I have to admit it felt a little weird driving away from Rochester this morning -- leaving Deb and my kidney behind.  I guess now it's really hers for good!

We had an easy drive home - Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas.  I dozed on and off, and Don did a great job of driving "gently" and finding premium places to stop so I could stretch and walk around as recommended.  Fortunately, he agreed that we deserved Dairy Queen ice cream at noon instead of lunch, so that stop was a special treat.

We got home around 4 p.m. and were greeted by our cat, Raja, who meowed, purred, rubbed, and finally settled down.  We've opened the mail and the Amazon boxes and unpacked the car (Don) and the suitcases (me).  It will take a few days to get everything back to normal, but we're pretty close.  Now we're all sitting out on the Gloria P. Gershun Memorial Deck (Raja, too), which is our favorite room in the house.  I intend to spend the rest of my recuperation sitting right here.

This will be our last CaringBridge post.  One week after surgery I'm sore and tired - and I still have the surgeon's initials written on the left side of my abdomen in, apparently, very permanent marker.  But I really do feel pretty good.  And Don has worked hard to keep up with his JFS duties as much as possible by email, phone, and conference call.  So we're ready to call the project a success and sign off.  I will always be grateful that my body miraculously "matched" with Deb, so that we were able to help return her to a vibrant, healthy life.  She texted me last night:  "I did 6,000 steps today!! I haven't done that in 2 years!"  That really says it all.

Thank you all so much for your hearts, comments, prayers, support, and encouragement.  We have the best friends and family in the world!

Love and Shabbat Shalom,
Martha & Don