"How Do You Measure A Year In The Life?"

I know it's been a while since I've posted but this is such a great reason to get back to it! Today marks one year since I received my new heart! I can't believe it has been a year already. It feels like it was just yesterday they came in and told me I would be getting a new heart. 

Team hrt4bryan at The Dash

Besides my one year anniversary, I've been up to quite a lot the past month. In April, I participated in the 17th Annual Dash for Donor & Tissue Awareness and it was truly inspiring event. They said it was their biggest success yet with over 6,000 people participating! My team, hrt4bryan, managed to raise over $1,500 even though there was only six of us! I mention the number of team members because next year I want the team to be even bigger and better! I also plan on taking part in the 5k run and not just the walk! I would like to get as many people as I can to join the team and participate with us in either the 10k run, 5k run or 3k walk and if you can't participate I ask that you donate towards the team! I'm brining this up now because I plan on the team having great shirts to help with better performance and make sure we all have a great time! If you're interested in Joining the team send an email to hrt4bryan@gmail.com and I'll keep you posted as to when you can sign up and all the other information!


I also went down to Philly earlier this for my "annual" appointment. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. Once again, my vein collapsed and the biopsy and right heart cath were not able to be preformed. Although I was bummed they assured me that it was not my fault and despite my efforts to keep hydrated, my heart is working too well and is allowing my body to process liquids better than expected. They also said that the combination of my naturally small veins, scar tissue from privies biopsies and the lidocaine used to numb the area is a factor into why it collapsed. I will going down to Philly again on Tuesday for a Dobutamine Stress Test but they will not be able to do a biopsy the same day. The biopsy is rescheduled for May 30th, after I return from my trip to Italy. They are not too worried about the results since I have never showed any signs of rejection in the past year.

A photo of me last weekend, a little
less than my 1 year anniversary

Although I celebrate my new lease on life today, I can't help but feel for my donors family as they are mourning the anniversary of the loss of their family member, something I know all too well. Especially with this weekend being Mother's Day. This last year has truly been so amazing and I have learned to live each day to it's fullest and take nothing for granted. So to answer the question I asked in the title of this post, you measure it in love. I learned that saying in High School when I saw the Broadway musical Rent, from which the quote is from, but these words have never meant so much to me. Without all the love and support that everyone has showed over the past year I would have never been able to get through it. I can't thank you all enough and I look forward to continue my very long journey down the yellow brick road!


Bryan