Today is November 12, 2011 and We are LOVIN LIFE...........

Well let's get to Today..........Juliana is living Life just like a 26yr old should ...... Working and having fun with Friends..............♥♥♥.   Me well I to am Loving Life June 19, 2011 I became a Grandma to Chance Lee Stevens.........Oh Happy Day...........I am doing Great with One Kidney.   I don't even know it gone...... My dream is to Inspire more People to become Donor's ............ And to live a Long Healthy Life and Enjoy Chance and Teach him the Good in Humanity........ Katie and Tyler are the best of Parents and  Mario, Oh Mario he LOVES being GrandPA..........and Chance's other Grandparents Susan and Al..........Awesome .......We love going to their home Chance loves all the toys there and such LOVE with Uncle Trevor and Ruckus and Chaos (the golden retrievers) It is so peaceful at their home....................At our home with Tio Alex and Lilly the Chihuahua .......we are always loud and Running around.....Tio Eric comes home a lot just to see his nephew Chance♥ ...Chance seems to enjoy the Difference in homes..........LOL.......Juliana and Ellen and Leo have come to see Chance and have Dinner in October when we Celebrated 1year of  Kidney Birth to Juliana....Oct. 18th .........In the beginning Juliana said the kidney would JuMp yep That's my Kidney.....lol...........One Year.....Wow What an Amazing Ride♥♥ God is Good ♥♥

8 Months and Still Going STRONG..........

Well we are in June and it has been an AMAZING ride...... Juliana has finished her Masters Program and recieved her Masters Degree........I remember Two Goals she had when she would get her new Kidney.......One get her Masters and Second Go To England to visit her Friend Kim...........So my Prayer for Juliana is England here she comes.....Doctors say she has to wait a Year and I'm Thinking around January 2012 she will have her 2nd goal Achieved..........This year I  wanted to do more and Give More.....I yearn continuously to Do more for Kidney Disease . The Year Began with Lots of News Articles and An Award from the Rotary Club,  The Paul Harris Award is the Highest Honor given by the Rotary and I was Blessed with The Honor and I will Cherish This Award FOREVER..........I was Also given a Crayfish Hat and I will wear  with Pride in my Fish Dept at my Store..LOL..I love wearing my Nemo hat and Chicken hat and now Crayfish hat too.......LOL...... Juliana and I were Also Honored to be  Guests at the San Bernardino Committee of Supervisor April 19th meeting, if you  go to  http://sbcounty.gov/main/countyvision.asp and click on April 19th meeting Video and scan to 19:00 minutes  you can see Juliana and Me and Linda Mier and Zak Spencer Talk about our experiences with Kidney Donation.........Thank YOU Supervisor Neil Derry for your Help with getting the word out about Organ Donation and Making April Organ Donation Month♥......Juliana and I  Have been in the San Bernardino Sun paper Twice and the Redlands Daily Facts three times and the Yucaipa News Mirror once......I remember Mario, my Husband,  opening the paper of the News Mirror paper and Saying "Does It ever EnD" with a proud smile on his face,  seeing Juliana and I  and Supervisor Neil Derry in the paper .........I laughed soo LOUD.......:))))......This past Month I spoke at the Loma Linda Transplant Institute to up coming Kidney Donors and their Recipients.... I told my story and was asked many questions and One family told me how I gave them hope at a time of struggle and Fear.... I gave them Faith and Hope for their Journey and I will Keep them in my prayers and look forward to seeing them again.. I was ask to come back June 30th and I look so Forward to that.......I have Also been Asked to be an Ambassador for Donate Life on the recommendation of Linda Mier and I Thank HER so Much....Her Daughter Melissa was Killed by a drive by shooter and All her Organs Donated.........God BLESS you and Keep you Well in Heaven Melissa ...And Linda God be With YOU Always and I am so Happy for our New found Friendship........:)).......I also did the Donate Life Walk/Run at Cal State Fullerton with my Sister Colleen and with Team Downtown Dennis Brown whose organs were Donated by his Mom Karen Brown and Sister Nicole Brown........My Forever Friends ♥♥ it was my 2nd Year and look forward to many more ...This year I wore my Loma Linda tee shirt that read DONOR yay.....I am Also Blessed with a New Life this year ♥ soon we will Welcome Our New Grandson Chance Lee Stevens to our Family and Our extended Family Al (Co Grandpa),Susan(Co Grandma, Arlene (Great Grandma) Tyler (Daddy) and Trevor(Uncle)....♥♥ Life is Good and by the Grace of GOD I move Forward♥♥Love YOU ALL and God Bless♥♥

Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog (sm)

Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog (sm)

So much has happened since My Donation.....But I want so much More

I have had a very Amazing Year, but I want so much MORE........Juliana and I have been in the Local Daily facts paper and Sun Newspaper.  We have been in the Albertsons Paper and the Union Local 1167 paper.  Our story has touched Many.  And for that I am grateful.  In my Union paper I really wanted the story to be about Heather a young 16yr old who needs a Kidney.  Her Mother Lielani works at Albertsons in Moreno Valley and I wanted our Members to come forward and get tested and I heard many did but no one so far is a match.  Now in April it is Organ Donation Awareness Month  and Again Juliana , Leo And I will be in the Paper along with a Young Eagle Scot who has done a lot of  research on Donation ... We will be Honor by the San Bernardino Supervisor Neil Derry at the Goverment Center In San Bernardino on April 19th ....... I am looking forward to meeting The young Eagle Scout and Thank Neil Derry for  more Awarness out to the Public. I  hope to do more with Organ donation Awareness myself... My GOALS are to get MORE involved With people who have chosen to donate and help them through the process....Also to get more to Understand the  process and maybe chose to be a Donor.......This week a young girl asked me if I have Shortened My Life being a DONOR.....Wow I was amazed at this question and told her it is just the Opposite ..... I have lengthened my Life by being Healthier .... I am more conscious of what I put in my body........ And my exiting Kidney in two years Becomes a Super Kidney and takes the responsibility of my missing KIDNEY♥ Yayyyyaayy ♥.... I am looking Forward to the Donate Life walk/run at Cal State Fullerton April 30th and I will be in The Downtown Dennis Brown group.......The leader is my Friends Karen Brown and Nicole Brown who loss their Son and Brother Dennis and Donated his Organs and SAVED MANY LIVES........Can't wait to do MORE....I hope I get the opportunity to Volunteer at the Loma Linda Transplant Institute........Love YOU ALL and will keep you informed xoxoxo patty♥♥♥

