Transition

I am starting to prepare for the big changes that are sure to come in the next few months. I will be a doctor in about 3 months and starting residency in 4. I will actually be in charge of saving people and this is scary! I am not ready for this and just hope I can learn enough in the next few months not to kill anyone. I will also be moving somewhere completely new. Where I don't know anyone (other than my husband). This is exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I am excited to meet new friends, shop at the several farmers' markets around, and maybe buy our first house. These are all big steps for me. These are also big steps for my husband. He knows I will not be around during residency like I am now. Hopefully he will be able to form a great group of friends and supporters up there and hopefully he will be happy. We are both ready to be Mainers though. We are both ready to enjoy what Maine has to offer and to enjoy the outdoors. We will miss West Virginia, that is for sure, but at least Maine is similar in a lot of ways. I still feel like there is so much more to enjoy in West Virginia that I haven't gotten a chance too. I suppose this is just life. We do hope that people will be able to come visit and help us enjoy Maine!!

In other news, my cousin Kim received a double lung transplant a week ago tomorrow. She is still on a vent but doing well. Her kidneys shut down after the surgery but are picking up. Today, she is supposed to get a trach and hopefully she will be able to talk soon. She is aware of what is going on. We are all wanting her to get her strength up as fast as possible. I am so so happy but am continuing to pray that everything goes well. She only had 1 more week left before she was going to be taken off the transplant list and so she was given lungs that may have not been the best. There have been some issues with them but they will be okay according to the doctors at Cleveland Clinic. At least they are so much better than what she has had for her whole life (she has suffered from Cystic Fibrosis and has outlived her life expectancy). Her family has gone through a lot in the past few years with her younger sister dying of CF and Kim deciding she would be put on the transplant list. Her father was also diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago. So they need good news more than anyone I know. Continuing to pray for improvement!!

Also praying for those in Japan especially my roommate from college Akina, who I haven't been able to get a hold of. Wishing I knew the last names of her friends, maybe I could find them. I feel so bad about what is going on over there. It is gut wrenching.