Latasha is back from her EGD procedure, and everything went well. They were able to place the feeding tube into the small intestine and give her shots of Botox in the pylorus. So now we wait. We will know in a few days once the swelling goes down if it worked, although the efficacy of…

A quick medical update on the transplant journey: the past few days have been a rollercoaster with many twists and turns. Emotions and frustrations have been running high for both of us. As I type this, Tasha is undergoing an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedure to properly place her feeding core pack tube into her small intestine…

This reflection piece is about how resilience, grit, emotions, and mental and physical fatigue collide. For a while now, a dear friend and I have had deep philosophical conversations and debates about leadership and its application in all facets of life. We both appreciate how art imitates life and gives reflection points to see oneself…

And here we go again. Today started pretty well, full of wonder and excitement, but ended with frustration and disappointment. From a transplant perspective, everything is going great. Latasha’s labs, X-rays, lung spirometry, and progress are all great. We reviewed everything with our clinical transplant coordinator and were told we could head home. We’d start…

Well, adventurers, that pesky old rickety rollercoaster ran my big toe over today. My blatant poor attempt at humor is telling of us having a pretty crappy day. Last week and today, Latasha had numerous tests to assess how her body was healing in its postoperative phase. From the transplant perspective, her heart and lungs…

As I sit here and do math in my head to figure out what day it is, I can’t help but notice how tired I really am. But when I look back on it, Latasha and I have been in the mud day in and day out. It has been a beautiful, messy, hard, long,…

As Latasha and I began this transplant journey, neither of us could’ve imagined any of the emotions, trials, and triumphs we would face. And believe me, there have been many, so many that just trying to unpack them is overwhelming. For this update, I want to talk about something we all take for granted: independence.…

Today, Latasha started her second week of postoperative and hospitalization care with a whirlwind of appointments. Going into the morning, it was difficult to want to get up and head back to the Cleveland Clinic. To say we need a break from there is an understatement. I suppose we both have a little bit of…

As I sit here reflecting on the past two month’s ups and downs of Latasha’s heart and double lung transplant journey, I can sum it up to two words: Pure Exhaustion. The irony is that I started writing this two weeks ago and was too tired to finish it. How funny is that? But I…

Originally written on July 13, 2024, Day 12 of the HLT Journey Today was tough for Latasha and me, mainly because of pain. Physical, mental, and emotional pain for us both. I ask: Can you have love without pain or pain without love? I have thought a lot about this today because marriage is a…