My Adventure being a Kidney Donor...........Just wanted to post where is all began Again..:))

Today We have a Surgery date......Oct 18th 2010........I am blessed to be able to  give my Kidney to Juliana.  And this is how it all began........Oct. 2007 I had an Appointment. at Cedars Sinai Hospital to be Tested as a Kidney Donor for my Brother -in -Law Hector.   He had been on the transplant list already so long due to no family donors because of the chance of kidney disease, Diabetes and High blood pressure in the family.  The night before going to Cedar Sinai I had pelvic prolapse and needed Surgery.  I was told it would take a year to heal enough to be considered.  So again the search for a donor for Hector.  His health was not good.  He had had a small heart attack and dialysis was getting so hard for him trying to be a Good elementary Teacher that he was and fighting to keep his Job. The Principal and School Board really Put Hector under a lot of stress and wanted him to quit due to his illness but he loved Teaching soooo much.  At the end of 2008 Hector's daughter Anna, after giving birth to her little girl Madison,Was a MATCH for her Dad.  Things were looking up.  Anna got Married May 2009 and when returning from her Honeymoon she and Hector would go in to do the transplant.  But God had other plans for Hector's very tired  body and two days after Anna's wedding and the celebration (we see now as) Of Hector's Life.......he had a Heart Attack and Passed.  :''((........I began researching Kidney transplants and how many people are on the list for like 11 years or long before getting a Kidney.  I really felt like I needed to donate my Kidney in honor of Hector and Save a LIFE......After talking with my husband Mario and getting his blessing and understanding of why I needed to do this..... I wamted to find out how to go about it????.....It just so happened that I work at Albertsons Grocery Chain in the Meat Dept and I had a Customer who I really never knew his name, but he came in every Sunday and on this one Sunday around February or March 2010 I saw a sadness in him..........So I asked his name and he said "Leo".......I came around the counter and asked him if everything was all right and he told me His Daughter was home from College due to Illness and not sure what was wrong.  I told him I would keep her in my prayers and what is her name...."Juliana" he said.  A few Sundays go by and Leo comes in and I asked How's Juliana and He said she is having Kidney problems and is going to go through some extensive testing to get her on a Kidney List!!!!! O' MY GODNESS........."I am your Girl"!! "What" Leo said Looking at me as if I was Kooky (yes but any ways) I told him that I had been  planning on donating a Kidney and He said he really appreciated that but Family and friends would be tested and said he was Amazed I would even Consider such a thing.  So I told him the story of Hector.........."WOW" he said..........So  more Sundays go by and Leo came in with a packet in Hand and proceeded to give it to me But  made me promise to talk to my Family first.  Others had been afraid or had health issues And her Brothers was still young and was advised to have Children first.........So here I am and it was Easter Sunday I gathered my Children and Husband and we went through the packet I did more research ........found this wonderful web site Kidney Chronicles ......Told my family that whether you have  1 or 2 kidneys if you get sick with kidney disease it will usually affect both....My one Kidney will get bigger and become a SUPER Kidney.......and I Felt really good about this ............So with my family's Blessing I called Juliana and she gave me the Number to Call at Loma Linda University Hospital and made an Appointment to get our Blood cross matched...........A couple days later YEAH...We are a match!!!!.........So through the next 4  months May June July August I get poked probed and the BEST physical anyone could ever have.  My cholesterol was a little high, had a little over average sugar in my blood and So I seen a dietician Teresa and went on  a diet with turkey and chicken and fish NO RED MEAT and Lots of fruits and veggies.........Water Water Water......Oh My the water was amazing , I had no more pain in my knee's and my cholesterol drop and I lost 15 lbs and Sugar levels great.......yeah.  I told Juliana she was Saving my life ......all my changes will make me healthier and I will live a Long long healthy Life.......I have seen Allison the Social Worker, Dr. Zack my Advocate, Dr Baldwin my Surgeon and next My anesthesiologist on Oct 12th.  Whats really funny is how All the Social workers and Avocates try to talk you out of it, but I think they want to make sure you are really Doing it for the right reason.....I will keep posting as It all comes about , I want to help someone in need of a Kidney To Know get the word out. Don't be afraid to tell people you need a donor.  And the one you tell might Have it in them to Give.  And to anyone who feels the Love and need to Give and may consider being a LIVING DONOR ...I am going to give you all the Details of how I feel after my surgery and I will go into more detail with each blog of my testing I went through..........So until next blog..... God Bless Patty

Interview on You Tube at heaston-together we can.wmv Check it out♥♥

If you go to YOU TUBE and search  heaston-together we can.wmv You will see the interview of Together we can Save Lives By Zander Heaston.... A week before Our Surgery Zander a 3rd grader at Kimberly Elmentary Interviewed me on my Lunch hour at Work..........He did it for his school project but It is Great..........Thank YOU Zander..............and hope you ALL enjoy....xxoxo patty♥