In December, we celebrated Arden’s first heart transplant anniversary. What a year this has been! The first six months were the hardest. It became much more manageable as her appointments began to spread out. She had a heart catheterization this Christmas break, and the doctors were happy with how well her new heart works. Since leaving the hospital last February, she has had no signs of rejection, which means her body is accepting the new heart as its own. She is doing so well that she only needs to visit the cardiologist once every three months.

Arden has much more energy, and we see a significant improvement in her stamina as she spends every Sunday afternoon ice skating. She is a straight-A student and enjoys spending her free time writing stories. She started a Spanish club at her school and loves planning meetings for her classmates. This year, she joined the speech and debate team. She wrote an informative speech on the history of criminals. Her first tournament was in October, and she took home a trophy for second place in the novice (beginners) competition. She also placed second in the following tournament and has now moved up to compete in the open (advanced) level competitions. She enjoys spending her Saturdays with her friends on the speech team.

Thank you to each of you for your continued prayers for our family. We are grateful for your support.