Day 305/365

     Yesterday/day 305 10 year-old Jessica Schwerin got to come home to Bay City, exactly one week after having her kidney transplant operation down in Ann Arbor. She and her mother were driven back in the limo again, and before going home they stopped in to see Jessica's kidney donor, local business owner Brian Martindale. It was a fun reunion to witness, (Jessica was mostly asleep when Brian visited her in her recovery room when they were both still down in Ann Arbor last Sunday). I've loved being able to be a part of this story from the beginning up until now, and I'm so glad these two are both recovering well and rather quickly. They both deserve it. If you'd like to see more photos and articles written on Jessica's homecoming, you can find a few with links to others on MLive here.

Day 300/365

     Yesterday/day 300 was a good one. I went back down to Ann Arbor and got to see how Jessica and her donor Brian were doing. Brian said he was almost back to 100%, just moving a bit slow and taking it easy for the most part. Jessica was asleep for almost the entire time I was there, which is understandable given everything she's been through these past few days. It was pretty easy to sense how different the mood was with her family though; her mother Stacey was so much more relieved and just so happy. She stopped herself from hugging Brian when he first walked in because she didn't trust herself not to hug him too tight and hurt him. It was a great moment to witness all the same. I got to write the update that went with the other photos I took, and if you like you can find them on MLive here. 

Day 299/365

     Saturday's/day 299's belated posted comes to you from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. I went down to the hospital to see how Jessica and her donor Brian were doing after having a kidney transplant operation done this past Friday. Both were still going through the more uncomfortable stages of recovery, so I opted to come back Sunday/yesterday/day 300 to see if they were feeling more up to having their pictures taken. 

     While I was waiting to take to a P.R. rep. from the hospital though I got to hang out in the pretty spiffy lobby. The hospital was redesigned last year to be more colorful and fun, with sparkly floors that glitter even more when the colored lights on the ceiling reflect on them. Totally worth the trip down.

Day 298/365

     My boss was nice enough to put me on the night shift today since I got back to my apartment extremely late last night after spending time with Jessica in her hotel room in Ann Arbor. I was assigned to cover a boys basketball game. I tend to make a point of showing up early so I make sure I get team rosters and get a decent spot to start shooting from. When I got to tonight's location, the girls varsity game was still going, and the sports reporter that was covering both games asked me if I could get a few quick pictures of the girls game since it was turning out to be a pretty big upset. 

     

     There was some decent playing in both games, but after covering last Friday's craziness, (day 291), every other matchup just pales in comparison.