Friday, January 27, 2012

Kenny Chesney - Me And You

LVAD Life & Love...

The LVAD life for us, really isn't any different from any other, in the aspect that you have good days and bad days. What is different is, every day I feel like I’m fighting for what’s right for my Jason, and sometimes it can get discouraging. I never want there to be a day that I don’t fight for Jason and an easier way of life for him. He is such a kind man, and has the biggest heart that I’ve ever known. He sees the good in strangers and thinks that everyone has his best interest at heart. When things go wrong, He is always the first one to say this is God’s plan and I believe everything he is saying, but sometimes, it doesn’t stop the tears from falling.  

Have you ever met or known someone that is meaner than dirt, but in perfect health?, Or someone that doesn’t care if they live or die? Those people frustrate me, but I have to say that I am also sad for those people, because I know that their life experiences have made them that way. When I look at Jason I see someone that is fighting to stay in this world every day and for someone to take that for granted…It just makes me sad.

Of course,  I do have to mention that fact that some women will fuss about their boyfriends or husbands and what they do and don’t do. It makes me feel sad, but of course I never say anything. What I want to say is, I hope my Jason will be here 50 years from now so I can fuss at him something so small…It makes you feel disconnected from people, because some don’t understand our life. We don’t worry about the small stuff, only BIG things matter in our house…

When Jason was place on hold on the transplant list, I felt like I wanted to cry for days. All I kept thinking about was that a heart was going to come in for my Jason, and he wasn’t going to be able to get it because of his lack of insurance.  Jason was the one that made my heart stop feeling so heavy. He said to me “Shannon, God will give me the heart that was meant for me"... It’s times like this that he blows my mind…Jason never ceases to amaze me. 

I would be lying if I said sometimes I don’t wish for a boring week every now and then. Still if I knew then what I know now, I would totally do everything a millions times over. Jason  is my rock and he is my passion. I never want to imagine my life without Jason in it. Along with my Children, he is my world. God blessed me the day I met Jason, and I’ll always be grateful to him for that.

I’ll never forget this. Before Jason’s LVAD surgery, I was so scared of the unknown,  I needed him to come back to me after surgery. I was talking with my sister Heather and I said  Heather ,I haven’t had enough time with him, we should’ve done this or that and she stopped me and said Shannon, you have had more meaningful  memories with Jason, than you’ve had  in your lifetime. She made me realized that day that she was right. God has shown me what love is, and although I may not have the perfect life from the outside looking in I have my perfect love, and he stands beside me…LVAD and all…



Thursday, January 26, 2012

Thanks to Fraternal Order of Eagles...

Recently the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Petersburg, VA made a very generous donation, to pay for one of Jason’s Medical Bills the letter of Appreciation is below:
The Fraternal Order of Eagles:
    I wanted to let you all know how much we appreciated the heartfelt donation on the behalf of Jason Bright.  Although I have never joined The Fraternal Order of Eagles, it has always been a big part of my life and my family members.
I can still remember coming to the Eagles as a Child, and how much fun we had there. Even when I was older I used to love coming to the dances or just having dinner there, with my father, Bobby Emory. The people at the eagles always made me feel like I was part of a big family every time I went.
I have to say I was so overjoyed to hear that the Eagles were able to help Jason. It’s not even about how much you gave, Its about having to heart to do it, It hard to put into words what an impact you had on our lives, but I will let you know that meant the world to us.
Jason still has a long road ahead of him. He has recently lost his Insurance.  As of right now, MCV has placed him on hold on the Transplant list.  As soon as he is approved for his Social Security, he will have insurance again and he will be active on the transplant list once again. As always, Jason is still in good spirits, and we both know everything happens in Gods time.  We will continue to keep you updated on Jason’s condition.
Thanks so much,
 Shannon Emory & Jason Bright

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Handbook for 2012

I recieved this through an Email, and thought I'd Share...Enjoy!
   Handbook of 2012
 Health:
 1. Drink plenty of water.
 2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
 3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants…
 4.       Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
 5.       Make time to pray.
 6.       Play more games
 7.       Read more books than you did in 2011.
 8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
 9.       Sleep for 7 hours..
 10.    Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

 Personality:
11.    Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is   all about.
 12.    Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
 13.    Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
 14.    Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
 15.    Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
 16.    Dream more while you are awake
 17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
 18.    Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
 19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
 20.    Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
 21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
 22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are               simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
 23.    Smile and laugh more.
 24.    You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree....

