Celebrating and Remebering -1 YEAR with Angel Lungs

Today we celebrate and remember how much our lives changed 1 year ago. 1 year ago today, Elizabeth received her gift of life, a double lung transplant. Some days, it feels much longer than 1 year ago, and others its like it happened yesterday. Its one of those things that you will always remember the details of the whole day. From the time we got the call, to the time we saw her after transplant for the first time. We spent the first year and half of her life watching her fight to breath and stay alive, to now watching her meet milestones and do "normal"stuff. There's really now way to explain how grateful we are.

I cant even really explain all the emotions that go along with this. Im overwhelmed with happiness in the fact that we even made it to transplant a year ago, and the the fact that she is here a year later is truly a miracle. Transplant living is not easy, and the statistics are not always fun to think about. With the 1 year survival rate being 85%, she has overcome another hurdle in survival. We are hopeful she will continue to "beat the odds", and celebrate MANY, MANY more anniversaries!! The past year has been full of accomplishments, growth, and LIVING for Elizabeth. We realize that we are very lucky to have Elizabeth here with us, and we do our best to make the most of each day. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, we have lived in fear of her dying and were pretty close a few times, and we have seen her life saved and know what a true miracle she is. Our goal is to make the most of the days we have with her and ensure that she lives life to the fullest! We are excited to see what Year 2 with angel lungs will bring for our special girl, praying for lots of accomplishments, filled with VERY few hospital visits!!

Below are pictures from Elizabeth's 1 Year Celebration we had last week. We released over 60 butterflies in honor of her donor. We had an amazing turnout of family and friends, who have been with us every step of the way on this journey. We are SO thankful for the love and support we have!!

We also realize that there is another family out there today, remembering a year ago much more differently than we are. Today I am sure is a very hard day for our Donor Family. We want to remember them and the their loss. Because they chose organ donation, we are able to celebrate Elizabeth's life today. We will be always be thankful to them, and hope to be able to share her story with them one day.  We want them to know how much they mean to us, and how special their child is. Their child will forever be a hero to us!

Thank You for continuing to follow Elizabeth's journey, celebrating the good times and supporting us in the bad. We are thankful for YOU! Encouragement, love and support will continue to be important as we set out on year 2 with Angel Lungs!!