Our Transplant Adventure: December 2019

Today in our Relief Society Class at church we discussed the talk by Elder Uchtdorf titled “Your Great Adventure”. He begins his talk with a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, and some of his own words, open quote:

A beloved children’s fantasy novel written many years ago begins with the sentence “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” The story of Bilbo Baggins is about a most normal and unremarkable hobbit who is presented with the most remarkable opportunity - the wonderful chance at adventure and the promise of great reward.

The problem is that most self-respecting hobbits want nothing to do with adventures. Their lives are all about comfort. They enjoy eating six meals a day when they can get them and spend their days in their gardens, swapping tales with visitors, singing, playing musical instruments, and basking in the simple joys of life.

However, when Bilbo is presented with the prospect of a grand adventure, something surged deep within his heart. He understands from the outset that the journey will be challenging. Even dangerous. There is even a possibility he might not return.

And yet, the call to adventure has reached deep into his heart. And so, this unremarkable hobbit leaves comfort behind and enters the path to a great adventure that will take him all the way to “there and back again.” Close quote.

As I was listening to this lesson I was reminded of the talk and my feelings when I first heard it. I feel like our family is on one of these Grand Adventures. Our blog is even called Our Transplant Adventure. When this adventure began, I knew I would much rather stay in my shire and do my normal comfortable things with my family and friends around me. I did not want to head out on what appeared to be a scary, somewhat challenging and maybe long adventure. But, the possibility of a great reward, Benjamin receiving a life changing transplant, made the adventure worthwhile.

So 17 months ago we began our “Grand Adventure”, our Transplant Adventure. I am amazed at how this adventure has changed me and changed my family. Leaving the comforts of home, family and friends seemed like more than I could handle. But, with faith in Heavenly Fathers plan and the support of so many, I have realized how much more I was capable of. Being out of my comfort zone and allowing myself to be stretched, has allowed me to be taught and strengthened in ways I cannot describe. I am forever grateful for the rocky roads, smooth trails and rolling hills of this adventure in my life. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s worth it.

We’ve experienced so much. We’ve now had 3 transplant calls. With each one we thought this is finally what we’ve been waiting for. But, for different reasons each organ donor didn’t work out for Ben in the end. We’ve learned a lot about transplants, the transplant process and organ donation. We’ve learned that being an organ donor is one of the greatest gifts you can give, the gift of hope and life to others. I’ve overcome my fear of flying and now fly back and forth from Ohio to Utah with the ease of a seasoned traveler. We’ve visited some beautiful places and seen fall colors like we had never seen before. We’ve met amazing people from all walks of life. We’ve made new friends who influence our lives for the better and we’ve learned that home can be more than one place at a time.

I want to take a moment to thank all of our family, friends, our Utah ward family, our two Ohio ward families, and our transplant team for the support, encouragement and love you’ve shown us. We have been blessed by the generous hearts of so many. We have been blessed by the prayers of so many and we are grateful to you all!

On November 22nd Ben and I hopped on a plane headed to Utah for his first trip home in 17 months. It has been wonderful having our whole family in one place for a few weeks. We have truly enjoyed every moment. I wish I had taken more pictures, but honestly I was too busy soaking in the family time to think about a picture. We’re grateful for all the family and friends who came to visit Ben and made his time “home” even more memorable. In just a few days he heads back “home” to Ohio followed by dad a few days later, and we’ll find ourselves separated by many miles again. But, we know it won’t be forever. We know that soon we’ll receive the transplant call that is meant just for Ben. And then we’ll start on the “back again” part of our adventure, which will have new rocky roads and rolling hills and we look forward to each step.

So, with a heart full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father and his Son, my elder brother Jesus Christ I just wanted to share that sometimes the seemingly difficult and long adventure that we are all on is exactly the adventure we need, to change us, and to help us get out of our shire and impact the lives of those we come in contact with. I know that our family’s adventure “all the way there and back again” will be worth every step.

Below are a few of the pictures I did happen to take, in the next day and a half I’ll try and capture a few more.