Hi all. I haven't blogged because I felt that I didn't really have much exciting to say. It was the same old "blah blah blah" and I got into a routine that left out time for blogging. I'm sorry about that and I will try to be better at it in the future. My family and friends mean so much to me and this really is a way to feel closer when I don't get to see them often!
With that out of the way :-)...I did get a new stomach wrap in March and it has really worked! I felt great afterwards and I haven't had any food inhalation problems. That's so great! April was a pretty quiet month. Lee and I decided that our rental house was just not cutting it! We had NO storage and I just couldn't get into the carport idea. So with surprisingly little work we found our new house and by now we are done relocating around NC! Good or bad this house stays:-)
Some of you are probably wondering why we haven't just packed up and headed back to CA. Well we both need to say that it's really not that easy! First of all, I have not received a medical clearance for us to move back. In fact they haven't even mentioned it. None of this treatment is cut and dried. We have no idea when we would move back to CA so we both want to be as comfortable as possible while we live here.
As I said earlier, April was great. We got the news that I now had finally reached two months in a row with no rejection! That was beyond super for us! We were so excited and so were the Docs and nurses. I don't even like to think about what they had planned if the results were different! But they weren't so we sort of scooted through the month. We went to the NC Farmer's Market in Greensboro and got some great zucchini to stuff and bake. Yummy!
We went to see our good friends Don and Susan Biggerstaff and that was so much fun. They live about two hours from us and have a gorgeous house that easily accommodates Lee, Missy and me for a visit. We went to stay for the day and ended up staying for the night. Most embarrassing part was when Missy got upstairs, she didn't quite understand how to get down again. I think it was fear and Lee of course said we just hadn't taught her yet! Either way, Lee ended up carrying Missy down the stairs. I considered just leaving money for food and asking Susan to call me if Missy ever came downstairs :-) ! Other than that, the three of us look forward to going back to see them again!
Then May rolled in....
We had beautiful weather so we went to the Kernersville Spring Folly which is a giant street fair in the downtown historic part of Kernersville. Well, we weren't the only first time people at the Folly. CNN had a huge truck/bus there with interviews etc. Lee and I ran into them later and asked what brought them to this particular event. They said that the Kernersville area was documented as one of the fastest growing areas in the United States and they wanted to see why! Well..is there a better way to see the true Kerenersville than attending the Spring Folly? Maybe...maybe not! There was a great turnout!! Lee and I chit chatted with the local firemen and policemen and business people and fellow Kernersvillians (ok, I'm sure I made that word up!)
They had a craft area and and entertainment area and of course, a food area. We just couldn't pass up that blooming onion. It was huge and calling our name so we split one with ranch dressing to dip it in...really good but it became the beginning of the end.
We headed home after we'd seen most of Folly and had a great rest of the day and then dinner. At midnight everything broke loose! I woke up sooooo sick. I tried so hard to vomit but thanks to Dr. Onideas my stomach wrap prevented that from happening so my insides just kept wrenching those muscles while I had awful diarrhea. Yes I know my Amy says I should not discuss this kind of stuff but I have to say it was horrible! This same combination of activities took place every 10-15 minutes from Midnight until about 9:00 a.m. I was drained and feeling close to death!!! Of course God didn't plan on me dying right then but I was sure game!
Being this sick kept me from attending a really great picnic at the park for Mother's Day. I was so disappointed. Several families attended and everyone had a great time! I stayed super sick through the following Thursday when I called my Transplant Coordinator for the second time and said I just didn't feel any better. So....off to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem for IV fluids. Baptist is a good hospital and it's only abut 20 minutes away while Duke is 80 - 90 minutes away.
The IV fluids immediately made me feel better. Even though I was trying to drinking as much water as possible I had gotten really dehydrated. I thought this trip would be like going to the gas station...you know "fill her up" and head on home. Except it turns out that the dehydration had put me in renal failure which is not a good thing. I ended up being a patient at Baptist from Thursday - Saturday. My renal problems came under control and I felt so much better after being plumped up with fluids I was not 'cured' but I was sure well enough to go back home.
