Dear Family and Friends

Dear Family and Friends:

By the time you receive this e-mail, I will probably have received a new lung through transplantation. I never imagined it would happen so quickly; I was only put on the waiting list on December 4th of 2008. Once there is some news to share with you, another e-mail will come to you with a blog site given. For the indefinite future, updates about my surgery and recuperation will be posted on the blog site so that Bill is not inundated with phone calls and e-mails. He probably won't have time to answer them for a few weeks. However, if you want to send them or post remarks on the blog, we'll eventually read them.

I am sorry the blog site is unfinished. This task was one of the last things I intended to do before I thought I might get called for surgery. Sorry, but I think even in its unfinished state it will serve us well as a communication device.

For those who did not have prior knowledge about the transplant possibility, I apologize. I've been trying to work through my "to do" list and just didn't get it all done.

Thanks for all your love, friendship and support. I look forward to seeing you or being in touch with you as soon as possible...stronger and healthier than I've been in many years.

Much love and appreciation for all you do,

Dean