Denham Springs, LA

Steve at the grill

Our journey eastward included a planned stop in Denham Springs to visit with Steve Landry and his family. Steve was our boss in the shelter when we worked with the Red Cross after Katrina, and later was my boss when I worked in headquarters.

I consider him one of my special friends. We worked well together, even considering the unique circumstance we worked in, Steve once suggested that we go to Pakistan to help the Red Cross there, but his wife, Jana, quickly vetoed that idea. Steve had a bad heart, not getting better.

In December 2007 we received a call from Steve to let us know that he had successfully survived a heart transplant. We might not have needed much of a reason to stop and see him, but hearing that he had received the heart he had been waiting for prompted us to go a few extra miles to see him.

Softball star Natalie and her mom

We found him in good spirits. I joked that they must have had trouble finding a heart large enough, since Steve had a way of taking care of people, he was a big hearted guy. It turns out that the heart he received was literally too small, and his body was adapting to it, and that was giving him some trouble. He also was consuming a lot of medication, which left him swollen all over. He looked like he had gained 50 lbs, but it was not so. His dietary recommendations were limited, but Steve always played a bit loose with the rules, so he was giving himself a few liberties with the food. Even so, he seemed to be behaving himself, for the most part.

The baseball star Nathan

Perhaps more difficult for him was the adjustment to the changes brought about by his transplant. He had high expectations for life after the transplant, and he has not, as yet, realized those expectations. Perhaps he will as his rehab proceeds. Thwarted expectations generally produce upsets, and Steve is struggling with his.

But the visit turned into a feast. We came to their house when we got to town, and Steve grilled steaks and Jana made mac&cheese, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake. We retaliated the next day with pork chops, cole slaw, basque eggplant casserole, and yellow rice with veggies. We showed Steve, Jana, and Nathan around our motorhome, showed pics of our travels, and talked about old times.

As an anniversary present, Steve and Jana brought us 5 pounds of mud puppies aka crawfish, a Louisiana specialty. We had some before our dinner on Sunday, and had the rest for lunch at a rest stop in Mississippi the next day. They were GOOD! We'll look forward to tasting them again the next time we get down that way.