January 10, 2019

~ Campjustin ~ 1 Comment

Someone from my school’s yearbook team interviewed me today.

Her name is Arushi Avachat. She was, like, super professional. She’d make an awesome journalist.

My school will include me in their yearbook. Woohoo! They’ll give me two pages about my heart transplant and my blog.

I met Arushi during study hall. Study hall is pretty new to my school, and it’s kinda meh.

First she asked me questions about my condition, and what led to my heart transplant (If you also want to know visit About Me). Then she asked me questions about my blog. Who do I hope to reach, what is my message, and why I did it.

I think a question that caught me off guard was when Arushi asked me what I wanted people to know about me.

I answered that I wanted people to know that there was more to me than my heart transplant.

But is that true?

I mean, what other qualities do I have other than as someone who had a heart transplant? Other than my heart transplant, how exactly am I unique?

In the hospital before my heart transplant, I met other people and their only defining trait was their condition. I was afraid of becoming one of them, and guess what? I’m one of them.

I think that scares me. My life revolved around my heart transplant, and it still does.

I literally have a blog about it!

How do I move on?

Should I move on?

Oh! A fun fact! I didn’t write all these journal entries at their assigned date. I was WAY too uncomfortable in the hospital to write anything. However, my Mom took tons of pictures, so I just went back to the pictures to remember every thought, memory, and feeling.

It’s actually great that my blog will be in the yearbook. I really need exposure. I think the most views I got in a day so far was 8.

So yeah.

Woohoo! Yearbook!

January 14, 2019

~ Campjustin ~ Leave a comment

I had a swim lesson today.

My swim coach told me that my swimming has improved a lot.

I used to go in to the water and sink like a stone, but now I can float above water. My strokes and kicking have also improved to be more efficient.

I’m also swimming a longer distance. I’m swimming about 1,000 yards everyday.

I am so glad that I’m able to do this after transplant. It’s amazing what a new heart can do.

January 15, 2019

~ Campjustin ~ 1 Comment

I really think I should start weight lifting. Well, maybe not weight lifting, but some land exercise.

I know that my mom doesn’t want me to do them because then I’ll get distracted from swimming, but interval training is a part of exercise too.

Weight lifting will help me gain weight, which is what I need. If you remember my December 12, 2019 entry, I need to gain ten pounds in three months in order to get my G-tube out.

Ten pounds? That sounds really hard. How can I eat that much in three months?

Also, weight lifting would make me look better. Let’s be honest: I was cursed with the genes of ugly. In middle school I was given the name “chicken legs”. That was then, and this is now.

I’m determined to work hard for a better future. If that means pain, then bring it on. I’ve gone this far.

January 15, 2019

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Beth from Make-A-Wish called me today.

She announced to me that the cookbook is almost done, and that it’ll be published in April.

She told me that my video made her cry. To quote from Beth: “You hear it from the wish kids all the time, but seeing and reading about it gets to you.” She also said that this blog made her feel famous. 😂

Beth published my video onto the Make-A-Wish website. Or was it the Make-A-Wish Facebook Page? Whatever. It was Make-A-Wish something.

Beth asked me what my plans were with the cookbook. Do we host a cooking show at the Ronald McDonald House and pass out the cookbook to everyone there? Do we sell the cookbooks online and donate the proceeds to charity?

I said hosting a cooking show sounds pretty cool.

Beth asked me about how we’re going to do the cooking show. Who cooks? I’m going to talk, but am I going to talk and cook simultaneously?

I said that My Mom and Beth could cook, and I could talk while they’re cooking.

Beth also asked me what other organizations I wanted to partner with. I told her Donate Life. If you read my How To Be An Organ Donor Page, you’ll see that I reference Donate Life as where to register as an organ donor.

Donate Life is the biggest organ donation network in America. Well, next to UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing).

Beth told me that was a LITTLE too big. But, I mean, Make-A-Wish is pretty big too, right?

I told her partnering with The Pink Dot Club would also be pretty cool. The Pink Dot Club is affiliated with Donate Life.

Beth told me that she would contact the Ronald McDonald House, and I could work on contacting Donate Life.

A last thing: Beth organized a cooking show for us at the Macy’s on Union Square San Francisco in April of the day of national wish day. Sounds cool!

January 16, 2019

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Today was my biopsy.

What is a biopsy? A biopsy is when they take a piece of tissue. For me they take a piece of tissue from my heart to test the amount of rejection I have.

At 8 AM in the morning I went to get a blood draw. The doctors constantly test my blood to see how well my immunosuppressant, Prograf, is working.

I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything. I’ve been NPO (nothing by mouth) since midnight.

At 10 AM my Mom told me that we needed to go to Stanford.

At Mountain View, I dropped off a package to ship to Noah. Noah is my friend I made at the Ronald McDonald House.

The parking garage for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital was packed. That’s sad.

Every car represents one child. One child in the hospital being treated for something god knows what. And if they’re at Stanford, they’re obviously not here for something as small as a cold.

Inside the hospital, someone stopped me and said that they saw my video. His Mom found the video from the Make-A-Wish website. He said it was “sad but in a good kind of way” and it “made him cry”.

That touched my heart. Honestly, that someone cried because of my video, it made me feel proud. I’m actually making a difference in this world.

At 2 PM I went into Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital short stay unit. I used to go to their surgery center, but now that I’m using less and less anesthesia, I have a faster recovery time. The short stay unit means I have a shorter stay.

I hate placing in IVs. You would think that I would gotten used to the pain, but I haven’t.

I use tons of numbing medicine when they place in the IVs. I still feel the pain. At least the numbing medicine gives me a sense of security.

A child care specialist gave me VR goggles to play with while they put in the needles. VR goggles? I know, VERY fancy.

Honestly, all the VR goggles did was make me extremely anxious for the poke. However, I made sure that there was a hole so that I could see what was going on.

They poked me two times unsuccessfully. The third time they put in an IV. This IV was at the middle of my arm, so I couldn’t bend my arm or anything.

My biopsy was pretty short. I was not unconscious, just kinda high. No pain, just pressure on my thigh.

A doctor came before I was discharged. She told me that I should still be continuously be checking my blood pressure. I haven’t. 😬

I will definitely now. I feel so stupid for not doing that.

The doctor also said I was okay to do weight lifting. Just multiple reps with only light weights. And nothing to do with my scar area.

My Mom doesn’t want me to do weightlifting. She’s rather me do cardio, because she worries about my heart all the time.

We got back home at about 9 PM.

January 17, 2019

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I didn’t go to school today. Since yesterday was my biopsy day, I decided to take a day off to heal.

Usually I don’t miss school. Even after biopsies, I go to school the day after. One time I went to school the day after a biopsy, and my incision site started to bleed while I was taking a Chemistry test. I didn’t say anything about the bleeding because I really wanted to finish the Chemistry test.

Another example is last year. Last year when I was in the hospital for leg pain, I begged my doctors to let me go back to school after one month. Instead, they made me be homeschooled for two months.

The reason I hate missing school isn’t because I have a great time at school or all my friends are there, it’s because when I miss school it stresses me out. I not only have to make up homework, but also schoolwork. That’s double, sometimes triple, the amount I have to do.

So why did I choose to stay at home today?

I guess I choose to stay at home today because I just felt like it. 🤷‍♂️

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