Hello from Hilton Head

About a month ago on September 21st Susan and I both thoroughly enjoyed the wedding of our youngest, Turk Foster, to his lovely bride Joanna Kisley. It was a wonderful gathering of friends and family and we will always remember it as a very special time. Several family members have similar feelings and have suggested a family reunion which seems to be receiving everybody's approval. I'll use this site to keep you all up.

On Saturday after the wedding I slipped on the stairs to the parking lot on my way to dialysis and hit pretty hard. By the time dialysis was finished I was imobile and we went to the emergency room. They told me I may have some small chips in my left elbow and a severely bruised left hip. Although I drove back to HHI on Sunday it became soon evident I couldn't walk so back to the hospital where I stayed for five days. It has been slow but two days ago I stopped using the cane and am getting around a little better each day.

All of this leads up to this coming week. On Thursday we will be driving to Atlanta to the Emory University Hospital complex where we will meet Turk and Joanna. On Friday morning we will check in at 6 AM for an 8 AM procedure where Turk will donate a kidney to me.

There really is no way for me to describe how I feel about his good spirited willingness to do this and the sacrifice he is willing to make for his father's sake. It is a very special thing and no amount of thanks to Turk and Joanna will ever be adequate. May God bless them both.

While in Atlanta we will be staying at the Mason House which has been given for the families and patients who are in the transplant program. This is of course a place of many stories and over the next few weeks I'll probably have a few to tell you. Some are sad, some are heartwarming but all of them should make most of us thankful for what relative good health we do have and that does include me.

I will be asking Susan, Turk and Joanna to post whatever they wish in the days ahead and I hope you will be inspired as I have been by Turk's selfless actions. I recall the quote I mentioned when toasting Turk and Joanna at their wedding. "The success of our lives will be written by your deeds" It's not what you talk about, it's what you do. What he is doing is magnificent.

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