When I met Andrew in 2004, it was love at first site. I saw him standing in the middle of church praying and worshipping God. Let's just say, his way of worshipping was very unique, and I knew instantly that he was in love with Jesus. I knew at that moment, if he loves God that much, then he would know exactly how to love me. I have never met a man with as much compassion, sympathy, empathy, and unconditional love as Andrew! He truly has the heart of Christ and always wants to help, pray, encourage, counsel, and listen to anyone. We have been married for almost 10 years and still feel like we are on a honeymoon. 

However, Andrew has endured many health issues without complaint. When we got married in April 2005, Andrew had Diabetes Type 1 and he was loosing all of his hair because of an autoimmune issue called Alopecia Areata. In our first year of marriage, Andrew's health dramatically declined. He got down to 130 lbs, had severe migraines and nausea, and was diagnosed with sterile meningitis. Vanderbilt referred us to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where Andrew underwent several test for about a month. While we where out there, Andrew started to eat and feel better, and I realized we might have something environmental happening in or around our home. We decided to leave the Mayo Clinic, and as soon as I got home, I had our house tested for mold. I quickly found out, that we had black mold growing in our air conditioner unit. I had that removed and Andrew started feeling better, but then later that year, Andrew had his first grandmal seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Each year of our marriage, Andrew's health has declined. He was diagnosed with AAG (Autonomic Autoimmune Gangliopathy) in 2011, which has mainly affected his ability to stand and uses a wheelchair. If he tries to walk, his blood pressure drops to about 60/30 and he falls. In fact, as I am writing this, he tried to walk to the restroom and a saw him start to fall. I caught him, and yelled for help.

Thankfully, Andrew's family was able to pick him up and carry him to the couch. In September of 2014, Andrew was diagnosed with Budd-Chiari syndrome, also known as Hepatic vein obstruction. It's a blockage of the hepatic vein, which carries blood away from the liver, according to the National Library of Medicine. Drew's blockage was caused by a blood clot, and he's currently in stage IV liver failure. Normally a liver transplant would be an option, but because of his previous autoimmune conditions, Drew is not a candidate for liver transplant surgery. His liver has such extensive damage that it should not still be working, but his currently is. Doctors have given him a vague timeline of "months to years to live." Since this diagnosis, Andrew and I have decided to complete our bucket list. No one knows when our last moment will be on this earth, so we decided to focus on the things that are really close to our heart! 

We want to find the joy in each day, in each thing, and mostly in each other. We want to share that joy and hopefully someone somewhere will find hope in our story. We also partnered with Move Your Mountain because we had an outpouring of people wanting to help make our truelovebucketlist come true. We sincerely thank you for reading and sharing our story! 

With All the Love in Our Hearts, Drew and Alicia.