Ana & Isa’s Blog
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Thursday, 22 April 2010
4/22/10 Happy Earth Day
Posted by Isa
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for reading our blog, for supporting our project, and for caring about CF, lung health and transplantation.
I hope you this entry finds you in good health. It’s Earth Day today, and I’m writing to celebrate and give thanks to our natural world for keeping us all alive.
I am extremely thankful for our country’s environmental policies that protect our water and especially air. I remember my childhood in Los Angeles when my eyes would burn and lungs would tighten everytime I visited downtown Los Angeles. At least in Northern California, we can appreciate fresh clear air most of the time, thanks to Breathe California and other advocates. It’s hard to think of all the infants who die everyday around the world just because of bad water, and many who struggle with poor air quality, while Ana and I are being kept alive with extreme medical technology.
Today I have mixed feelings. As a person who has received a lung transplant, my carbon footprint is extremely high. And that means Ana has twice the carbon footprint with two transplants! We’ve been kept alive with chemicals for 38 years. All those chemicals take energy to produce and probably secrete toxins into the environment into the process. I’m so incredibly grateful to be alive, but also feel guilty. I know other friends with CF who feel the same way.
Even now, I wash my hands probably 4 times more than the average person. I eat and drink slightly more than a normal person. We still use chemicals to keep ourselves alive. We lather up in sunblock before swimming in the ocean. We excrete medication byproducts into our water system. I use ALOT of bleach in my house. We use many more papertowels and napkins so I can eat food in a sanitary way. And of course, Ana and I travel the world speaking about CF and transplant. So our carbon footprint remains high.
Sadly, the best way to reduce the carbon footprint is to die. But technology has kept us alive. So now it’s our responsibility to do everything we can to compensate for how much energy we consume and how much pollution we contribute.
So what can we do about this? We try to live as simply as possible. Note the word ‘try’. I try not to waste things, I try to reuse things, wear clothes for many times before washing them (ask my husband), I try to recycle, I try to eat healthy foods, I try to drive less, shop carefully, etc. I have made a habit out of drinking from my water bottle (and never using plastic bottles-they are evil!) and bringing canvas bags whenever I shop. I heat my home to no warmer than 65 in the winter. We recycle our medications and give them to those who need them. I plant water-saving plants in my garden, buy Energy Star (for whatever that’s worth) and I also drive a hybrid. My earth friendly friend said, “The best thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to not have children.” Well, that works for us.
Now for a change of heart, a justification. I have several friends with CF and/or post- transplant complications, who are in and out of the ICU, fighting for their lives. It is so unfair. I am sending many prayers and positive wishes to C.W., E.H., and M.M. I want my friends to survive. I’m sorry to say, I just don’t care about carbon footprints when it comes to their lives.
But for those of us who have a choice, I hope we can be mindful of our consumption not just today but everyday.
I end this short post with a blessing to Earth, since Earth is Life. Thank you, Earth!
I hope you are well and can take a deep breath of fresh clean air.
Thanks for listening, Isabel
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Monday, 19 April 2010
4/17/10 A Brief Post about Organ Donation Month
Posted by Isa
Dear friends,
I hope this note finds you healthy and enjoying the beautiful sunshine , at least here in California, combined with the wildflowers and green hills. Like my CF friends in Japan have said, we feel...
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Friday, 26 March 2010
3-23-10 Godspeed to Obachan, my remarkable Japanese grandmother
Posted by Isa
Blog 3/17/10
Greetings from Kona, Hawaii. My uncle, his wife Yoko and my grandmother have lived here on the Big Island for over 10 years. I had planned to visit my 93 year old grandmother, (known in...
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010
3/10/10 March Update
Posted by Isa
Dear friends,
It has been a while since Ana or I have posted on our blog, and I am finally back. Life has been “slow” but also busy in its own way. No trips at least, til...
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Thursday, 18 February 2010
Do you believe in Angels?
Posted by Ana
Do you believe in angels? I do. I believe that God sends signals to us all the time and if we are receptive to them, we can read His messages. Well, last Saturday, a week after...
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Thursday, 04 February 2010
Greetings from the Hospital
Posted by Ana
2/4/10
It’s been 8 days since I have been hospitalized. I’m feeling almost back to being 100% human. I am starting to get antsy which means it is time to go home. I entered the emergency room...