precious days with my son. I look forward to these days. Let me share with you one of the most exciting, yet simple events we have been able to do while my son and I are together in Cleveland. We have been preparing for weeks for this to happen. My wife brought out the needed equipment with her last time she flew from SLC to Cleveland.

BASEBALL!!!

Yes….that's it! Throwing a baseball back and forth together. (can you spot the ball?) While seemingly such a simple thing to so many people it has been a great event for me this trip. We were both so excited for it and we went out our first morning together. We drove down to a beautiful park that sits on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The weather was excellent and the smell of our old leather mitts brought back such a flood of wonderful memories, for both of us, from his childhood, before he became too sick to play competitively.

Since the time Ben was old enough to throw a ball we spent many wonderful hours at the baseball field. We were blessed to have such great coaches, meet lifelong friends, and learn many important lessons about life. I miss those days watching my son play at the beautiful old baseball fields that were once in the Riverton Park.

I am grateful that I have this chance to play ball with my son. I am grateful that he has days where he feels well enough to go and play catch with his old man. I am even more grateful that he still wants to. We have been out every day since we have been here together. My arm is finally getting warmed up. Yesterday we even went out in the rain and played catch together, it was our only chance since it was a steady downpour all day long. I have enjoyed every moment!

I know that this is not much of a story for most people. We have done many other new and exciting things while we have been living here in Cleveland. It is such a wonderful area filled with so much beauty, history and warm hearted people.

I just wanted to share with you a few of my thoughts and express my gratitude for some of the simple things that get taken for granted. I also want to throw out a challenge to you. Take the time to enjoy the seemingly small yet special events, things, and people in your life. Take nothing for granted. Notice them, they are all around. Waste no time.

When I see you next please share. I would love hear about them.

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A few other fun things during my time in Cleveland

A day trip to Pittsburgh PA. What a wonderful day. I love traveling with my family and it has been a long time since we have had the chance to travel for fun. I just wish the rest of my family (Bailee, Kyle, Ollie, Brooklyn) could have been there. This picture was taken of some very expensive bikes, to the price of $48,000!. They are located in an amazing bicycle shop museum called Bicycle Heaven, a must stop if your in Pittsburgh. This is the only place known in the world to see four Bowden Spacelander bicycles in the same location. The Bowden Spacelander bicycle is supposed to be a bike collectors dream bike.

A trip up the Incline in Pittsburgh. What a ride and what an amazing view from Washington Heights of the city of Pittsburgh. A beautiful city surrounded by rivers and bridges.

No better way to end our day than a baseball game. We watched the Pirates come from behind and beat the Detroit Tigers (their largest come back since 2008). Great game. We were lucky to get some great seats for a steal of a deal. It was so fun to see my boy having so much fun.

Long walks with my beautiful bride in the amazing parks that go through the deep woods and along the rivers in the area.

A tour of the Freighter Museum in the Cleveland Harbor. The museum is an old freighter that you can walk through and tour. Very amazing.

A day long driving tour of 19 covered bridges in Ashtabula County. They have claim to the shortest (pictured above - 18' span) and the longest covered bridge in America.