Special Edition: My Lung Transplant Journey, February 27, 2014 - The Waiting List Post 4-6

Hello all, I'm a bit behind in updating my posts for The Waiting List storytelling project. My apologies. My mind works much faster than my body. So here are a few posts from the last couple of days. Enjoy!

Post 4, Weary

The Waiting List, 2/25/2014, evening, Instagram

FROM GUEST EDITOR SUE BOROWIAK, YORKVILLE, IL. WAITING FOR A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT SINCE MAY 24, 2013. Photo by @suzib66. Weary. During the past few months, it's been getting harder for me to do things around the house. I get tired easily, and I always need to stop for a little break by resting my head. It's frustrating!

Post 5, Hopefully Devoted

The Waiting List, 2/26/2014

FROM GUEST EDITOR SUE BOROWIAK, YORKVILLE, IL. WAITING FOR A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT SINCE MAY 24, 2013. @suzib66 Photo by my daughter. Hopefully Devoted. Nearly every night before bed, my husband will rub my back because it's sore or itchy. I often sleep downstairs in a twin bed because it's much easier than climbing the stairs up to our bedroom, and sometimes my coughing keeps both of us awake. For now, It's better for us to sleep well than to be together, but I miss him. I think he misses me too.

Post 6, Tough Cookies

The Waiting List, 2/27/2014

FROM GUEST EDITOR SUE BOROWIAK, YORKVILLE, IL. WAITING FOR A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT SINCE MAY 24, 2013. @suzib66 Photo by my husband. Tough Cookies. I'm so proud of my children. Despite living day to day with a mom who is seriously ill, they are smart, athletic, funny, creative, musical, and all-around good kids. Recently, we prepared a special homemade pizza together for their dad's birthday. They help me with many things around the house, and for that I am grateful. They are resilient.

Plenty of love to go around ~ a guest post

With the magic of modern-day technology, I’ve been fortunate to connect with moms from around the country who are an inspiration. Kelly B. from Florida is one such mom. A former high school classmate of mine, she has lovingly opened her heart and her home to children in need. Right now, she and her husband have five children under six in their care including their young son Isaiah. They welcomed him as a baby into their lives through adoption more than five years ago. This is Kelly’s story in her own words:

Growing up, Mother's Day was just another day on the calendar to do something nice for your mom, give her a card and tell her, “I love you.” Some of the same things that you would do on any day of the week. After one failed marriage that ended at age 29, I often wondered what it would be like to be a mom and if I would ever have that opportunity. I remarried and went through several years of fertility treatments, disappointment, and heartaches. We finally decided on adoption and that too was disappointing. We were finally matched with a young couple and a month before the baby was due, she changed her mind. That day was the worst and the best day of my life. Later that evening, I received a phone call after celebrating my 40th birthday with family and friends. The voice on the other end of the phone said they wanted me to raise their son. She wanted him to have everything she never had. That night I became a mom to a five month old boy.

My son is the greatest blessing! I will forever be grateful to his birth mother for making a brave and unselfish decision for her baby. He is now 5 1/2 years old, and it astonishes me as to how the time has flown by. He will start kindergarten in the fall. It is a joy to wake up every day and see his smiling face and for him to tell me, "Mommy, I love you!" or "Mommy, you are the bestest mommy in the whole wide world!" He also has a nick name for me and calls me "Mama doll" and I call him my "Baby doll".

Last July, we made the decision to become foster parents. I resigned from my job as a medical biller at a chiropractor’s office and we started attending training classes; while I reorganized and prepared our house for additional children. We became licensed right around Thanksgiving of last year and had two young boys placed with us. We've also had a few others in between that have come and gone. The boys are currently still with us; as well as a new placement.

It is a rewarding job being available to mother these children. To love them, comfort them, provide structure, guide them, teach them and so on. Nobody ever said it would be easy. With love and patience though - it's such a joy to see them smile, hear their laugh and giggles and see a sparkle in their eyes. More kids to call me "mommy”. It's taken some adjustments for my son to not be the only child. I have pointed out to my son that I will always love him and that we can love many people; that there is plenty of love to go around. I cherish our moments together! I also am blessed to share these memories with my mother and my grandmother. They are the two most important women in my life. I may not have been blessed with the ability to have biological children of my own but God guided me to be a mother - where I was needed.

I want to thank Kelly for sharing her story on leMOMade. She is truly an example of a woman who has turned lemons into lemonade by making the difference in the lives of many children. Do you have an inspirational story to share? Send me an email using the link on the left, and I will send you the details about how to do so.

Let's Hear it for the Moms!

Being a mom is hard work, no doubt about that. I came across this commercial on You Tube recently that honors moms and their commitment to helping their children follow their dreams, in this case, Olympic dreams. It's a touching ad that hits home for me as a parent of a gymnast and a soccer player who have to be here, there, and everywhere for practice, a meet, or a game. Not only do they have to be there, they have to be there on time with clean leotards, warm-ups, uniforms, gear, water, snacks, and confidence.




When we attended my daughter's first National YMCA gymnastics meet last summer, the speaker at the opening ceremonies, 1984 Gold Medal gymnast Peter Vidmar, had all of the gymnasts in the stadium stand up to applaud their moms (and dads too) for taking them to and fro to compete in the sport that they love. It was awesome!

All moms, dads, and caregivers should be applauded for all they do for their children, Olympic contenders or not. I give a big hand to my mom, a mother of three girls, who was a Brownie leader, a PTA mom, a swim team fan, a marching band booster, and much more. As a band booster, she not only chaperoned overnight marching band camp in a dusty old high school in the middle of a cornfield, but travelled back and forth with a busload of teenagers in the band so they could perform at Disney World duing spring break. To his credit, my dad also served as a chaperone for that same trip, but he elected to fly from Chicago to Orlando and home again. (I'm not sure how he worked out that sweet deal, but it was quite clever on his part.)

A few weeks ago, one of my husband's co-workers asked him why he takes our kids around the world so they can participate in all of their activities. My response to that person would have been "Why not?" As a mom, as a parent, you just do it. That's why!

So here is a little shout out to all the dedicated moms out there - thank you for doing what you do, be it cheering on the sidelines, washing stinky socks and uniforms, making snacks for the team, re-heating dinner for a tired child, and taking your kids here, there, and everywhere to help them follow their dreams.

*If you enjoyed P&G's 2012 Olympic's commercial, here is another short, but sweet advert sent to me from my big sis who lives in London.

Happy Mother's Day! Love, Sue