 Society:
 25.    Call your family often.
 26.    Each day give something good to others.
 27.    Forgive everyone for everything..
 28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6.
 29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
 30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
 31.    Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

 Life:
 32.    Do the right thing!
 33.    Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
 34.    GOD heals everything.
 35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change...
 36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
 37.    The best is yet to come…
 38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
 39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.


Finding New Insurance with an LVAD...

Believe it or not I did not drop off the face of the earth. Jason and I have had a few hard weeks. First off I will say that Jason is still doing great. We found out I few weeks back (January 9,2012)that Jason has been place on hold  on the Heart Transplant list because his Insurance had ended. Jason’s Insurance from work ended October 16th.  My first fear was not the money. It was that anyway a perfect donor match could come in for Jason and he wouldn’t get a call. This made me extremely sad. Jason always has an awesome way of looking at things though he said well it’s the ways it’s supposed to be right now, there’s no sense in getting mad at people, it’s not their fault. Which I know he is right, but still I wasn’t going to sit back to see what happened next, I had to get my honey some insurance to get back on that list!

First it was hard for me to comprehend that it would be so hard to get Jason help through the state.
We were told he made too much. Now while I do understand the state insurance is for low income families what I don’t understand is that why Jason can’t get insurance. They actually said if he made X amount of money a month, and his house payment was the same amount, he still wouldn’t qualify. I just don’t get that. He has worked since he was 15 years of age, and within that time has paid his share of taxes. It really just broke my heart.

Jason is still waiting on the Social Security Disability Insurance, but we were told even if and when he is awarded the Social Security Disability he would still have to wait 24 months to get Medicare. So I kept on pushing forward.

It wasn’t until I called the Governor’s Office here in Virginia that I got some hopeful news. The Insurance that I found out about is called PCIP. One of the requirements is that you must have a pre-existing condition to get this insurance and you must be without insurance for six months before applying. The great thing about this program is that it is not based on income, it is based on age. Now, while he can’t apply for this insurance until April, for us it is still a light at the end of the tunnel.

 We just started receiving bills last week that were sent to the old insurance by mistake, so as of right now he medical cost goes back to October 21, 2011. As you can imagine, they are astronomical.
We have to continue to have faith that God is leading us in this direction for a reason. Although I know it is hard sometimes, we both know that in the end God is watching over us.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Jason & LVAD Friends On Pinterest...

Yes,  I have to say, My name is Shannon Emory, and I am addicted to Pinterest! For those of you who don't know Pinterest is an Online Clipboard for just about anything!
I made a "Board" on there for Jason and LVAD Friends. This board includes motivational Quotes that I hope you all will love, I will also keep this open for others to add "Pins" also. I will have to add the names so just send your name to be added! If you are not yet a member just send my your email and I can invite you.Have a Great Day, and Have Fun Pinning!



                                        

Friday, January 6, 2012

Give the Gift of Life...

I know I had made a short but sweet post regarding Organ donation before, but I wanted to get in depth just a little more this time.  Now, believe it or not as a person I can be pretty reserved around people I don’t know… and shy? ..Yes that’s me too sometimes. So thank goodness that God gives me the strength to get some guts sometimes when it is needed!  Though this journey Jason has given me tremendous strength to ask hard questions, get involved, and fight for what I believe in…and the funny thing is,  he doesn’t even know it…
 I became an organ donor at the age of eighteen, and I also made sure to tell my mom and dad my decision also. It made me feel great that someone else could live on because of the awesome choice I made…and I loved that! I have always donated blood until I was told that I could not give blood anymore because of the medication I was taking for my epilepsy, at the hospital where I was working.  Now, I have to clear my conscience here and say that I had given blood and did not let them know I was taking medicine in the fear that I wouldn’t be able to donate. In my young mind, I figured they could just “clean my medicine out” and still use it. It did though, disappointment me very much that I couldn’t help people anymore.
I was talking to an acquaintance one day about Jason and all the updates and when I was finished I asked if they were an organ donor. She sadly said no. When I asked her why, she stated that her uncle (which was a cop) told her not to be an organ donor because the doctor would fight as hard to keep you alive. This just broke my heart. She is in her early 20’s and is just doing what someone else has told her to do, which I can fully relate to that. Its sad though, Would she or her uncle feel that way if someone in their family needed an organ to live?  It is because of this that I wanted to list a few myths about organ donation.
·         The doctors won’t work hard to save my life If I am an organ donor.

