All Heart

On Tuesday, June 4, my older brother had a heart transplant. That was the first miracle. But the miraculous just keeps happening.

The surgery went as well as possible and, in less than 24 hours, the medical staff were expecting him to be able to stand on his own. And, two days later on Thursday, June 6, he was walking around.

His wonderful lady has been by his side through it all and she keeps me and my family updated on his progress. She's let us know that with each day he gets stronger and stronger. The docs have been removing tubes everyday because his progress is great. On Sunday, I found out that he's been making rounds at the hospital, meaning he's been walking more and more and, over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, he walked the equivalent of one mile.

This may not seem like a big deal, but once you realize that my brother has just received a heart transplant, I mean, god damn, that's nothing short of amazing. I doubt that I've walked a mile in the last month and my brother is just making me look bad. Of course, for the last three weeks, I've been doing all the lettering for the final GIRL book, so I've been confined to sitting in front of the computer. (That's it, Kev, make up some more excuses.)My brother is an athlete and has always been in remarkable shape, and the doctors say that's one reason for his great recovery.

I've thus been inspired to do something about my own health and will spend the summer getting back in shape. We all have our own reasons and inspirations for making life changes, and my brother is my inspiration. I've spent eight years sitting behind a drawing board trying to finish a book, and it's taken it's toll on my health. And I've just spent another three weeks doing the lettering for said book, and I am done. I've finished the lettering, I've finished the art and I'm taking credit for all of it. If I had the printing press, I would take credit for that, too. Now I need to take care of myself. Being cooped up in an art studio won't keep you in shape. So, now it's time to go out and play. After all, I've finished my homework.

Here's to my brother for the life lesson. He's all heart.