When I was 42 years old, I had everything, I had recently finished college and had started my teaching career. I had my own house and a new car, and was finally starting to put money in the bank. I was healthy and attractive and having a good time dating men I met on an Internet dating service.

In August, I noticed tightness around my knuckles, making it difficult to bend my fingers. I went to the doctor, they took x-rays and found nothing wrong. But my hands continued to get worse, then in Sept. my feet were beginning to swell, so I went back to the doctor, who referred me to a rheumatologist.

One night in Oct. I had gone out to dinner with a man I met on the net. We had a lovely dinner, but he turned out to be older then I though he was, and I wasn’t attracted to him. I decided to stop in a local bar to have a drink before going home, and listen to the band. On my way up to the bar, a man bumped into me. He apologized and seemed really sweet and had a nice smile, so we started talking. I wound up giving him my phone number and we started dating.

Meanwhile, the rheumatologist did some tests and then handed me a booklet entitled, “scleroderma”. I had never heard of it, but that was my diagnosis. He didn’t even say anything to me, so I made an appointment with a different one, and began researching it on my own.

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system builds up scar tissue where it is not needed, around the joints and inside the organs. My body began to feel stiff, I couldn’t open door knobs, and I had trouble getting in and out of the car. I was tired and achy all the time. And I started becoming short of breath after any activity at all.

I was still dating my new boyfriend, we saw each other every other weekend when my daughter went to her father’s house. I told him about my disease and my prognosis, only 30% live more than 5 years.

In the end of Jan, I went to a doctor’s appointment and they had me immediately admitted to the hospital, I was severely anemic and needed a blood transfusion. I called my boyfriend and told him that I wouldn’t be seeing him on the weekend because I was in the hospital. After I hung up the phone I started crying, I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again.

About an hour later, he showed up in my room, and then he showed up the next day, and every day after that.

1. If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out.

2. Age is a high price to pay for maturity.

3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life should be taken seriously.

8. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission.

9. For every action, there's an equal and opposite government program.

10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

12. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist switch places.

18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

20. There's always one more imbecile that you counted on.

21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognise a mistake as you make it again.

22. By the time you make ends meet, they move the ends.

23. Thou shalt not weigh more than your refrigerator.

24. Someone who thinks rationally provides a nice contrast to the real world.

25. It ain't the jeans that make your ass look big.

Today was the first day of my daughter's summer vacation. She is 15 and just completed her freshmen year of high school. To celebrate we went out for pizza and a movie.

We saw the da Vinci Code and both enjoyed it, but we had both read the book and we agree that the book was much better.

The movie makes it clear that it is all fiction, so I don't know what all the fuss was about.

Pain wakes me up every morning. My kidneys don’t work so I can’t urinate. Instead I have a tube in my belly that gets hooked up to a machine at night. It pumps fluid into my abdomen which absorbs wastes and is then drained out. It runs all night but doesn’t hurt until the final drain at 7:00 am. The other morning I had a particularly painful final drain, cramps through my whole body and I couldn’t move. As I lay there I glanced over at my nightstand, which held my blood pressure machine, my thermometer, and a bowl in case I had to vomit. I wondered why bother, why go through another day, more pain, more suffering. What did I have to look forward to? As the tears began rolling down my cheeks my daughter appeared in the doorway. Without saying a word, she slipped into bed next to me. I was filled with joy as my question was answered

As it stands right now, you must have it written on paper (an organ donor card, a living will, a notation on your driver's license) if you wish to be an organ donor upon your death. Some groups are lobbying to have this law reversed. This would mean that unless you had stated otherwise, your organs could be harvested upon your death. This would help the thousands of people on waiting lists waiting for an organ. I have a definite opinion on this because I am one of those people on a waiting list. I have been on dialysis for 3 years, and I need a kidney. I am not healthy enough to hold a job, or do much of anything. I believe that when a person dies they could give the gift of life to someone else by donating their organs. More than 88,000 people are waiting for the gift of life Each day, about 74 people receive an organ transplant. However, 17 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs. Please decide today to make your wishes known about organ and tissue donation. Make today the day you: Download, print, sign and carry a donor card. Say yes to donation on your driver's license. Sign up with your State’s donor registry (if your State has one). Discuss your decision with your family. They may be asked to give consent. What are you waiting for?