November 19, 2007 - 8:02 PM: Karen and Ernie
Karen and Ernie
Thirteen days ago on November 6th at around 8:03 PM, I swam the last length of what has been a ten month hundred mile swim. I had made this final journey from the campus of URI to 660 East Avenue in East Natick, Rhode Island, the house that my father was born in, in 1912. It has been 10 month and 6 days since I left from 44 Cromwell Street in Hamden, Connecticut, the house that my father built in 1946. This is the house that I grew up in. This swimming journey has been extremely rewarding! It has brought me fitness and strength and insightfulness. I have enjoyed this challenge from beginning to end. I didn’t miss one scheduled swimming day, which was 4 days a week for 10 months. The closest I came to missing time was last February, just after I had started. I had some kind on flu bug. Sue was in Florida visiting her parents. I got in the pool 4 times that week. My temperature was over 100 for the whole week. If I had missed any time I would not have finished on November 6th and that was not going to happen! One of these days I felt pretty awful. I rested in the water at the deep end. I was fighting off this awful feeling that I had. It took everything I had to keep myself from vomiting in the pool. Never at a loss with my sense of humor, I looked around and thought to myself, what am I gonna do?! I landed my eyes on two willing containers – one was a little plastic tugboat with a yellow smokestack. Now this would make a nice container! The next thing was a bathing cap, which hung on the wall! But at last, I was able to calm my stomach and finish my last 10 lengths. Thank God! I would have been very unpopular with the other swimmers! This last half mile was witnessed by a few good friends and my wife. A few weeks back, I had asked my dear friend, Lauren if she would consider swimming this last half mile with me. She’s 26 years younger than I and extremely fit! She had been in training for a marathon run in Virginia. I have known her for close to 5 years. Her husband, Mike, attended my timber frame class in ’03. We became friends instantly. Lauren is a physical therapist at Yale hospital. She has been sending me encouraging messages of friendship, strength and survival for a long time. She posted in my guestbook on November 8th, two days after my heart transplant. It’s still there for you to read. She said that she poked her head in to check on me and how good I looked! She said it was interesting that all of my Jarvik heart hardware lay there in a pile. It’s the funniest thing – after being home from the hospital for 2 or 3 weeks, I read what she had written. Even though I was on the breathing machine and not seemingly coherent in any way, I could actually remember her being in my room. I swear that I can remember her praying. To this day, it still touches me. I think that we pray to God and always hope that he is there and that he is listening. It always reminds me to believe. I remember you being there, Lauren. I remember you praying. It was very special for me to have Lauren swim this last half mile with me. She ran a 26 mile marathon the following Saturday to raise awareness for organ donation and in remembrance and celebration of the heart community at Yale. It felt good for me to finish this swim for many reasons; most important of which was that I did what I set out to do – I kept my word and I swam every lap and every stroke and every breath and every kick was in memory of two fellow transplant warriors – my friend Ernie, who received his heart transplant at Christmas time last year. He progressed very nicely for the following week. On January 2nd, he died in the hospital when his aorta burst. I have not forgotten you, Ernie. I will always remember your smile, your bright face and how easy-going you were. I am happy that I got to know you. I’m happy that we became friends. Thanks for sitting in the rafters of the pool house every day and cheering me on. Also my friend, Karen, who received her first heart transplant 18 years earlier at the age of 36 from an 18 year old girl in what is not very common at all. She received her second heart transplant at Christmas last year also. She never woke up after her surgery and her husband disconnected her from life support on January 2nd – the same day that Ernie died. I visited with Karen in intensive care during the weeks that led up to her transplant. You are my transplant hero, Karen. You kept the fires burning with that young girl’s heart for 18 years. How strong you are – how strong you were! I couldn’t wait to talk to you after your second heart transplant. That chance never came. I know that you believed. I know that you are in God’s graces. Thank you, Karen, for sitting in the rafters of the pool house and watching over me every day that I swam. I will always remember our last conversation.
I have news about the three women who were waiting for a heart transplant that I mentioned to you the last time. My friend with the Jarvik heart died seemingly as I was writing the words to you asking you to pray for her. The poor thing really struggled. She had a very hard time. On my last visit with her, she held her hand out to me and tried to talk to me through the oxygen mask. I’ll never know what she said. I held her hand for as long as I could. I stayed strong and as soon as I left her room, I melted. I felt so badly for her and I was angry at myself for doing so damn well! The other two women have both received their heart transplants. They are both doing absolutely wonderfully. It is such a reward and it brings such joy to me to have this opportunity to follow these people through. God bless their donors, two young men. I know that their families will miss them, especially this week! There’s something about these November heart transplants that make me shudder right to my soul. God has a plan. Everyone will meet their destiny. Please live every day. I hope that you will enjoy the company of your family and friends on Thanksgiving. Please, if you will, consider being an organ donor. Please tell your family of your wishes.
