Friday, February 29, 2008

Post Transplant - DAY 1 & 2

Well, what a journey! The wait for lungs is finally over! Success!

After an 8 hour surgery, Darren was able to visit me at 7:30 am on February 22, 2008! The nurse woke me and I could hear Darren, Jill and the nurse by my side, but I could not answer or make any hand gestures - even though I was trying my best to do so! I do remember Darren cracking some joke and they tell me I shook my head in 'shame' - as for those of you who know Darren - it was something 'off the cuff' for sure! Apart from that, I remember thinking to myself - "Is it over already? That was too quick to be major surgery! Did something go wrong?" Darren reassured me that everything went fine and I was doing extremely well so soon out of surgery! I was pleased and drifted off to sleep again.

Come 2:00 pm that day, Darren returned to the hospital (from taking a well deserved nap) to find me wide awake! I haven't looked back since! I have to admit that the one night that I had the breathing tube still inserted, I was pretty pissed with it - it was SOOOOO irritating! Luckily I didn't have it too long - it was removed the day following surgery!

But even with the tube in - I still knew things were great! See - two thumbs up! I'm doin' fine!







As you can see, we're both relieved to have the tube removed! Everything feels so different! Apart from the pain of the 4 chest tubes - I'm feeling GREAT! Luckily the docs know the right combo of pain meds now to keep me comfortable - but alert! I had a few days of 'way too many pain meds' which left me 'out-of-it'. Darren got quite the kick out of me so drowsy - LOL - glad someone did! Apparently I was making NO sense at all ... not something I want to revisit!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I've been asked over and over about "how it feels to breath" - honestly, I can't answer that! All I can say is "it's just so different"! Completely different from my old CF lungs! No wheezing, no coughing, no shortness of breath, no gasping for air, NO OXYGEN! I can actually take a deep breath! I don't even remember how long it's been since I've been able to breath like this! I thought prior to transplant I was 'pretty healthy' for a CFer - boy was I wrong! Then again I guess for someone with 30 years of lung damage -just being able to open my eyes is 'good'!

Ok, ok, now you know I couldn't go without a foolish picture of me! This was the "will you frig off Darren" face! LOL!








36 hours after surgery - here I am! WALKING! I don't remember much of the ICU or Step-down units, but as you can see, I was wide awake - I guess - LOL! However, I do remember getting up and walking - mainly because of how easy it was breathing wise! Of course the pain helps to jog the memory too - hehe! Nevertheless, nothing was stopping me now! It felt great to actually get out of bed and walk around without getting short of breath!

The doctors were quite pleased with my progress - so much so, they removed 2 of the chest tubes before I left step-down ... the whole 3 days I spent there! I'm after a record breaker if you haven't figured it out ... so far I'm ahead of most ... LOL!

I was moved down to the 7th Floor on on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - here's where I'll stay until the tubes come out and I can go 'home'! The tubes are doing more draining than the docs had hoped - but its nothing uncommon. We're going to leave them a little longer to get the fluid out - then I'll be ready to go!

Everyone including me are quite pleased and surprised at my recovery ... it's full steam ahead now!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Call #3 ... this is the one!

Just a quick post before we leave ...

We just got the third call - this HAS to be the one! I have a great feeling that it is!! The Transplant Coordinator at TGH just called to offer me some lungs - surgery is scheduled for 10pm tonight! Well, we have to get going, and with any luck you won't hear from me for a little while - LOL!

Keep your fingers crossed that this IS the call!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Still Here - Still Me


Well, I'm still here - WAITING! I'm heading off to St. Mike's for a check-up today. My lungs are feeling a bit 'icky' but I think this is as good as it's going to get!

I FINALLY got to put on a pair of jeans today - after 3 long months! Pajamas are really comfortable, but there was only some much more I could take! At least I feel like a 'normal' person today - LOL - apart from the hoses, wheel chair, coughing, wheezing, etc., etc., etc., - LOL!

The only thing is - I am SO SICK of waiting! I know there's nothing we can do about it - but it's really hard on times to say the least! If you only knew that it was going to be this month, or next month - but alas, no one knows. We keep praying that it will happen soon - I'm not sure how much more I can take - health wise ...

Saturday, February 16, 2008

MOVING DOWNTOWN!

After having 2 "false alarms", we decided that it was in our best interest to move closer to the hospital in the event that MY surgery would be scheduled soon. With the help of my cousin and the wonderful people at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, we were able to secure a room with a kitchenette! We made the move today and are getting settled in as we speak!


Here are a few picture of our room - it's really cozy!

Bed and mini office

Kitchenette

Sofa ad living area
Our stay with Mick and Marina was fabulous, but beating back and forth from Etobicoke 3-4 times per week was too tiring - and not to mention an expensive cab ride! We're now only a hop, skip, and a jump from TGH! Much better than a 30-40 minute cab ride!

Thanks so much Mick and Marine for everything you've done!

Friday, February 08, 2008

False Alarm #2

Well, here we go again! I got call #2 this morning. We had to go to TGH for 9 am, have all the regular testing done and wait to see if surgery was going ahead. I was warned ahead of time that I was a "back-up" patient - this meaning that if the person scheduled for surgery wasn't able to go ahead, the lungs would be mine.

Unfortunately, only after an hour, we were told to go home again as the person originally scheduled for surgery was taken in. I did have a feeling that I would be called today - as it was my grandmother's birthday. I told Darren earlier this week that February 8 would be the date - but not so! Hey, I did get a call though! Third time's gotta be the charm ...