 Doctors are dedicated to saving people’s lives…They are not thinking about saving someone’s life instead of your just because you’re an organ donor.

·           I am under 18, I can’t make this decision.

You can make this decision, and it would be an awesome thing! You do however need your parent’s signature.

·         I won’t be able to have an open –casket funeral.

YES YOU CAN! Your friends and family will not see any visible signs of the organ donation. You will still look as Beautiful/ Handsome as ever!

·         I’m too old to donate…

Doctors have successfully transplanted from donors in their 80’s.  Let your doctor decide what will be suitable to use for transplantation.

·         Organ Donation is against my religion.

That may not be true. My religions have belief that organ donation is fine.  If you have questions you can go to OrganDonor.gov, or you can always ask your clergy.

·         My family will be charged if I donate my organs.
This is not true. There is no charge for the donor regarding organ donation. Any cost for organ donation would go to the transplant recipient.

I never asked many people whether they were a organ donor or not. At that time, I knew I was and that’s all that mattered. I don’t know why, but still today when I ask people if they are an organ donor, It almost feels like I’m asking them how much money that have in their bank account. I did a poll on Facebook and Twitter.I was so happy to see that many people don’t take offense when you ask them if they are an organ donor, but I will say I have had some to say yes, that they do think its too personal. While I was doing the research for the post I also found out that only 35% of licensed drivers are registered to be an organ donor that number is way too low and I would definitely like to see that increase in 2012 and the years to come. If I have to ask everyone I meet I will.

*If you are still unsure about Organ Donation, just please know that If you choose to be an organ donor you can help more than 25 people. On average, 18 people die a day waiting for a transplant. Right now there are more than 112,595 Americans on the UNOS Transplant List, 3,164 of them are currently on the Heart Transplant list.  Your legacy will live on forever. I know I will be forever grateful to the person that made an awesome decision to become an organ donor and ultimately give Jason the gift of life. I will wake up every morning beside him, blessing that person , and I would never forget them as long as I live.
If you would like to sign up to be a donor you can visit :
www.nationalnetworkoforgandonors.org

                                                                                    

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Reflections of 2011

As we begin 2012,  I can’t help to remember some great events of 2011. First and foremost, I want to Thank God for continuing to watch over Jason every single day. Secondly?  ...All the Doctors, Nurses and Staff at MCV. That they have been wonderful is almost an understatement…They have been better than wonderful. It really means a lot to me for them to care about Jason’s health as much as I do.
In May of 2011 Jason and I moved in together. That was HUGE for me. In a perfect world, especially since we have kids we would have continued to live separately until we got married, but what can I say... CHF happens! I felt that it was no longer safe for Jason too live by himself, when there were so many things that could happen.  So he moved in, and surprisingly enough I’ve adjusted well…lol. I only work 10 minutes from my house and My father had to moved in 2 years ago, so there is always someone there to watch over him when I’m not there. Not so much now, but It really helped out when Jason came home from the hospital.
...and if you are wondering…we will soon be heading down the road of blissful matrimony, but not quite yet. (but I’m Waiting ..Jason..Hint Hint!)I know he’s here to stay, and he knows I’m not going anywhere. If the CHF and LVAD and everything that comes with it didn’t scare me…nothing will!
I’ve defiantly got to mention all the wonderful people we have met in our LVAD journey. They have been so awesome. When I began this journey with Jason a few weeks  Pre- LVAD, I could only count on one hand the support We had. While that meant the world to me, Post –LVAD has been mind blowing! I’ve got to say Facebook is been wonderful. You have so many groups to choose from and everyone is SO sweet! We are still trying to get there with Twitter, but I have full faith that we will in 2012.

Unfortunately, Jason did not get a donor heart in 2011. Again, I will say that I have faith that 2012 will be a great year for us. If he doesn't get one in 2012, I will hold strong to my faith and in the belief that God will lead a to the perfect donor when the time is right.

I hope that 2012 will be a year to create more awareness of LVADS and organ donation and everything else in between. So celebrate the upcoming New Year with a new drive, continued faith, and of course..a lotta love!