Part 1: Overview of What to Expect in the Coming Posts
After a long hiatus, I am re-engaging with to connect with all of my family and friends.
You’ve heard of “Wayne’s World.”
Greetings from Loren’s World …
This is a long overdue update to all of you who have stood with me for the past several years. This letter takes place in the context of the new reality…the new norm. The new reality with the Pandemic started in March of this year for all of us. But actually, my new reality started back on July 14, 2019 when my life started all over again.
It was like literal “Resurrection from the Dead.” No kidding! The amazing thing is that during the last three months, our country and the world has been going through a similar change. We are going to come out of this experience a totally different kind of nation. At least that’s the way it appears to me. That’s what I am experiencing and observing in recent days.
I have a hunch that we are going to look back on this Pandemic and realize that we became a much stronger, more resilient, more balanced and more centered society. One that is kinder and more compassionate, humbler, more caring, and more appreciative of each other. We are rediscovering the fact that we all belong to each other and we are indeed our “neighbor’s keeper.” We are being reminded that life is not about “I” but about “we.” We are part of something bigger than ourselves.
That is what I’ve been experiencing personally since my operation. When I showed up at UPenn in a pretty desperate situation, I entered a world of caring and loving people who represented a preview of what our nation is currently discovering about itself today in a deeper way.
I know that we who live in the real world like to associate and be with others around us who also live in the real world. I don’t know what your world has been like this past year, and especially the past 3 or 4 months. The following update is my attempt to live in the real world, to be as honest and transparent and authentic as I can be in an attempt to tell my story.
Many people, including myself, have been asking questions about how I’m doing. In the past year I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what has happened to me and those around me. Where do I start? What’s been happening in “Loren’s World?”
Here are some of the questions I’d like to cover in the coming weeks:
1. How are you doing? (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually)
2. What was it like? What did you experience? (before, during, and after the transplant)
3. What did you learn? What did you observe as a result of the whole transplant experience?
4. How did this experience change you? Are you a different person? If so, in what way?
5. How do you see your life going forward from here? What do you want to do?
6. What do you want? What are your dreams now that you get a second lease on life?
7. What was the total cost of the operation? Who paid for the transplant?
8. Any final thoughts and possible “words of wisdom? “
I will sign off for now, but STAYED TUNED ... Question #1 will be covered in the next post.