Lee and I were both so glad that I was feeling better. Did I mention that Lee was also sicker than I think I've ever seen him. That made it so much worse! Poor guy...he had us all moved into the new house while I was in the hospital and he was sick too! All we needed to do was lay down and feel cruddy for a few days and then all would be well with the world! Nope! Lee did get better but I just kept getting worse and worse and neither of us knew what to do. I was trying everything and it just didn't stay in my body!
Another call to Tracie (my coordinator) and I was being admitted to Duke. I think Lee and I both knew this was going to happen but we were hoping and praying I'd get better. Lee brought me down to the hospital and stayed with me until I was situated in 7800 again. After a million tests and IVs and meds they finally decided I didn't have C Diff, CMV or several other very nasty bugs or diseases. It was basically a case of me having no immune system and getting food poisoning or a virus allowed the bugs to take over my immunosuppressed body. Well my body fought back...it just took two long stays in the hospital and the help of my unbelievably helpful husband! I just love him so much!
Lee and I were both feeling well and looking forward to getting the house a little organized. Boy this is when I need Sharen, Vanessa, Terri, Amy and a and bunch of others that are way better than me at organizing!!!!
We also realized that we need more furniture. This house has an eating area in the kitchen and we need a table and chest of some kind (so I can store my cookbooks etc) The following weekend was Memorial Weekend so we trucked all over the place looking for tables etc. Ugh! It wasn't fun at all because we couldn't find just what we wanted. Monday morning we went to one more place and found a table! Yay! We were both so excited but I still didn't have my chest (-: Lee didn't care. We had a table and he was done for awhile with furniture shopping. I couldn't blame him!
That afternoon I went to the fabric store - alone of course :-) On my way home I saw a furniture store we hadn't been to (didn't know there was one!) I swung in with high hopes of finding the perfect chest for the kitchen! That would just complete our day!
I walked all over the store and finally, in the back of the store, I found a hutch that might just work. But...there wasn't a price tag on it! Everything but this one item had tags on it! Just my luck! I saw a table and chairs set that had prices listed on a paper and thought the hutch might be listed. One turn of my body and then a step or two and I really could say "just my luck"! My foot caught on a rug that was higher and stiffer than all the others. My foot didn't move and my body sort of launched or fell to the cement floor so that my hip hit first! I don't know if any of you have ever had an injury where you could immediately say to yourself "oh this isn't good". Well that was my injury! The people at the furniture store weren't super helpful - 30 minutes + until the EMS arrived and the staff seemed very non-chalant that they had a customer laying on their floor who couldn't move. Finally got to a hospital in Greensboro and Lee and Amy and Michael arrived. The doc came in and said my hip was broken and he didn't care what hospital I chose to have surgery but surgery it would be!
Amy suggested we ask Duke if they were good with us staying in Greensboro or if they wanted us to come to Duke. I looked at Amy like she had grown a new head! Everyone thought that was a great idea while I thought they had lost their minds...Duke was not going to let me out of their hands for major surgery!
I was right...They wanted to have me transported to Duke under the care of Dr. Zaas (when did my pulmonologist become an ortho specialist???)
They shipped me by ambulance to Duke Monday night and I had surgery on Wednesday. Lee and Amy were here and I just felt safe. As much as I didn't want to make the drive down to Duke, I had all my docs in one place with new Duke Ortho guys and God, Lee and Amy watching over it all, I new I was going to be just fine! Amy would make sure of it! Lee and I have found in medical situations that she is a "take-charge" kind of girl and everybody better shape up and do their part correctly! That includes Lee and Me!!!
It's now a week after the fall and Lee and I (plus friends and family) have been through a lot! Physical Therapy was excruciating at times but I know the effort and pain will pay off and that someday I should be able to walk without a walker or maybe even without a cane! I'm working my butt off towards that end! This is going to be a tremendous amount of work - not just for me! - and it will be costly but it's worth it. And just think...through the whole thing I can breathe!!!!! Praise God for that one!!!
Love and Hugs to everyone and because there will be changing updates, I'll blog a lot more often!
Lee, Missy and Wendy
Monday, June 6, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Bronch Results and The Continuing Saga of the Stomach Wrap!
Hi! Hi! Hi!
