My mom received her lifesaving heart transplant in March of 2004. The surgery went well, and although there were a few minor setbacks shortly after the surgery, she got stronger everyday. She was in the intensive care unit a bit longer than most transplant patients are, but eventually she was released to a regular room to spend some time. It was during this time that Mom and I spoke on the phone on a daily basis. I was very close to my due date with our second son, so I was still not able to travel and see her. She … Continue reading →

Mom had finally received the call we were waiting for. She had a heart. I was ill and hugely pregnant, and not allowed to travel to be there for the surgery. The day of her transplant, I remember literally sitting around the phone waiting for updates. I remember trying to entertain my young son, who wasn’t even two yet, but still trying to relax myself and rest from the bronchitis I had. My brother would call every 30 minutes or so to update us. My husband took the day off of work. Of course, every 30 minutes not much had … Continue reading →

Mom continued waiting for a heart, slowly moving up the list as her condition worsened. I was pregnant with my second child, my mom’s sixth grandchild, and were we anxiously awaiting his birth sometime in April of 2004. Mom set a goal to be around for that, with or without a new heart. It was a scary time for all of us, and I was saddened because I knew that the longer she waited for a heart, the worse she got. The worse she got, the better of a chance I knew she could die. I was angry because I … Continue reading →

Mom’s journey to her heart transplant continued. The cardiologists determined that she would need a new a heart, but that it would not be an immediate thing to happen. Basically, she endured a “hurry up and wait” period for some time until she was determined eligible to be placed on the transplant list. Mom went through routine testing before she was placed on the transplant list. These tests consisted of echocardiograms, pulmonary pressure tests that measure the pressures in her heart, blood tests and a test called a BPH test, which if it went higher from test to test, then … Continue reading →

A study with Japanese adults suggests that those people who consume larger amounts of green tea have lower risks of death. This includes cardiovascular disease, and all other causes except cancer. This is good news, considering that tea is almost as popular a beverage as water. The world consumes about three billion kilograms of tea in total, but this includes all types of tea. Considering tea is so popular world wide, advertising these benefits could result in some significant health care savings on a global scale. Green tea has been studied extensively in vitro and in animal studies, but the … Continue reading →