Jason and Stacy Clan: Outpatient With a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend

Sierra was in the hospital for probably her shortest stay yet. It was a mere 24 hours. We were very happy about that. Her diarrhea has subsided, but now she is really retaining the fluid again. So, they are slowly going back up on her diuretics again. All a balancing act.

Jason, his sister Garrity, her son John and all the kids came to California for Memorial Day weekend. We were all so happy to be back together again. My how our room at the Ronald McDonald House shrunk with 7 people instead of 2. Friday we enjoyed being together for the day. Everyone came to the hospital for blood draws and to say "hello" to nurses and school teachers. Lindsey stayed at school to do art with Sierra. We went to the movies Friday night and enjoyed every moment.

Saturday, Megan, Hunter, Lindsey and I ran the 5K color run in San Jose with our friends here in Palo Alto. Megan was excited to see her friends. Hunter ran the whole race in his levis and cowboy boots. We hadn't planned on having him run it, but our friends had an extra number. Jason, Sierra, Gage, Garrity and John cheered us on from the sidelines. That was our first color run, and it was a lot of fun. Very easy going and casual. After the color run we hung out at the Ronald McDonald house, and then left that afternoon to meet Sierra's donor family.

Your probably wondering how this came to be. When Sierra received her heart in 2006, we wrote a letter to the donor family to thank them for their gift. We did receive a letter back from the maternal grandmother telling us vaguely that his name was Nicholas and he was 4 years old. On the one year anniversary, we wrote another letter, but this time did not hear anything back. Understanding their need to grieve, we did not write again. In June 2013, our Dateline story debuted. Watching this Dateline episode, was Nicholas's fraternal grandmother, who had been wanting to reach us for some time, but was never given the information to find us. She contacted us through emails and we had planned on meeting them at some point. However, with Sierra back on the transplant list, it moved up the urgency of the need to meet. We had planned on meeting them in Oregon, where we were both from, but then we received the news that Sierra would have to come to California to wait for her transplant. This amazing family, drove down to California to meet with us, so they could see some of Nicholas still living in Sierra.

It was a most precious and emotional experience for everyone. It was so neat to learn about Nicholas and the cute, fun loving boy he was. It was sad and heart wrenching to hear of his tragedy. I hope it was helpful for his family to hear of the miracle that was placed in our life as we placed the events in a timeline. Putting together the missing pieces that we had long wondered how it worked. From the time his parents made the decision to have his organs donated, to the time that his precious heart went into Sierra. It was good for Sierra to meet them, and for her to see their love for her. She has felt guilty that she was not able to keep Nicholas's heart. That has bothered her since she learned she needed another transplant. Nicholas's family was very reassuring and understanding for her. Sierra needed to hear that they did not blame her and loved her for keeping his heart for the almost 9 years that she has had it. It was a priceless experience that we will always treasure. We were able to go out to dinner with them on Sunday and just enjoyed being around them, visiting with them and getting to know them.

Monday came way to quickly, and we had to say good-bye for now to Jason, Garrity, John, Megan, Hunter and Lindsey. We kept Gage with us for entertainment and to help lessen Jason's hectic schedule at home. Now he only has 3 kids' schedule instead of 4 to juggle. We will finish out these last 2 week of school and then reevaluate our plan from there.