Tag Archives: heart surgery

A Change of Heart – Claire Sylvia

“A Change of Heart” is a thought-provoking and incredible nonfiction book detailing the story of Claire Sylvia, who, when dianosed with a rare lung and heart disease, thought her life would soon be over. The only treatment option was a risky and still-experimental surgery, one that would take the heart and lungs from a donor and transplant them into Claire. Such a huge transplant carried many risks, and Claire didn’t know if she should take such a drastic step. But even if she died during the surgery, she was facing certain death if she did nothing. She felt she had … Continue reading →

“Reege” Recovers

I don’t know exactly when it happened. My best guess is that it occurred sometime in college during my first stint as an intern at a local television station. It was then that I got hooked watching Regis Philbin’s morning talk show. Back then he shared airtime with Kathie Lee Gifford, but there was no question that he was the driving force behind the show. Fast-forward about 15 years and Reege is still on the air (though now with the ultra-peppy Kelly Ripa) and I check in every so often to reminisce about my carefree days as a college coed. … Continue reading →

Against All Odds Again

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Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of Tommy’s “gotcha day”. Gotcha day is the term used in the adoption community to celebrate and remember the day that a child came to your home to stay. I have already written about the problems that we had with Tommy’s behavior and the fact that he had a “heart scar” down the middle of his chest with no explanation from the state. Tommy came to us one month after his brother Caleb had joined our family. Caleb had a very rough first month of his life. Now that we know almost all of their … Continue reading →

Return to Me (2000)

“Return to Me” is one of the best romantic films released in the last ten years and is, without a doubt, on my top twenty list of “Tristi’s Favorite Movies of All Time.” I doubt I’ll be blogging that list any time soon, as it does shift, but “Return to Me” will remain a fixture. Bob (David Duchovny) and Elizabeth Rueland are the perfect couple. He runs a successful construction company, she works as a zoologist and an animal rights activist, and they are deeply in love with each other. On the night of a big fundraiser to gather money … Continue reading →