From Ashley...

"Our mother never really told us she had a liver problem. She just took some medicine, and we didn’t know what it was for. She was SO strong through her colon cancer…and every other health issue she has had.

I look at her, and I say, “She’s sick??” She plays tennis several times per week (I am lucky to be her partner on one of her teams!); and she is always on the go. But, I see little hints here and there of her illness. Sometimes she is tired. Sometimes she “forgets” things. Her skin is more itchy now. She has lost a good bit of weight. But, she is THE strongest woman I know. Selfless

I’ll start with December 2009…

In December, my wonderful friend Jenny went with me to Virginia to get tested to be a donor. We drove up to Charlottesville happily singing along to our ipods. We stayed at the English Inn. In typical Jenny and Ashley fashion, we had to stifle our laughs when the nice man bragged about his “101 items on the breakfast menu, and let’s not forget our lovely cookies at 5:00!”

The weekend included many doctors appointments, tons of blood work, a psychologist and social worker visit, and an MRI. Jenny will be an awesome advocate this summer, and she proved it when we got to the MRI appointment. Once we found out that we would have to wait over an hour past our appointment time, Jenny bounded up to the desk and announced, “Um, Ashley has not eaten since 7:00 am, and it’s now 4:30 pm. Ashley had to fast, therefore I fasted. We are hungry. What can you do to help us get this MRI and chest x-ray done sooner?” (Don’t mess with a hungry Jenny or Ashley). About five minutes later, we were called back. J

I’m extremely claustrophobic, so the MRI was certainly an experience. In typical Ashley fashion I just assumed it would last about 10 minutes. Instead, it included some dye injection, drinking some sort of gel stuff, and 45 minutes in the tube. All was fine once we were at Miller’s for dinner….a bar where Dave Matthews used to sing….

The next morning, we met with the transplant doctors and nurses at UVA. They were so helpful and informative. We left full of knowledge and were happy to see that these people were “cool like us.”

That day, we drove back to the lake house for some sushi, drinks, and an awesome night sitting out on the screen porch….well, it MAY have been about 20 degrees, but it seemed 70 degrees with our matching zebra print Snuggies and good drinks.

Fast forward to this week: I’m thankful my mother will have her best friend since 4th grade there in Charlotesville during the surgery. Jenny, my dear friend since 6th grade will be my advocate. Full circle.

Thank you to my family and friends for supporting us during this time. We appreciate it more than you know. "