20 Three-Ring Binders Later...

In my bedroom, tucked away on a shelf reserved for that purpose, are 20 three-ring binders. Each binder represents a year of painstakingly recorded vital signs. Cleveland Clinic told me "Be sure you bring your binder to each appointment! Very important! Here's a few extra !!!!!!!!s to use in case you forget!"

Naturally, the first (and second, and third, and so on) times I had an appointment they never looked at the binder.

But I kept them anyway, for two reasons. One, in case they changed their mind (they didn't) and two, for me. Recording blood pressure readings and blood sugar results, temperatures and daily weight readings and PFTs into a binder for easy retrieval meant that I would be more diligent in keeping them, and I was.

Today is the 20th anniversary of my double-lung transplant, and not coincidentally, the official release day of A Breath of Fresh Air (A Transplant Tale), a novel inspired by my life and centered around the transplant. If you're a regular reader of this blog, or of my Facebook page, you have certainly been pummeled with hype about that, so I won't say any more.

Even though I almost never look at any of those binders or their contents, I treasure them. They represent the last twenty years in granular detail.

One last thing: if you are the praying kind, say a prayer for the donor's family. I never met them but they are always in my thoughts, especially on anniversaries, this one most of all.

Now, let's do another 20 years!