Thoughts about all this...

Well Lee and I have been in NC almost two weeks and I've been in rehab for three days. We still haven't finished unpacking but with the way they kick our butts in rehab I should be buff enough in another week to unpack everything in an hour or two!!! I'm not serious but I will say that I think I'm going to be a LOT stronger after this program.

Here's what's going through my mind - and it's a bit weird - since we arrived in NC, my breathing has gotten so much better that I'm wondering if the Doc is going to say I'm not sick enough for a transplant. That would just be a mixed bag of tricks...yea that I'm not that sick but boo because some day I will be.

So...it makes me wonder if I am improved - for whatever reason - will they send us back to CA or will they tell us we need to stay in NC a lot longer than we planned. Either way things would be interesting.

I may just be borrowing trouble but I really have been breathing better for over a week. I'll keep everyone posted on this one.

I go see the cardiologist on the 13th because I have to have another Heart Cath on the 15th. I go see my pulmonologist - Dr. Zaas - on the 14th. I am really lucky to have him. He's the head of the program and really nice.

On the 20th I have to go to the GI Lab and have this AWFUL test re-done. You have to swallow a probe (they say it's really small and I say it's really big!) and keep it down for 24 hours while you eat. It tests your acid reflux. It's nasty and it hurts your throat!

Then the last test I know about for the time being is on the 22nd when I have a PET Scan of my chest. The last CT scan showed a tiny little nodule in my upper right lobe of my lungs. They want to make sure it's not cancer. They aren't worried about that so neither am I.

I've met several patients that have had their transplants and they have been both helpful and uplifting. I met another patient this evening while I was waiting at Walgreens for a prescription. He and his wife were waiting for a script too. Small world...especially around Duke. This man recognized me from rehab because I may not have mentioned it but you have to go to 23 days of rehab before AND after transplant. He was real nice and he gave me a lot of comforting info...I'm always grateful for that. His wife told me about a support group for caregivers that Lee can go to. It will be so good for him to meet other people going through what he is. His perspective is definitely different than mine and just as stressful!

Well time for dinner and bed!

Love,

Lee, Wendy and Missy