Happy Mother's Day! (And Welcome Back!)

Hi everyone! I realize that I have been MIA for about four months. And I know, when an HTP goes silent, her friends start to worry.  I have had many people email me essentially saying, "hey, um, you still alive?"  I want to thank you for your concern and yes, indeed I am alive!  I haven't even been sick, which is a fabulous thing for an HTP to say.  My absence occurred because my father became very, very ill during the holiday season.  He ultimately passed away on March 24.  If you have been following my blog, you know that last May, my dad, who asked me not to air his business on the Internet, was diagnosed with terminal prostate-turned-bone cancer.  His doctor gave him less than a year to live. He made it ten months.  His death left me ... unmoored. We were very close.  But I know he wanted me to move forward and that is what I am doing.

I want to wish everyone out there a Happy Mother's Day, especially the transplantees out there. It is not easy to either adopt or get pregnant after a heart transplant (and in my opinion, its not easy to mother with a new heart either, as I am sure one day my kids will give me a heart attack, but really, isn't that all mothers?).

Pregnancy after cardiac transplantation has generally been discouraged by most heart transplantation centers. The potential risks to the prospective mother and concerns regarding maternal longevity and possible teratogenic effects from immunosuppressive drugs have been the primary reasons for this recommendation. However, a more optimistic view of pregnancy outcomes in cardiac transplant recipients is evolving

The first woman to become pregnant after a heart transplant was reported in 1988; a few dozen of these pregnancies have been described subsequently. The number of female heart transplant recipients of childbearing age has escalated due to both an overall increase in heart transplantation in adults and to an aging pediatric heart transplant population.

Michael R. Foley, Pregnancy After Cardiac Transplantation, UpDate 19.1, http://www.uptodate.com/contents/pregnancy-after-cardiac-transplantation (footnotes omitted).

Yes, my doctors advised me to never have children.  That was before the transplant, yes, but even after, my doctor white-knuckled her chair as she asked if I really, really, absolutely wanted to try to get pregnant.  She looked a little too relieved when I said no.  LOL.  I am blessed to be the mother of two wonderful children now, both adopted. Love you Sissy and Buddy!

In the news, the Kentucky Derby happened yesterday. For those of you who didn't watch, one of the horses -- Mucho Macho Man -- was trained by an HTP.  Unfortunately, Mucho Macho came in third, but you keep training, Kathy Ritvo! You make us proud sister!