Our pledge list is up to number 97. You can view this and see your name and the pledge that you made at this link: http://geosen.wordpress.com/
It looks like we’re up to number 98, but somehow we forgot 65! We’re afraid to try and fix it! We’re doin’ the best we can, ya know!
Here are the most recent pledges:
Charlie Gragg pledged an additional forty-one cents per mile, the age that his dad was when he died of a heart problem on a cold Connecticut kitchen floor. That’s the same age my dad was when he died of a heart attack on the back steps of Hamden High School on his way in to teach.
Thomas Adams and Dee – one dollar a mile, Charlie and Sarah Neagoy – one dollar a mile, Bob Marshall – a second pledge, an additional fifty cents a mile – that you Bwob!
Tom and Andrea Newmarker – thirty cents a mile, Marc Bobrow – twenty-five cents a mile, Nancy and Leicester Youman pledged an additional one dollar a mile in memory of Bob Douty. They wrote to me that Bob fought for life till his damaged heart could do no more.
Dan and Diane Desmarais – fifty cents a mile, John and Wendy Tierney – one dollar a mile, Frank and Cathy Ginocchi – one dollar a mile, Larry Ballas – sixty cents a mile,
Hard working, super mom, Sally Ruzanski, RI cousin – an additional twenty-five cents a mile
Frank May – two dollars a mile.
Thank you all so much! I can’t believe how you all pulled up the rear and brought us so close to being at one hundred! If only two more people will pledge, the list will go from 97 to 99! Please help me do this. Please, some of you that have not pledged, make these last two pledges. I made pledge number 1 – a dollar a mile. I wish to make pledge 100 – a dollar a mile in memory of my brother, Jon. Please help me get there.
So many of you made pledges in memory of someone. We know Ernie and Karen. Ernie’s wife, Kathleen and his daughters pledged five dollars a mile in Ernie’s memory. Thom and Rebecca Sawyer pledged three dollars a mile in memory of Thom’s step-dad. My friend, Kenneth Dow pledged two dollars and fifty cents a mile in memory of his infant son, Thomas, who died in 1962. We have our anonymous donor who pledged ten dollars a mile. To you, Mr. Anonymous, I would tell you that no one knows who you are. You will always be a mystery! Your secret will follow me to the Northford cemetery! You are a fine person. You are a true friend. You are always there! I don’t know what I did before you came into my life. You are the best! I wish for you all the goodness that you have put forth for others. I wish for you that you shall reap all of the good deeds that you have sown and cast into the world. Peace and when we all get to where we’re going, you can count on me being there waiting for you. I’ll have something up my sleeve. I’ll have a master plan, probably something crazy! We better be careful if we find ourselves in Heaven. It will never be the same!
I have waited for someone to pledge in memory of our good friend and timber frame brother, John Ferguson (do I have to think of everything for you guys?!)
I would tell you all – thank you for the pledge that you have made. It really doesn’t matter how much it was. You put your best foot forward and you helped up out! Thank you! Please know that I love you.
Our good friend and neighbor and NTF featured singer, songwriter, extraordinaire, Peter Prizzi has donated 12 of his new CD’s. It’s an AWESOME soundtrack by a very talented singer and song writer! Why don’t you order one from me and we will donate the money to the swim pledge. Do you like music? You will love Pete’s CD! Thanks, brother!
You may send your pledges whenever it pleases you. Your check can be made out to Northford Timber framers transplant fund.
254 Old Post Rd
Northford, CT 06472
I hope I have not bored you - so much to weave together. It’s a wonderful dance! It’s a wonderful life! One of the recipients of our transplant fund generosity, three-year old Megan Otfinoski, will travel with her mom, Cheryl to Boston tomorrow to the children’s hospital for an overnight work-up, which will lead into a major heart surgery for this 3-year old girl next week. They will try to restore parts of her arterial network that she was not born with. If she survives this and battles her way back, she will some day be a candidate for a heart transplant. Please pray for Megan this week and next week. I attended church with them yesterday. I had lunch at their house. They have six wonderful children. They are the nicest young family. It is an honor for me to be in their presence. Please pray for Megan.
Thank you, Lauren. Thanks for being my buddy and taking that last half mile all the way home with me!
Today is November 19th. I stayed in the hospital for 13 days after my miracle. I was not awake for the first 4 ˝ days. Today is 3 years that I returned home to the white house with green shutters at Pooh Corner. Thank you Boston girl! Thank you for bringing your life into my body. Thank you for pumping the blood that flows so strongly. You have given me the gift of life. I enjoy our partnership. Please stay with me. There is so much more for us to do. I know you will be waiting. I know some day our eyes will meet. I hope you will be happy with what you and I have accomplished.
I feel her presence
I can feel her smile
I can hear her breath
I feel satisfaction
I am full of emotion.
I love you Boston girl.
The Tin Man