I'm so excited to say that my bronchoscopy results came back showing NO REJECTION!!! That is such a big deal for me! Rejection can ultimately kill a transplant patient more that most other things. My rejection has been very mild but still month after month right in the beginning isn't a good thing.
Tracie (my coordinator) said they still want to do another bronch in a month just to make sure there's no rejection next month either. I'm for that. If there's no rejection then maybe we can go to every three month...we can pray!
Now on the the stomach wrap. I saw Dr. Perez - my stomach surgeon - because Dr. Zaas wanted me to have another stomach wrap. Mine came undone :-( Before I saw Dr. Perez I had a barium swallow test. Yes, it's as yucky as it sounds! Anytime you have to swallow barium it's nasty tasting...even if they flavor it! Those results showed quite a bit of reflux. Dr. Perez was sure my wrap came undone but he was hesitant to do another surgery until he checked to see if I did or did not have a "Nutcracker Esophagus". If I have one he said I shouldn't have another wrap because the nutcracker would 'unwrap' the wrap!
At Dr. Perez's request I had another test called a mammometry test. A probe is inserted down your throat (a real blast!!! - not!) and then you swallow small sips of water while some machine measures how your esophagus does. The test results said I do have a Nutcracker Esophagus. So Dr. Perez said NO WRAP!
Well, I saw Dr. Zaas this last Wednesday and he said he still wants the stomach wrap and he was going to email Dr. Perez right away. Hmmmm...
Yesterday, Friday, a nice girl called and said she needed to schedule an appointment for me on Monday with a Dr. Mark Onaitis. I then asked who he was and when I found out he was a thoracic surgeon I asked if she had the wrong person. No...I had an appoint on Monday and he was going to do a procedure. What???!!!?!?! Who is this guy and what procedure does he plan on doing on me?????
Dr. Onaitis is going to perform stomach wrap surgery on Tuesday so he wants to meet me on Monday! I then asked this very nice girl what about my stomach surgeon? Do you know who Dr. Perez is? Nope, she didn't. Hmmm again. Maybe I was getting confused but then the girl that this all might have something to do with Dr. Zaas. Of course! He apparently was emailing both Dr. Perez and Dr. Onaitis at the same time and the two docs had different opinions regarding doing a stomach wrap on me. Dr. Perez --NO! Dr. Onaitis -- Yes because he doesn't think I really have a nutcracker esophagus. I wonder who's test results he was reading!
Anyway, the final outcome is that I go to Duke Monday to meet the surgeon and then go to pre-op. On Tuesday I go to Duke North (the hospital) and check in for the surgery. I'll be in the hospital two to three days and then it's home on liquids or soft foods. I will be so hungry and want to eat everything that I can't!
Say a little prayer that I make a good patient :-)
More updates later!
Hugs and Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
I'm so excited to say that my bronchoscopy results came back showing NO REJECTION!!! That is such a big deal for me! Rejection can ultimately kill a transplant patient more that most other things. My rejection has been very mild but still month after month right in the beginning isn't a good thing.
Tracie (my coordinator) said they still want to do another bronch in a month just to make sure there's no rejection next month either. I'm for that. If there's no rejection then maybe we can go to every three month...we can pray!
Now on the the stomach wrap. I saw Dr. Perez - my stomach surgeon - because Dr. Zaas wanted me to have another stomach wrap. Mine came undone :-( Before I saw Dr. Perez I had a barium swallow test. Yes, it's as yucky as it sounds! Anytime you have to swallow barium it's nasty tasting...even if they flavor it! Those results showed quite a bit of reflux. Dr. Perez was sure my wrap came undone but he was hesitant to do another surgery until he checked to see if I did or did not have a "Nutcracker Esophagus". If I have one he said I shouldn't have another wrap because the nutcracker would 'unwrap' the wrap!
At Dr. Perez's request I had another test called a mammometry test. A probe is inserted down your throat (a real blast!!! - not!) and then you swallow small sips of water while some machine measures how your esophagus does. The test results said I do have a Nutcracker Esophagus. So Dr. Perez said NO WRAP!
Well, I saw Dr. Zaas this last Wednesday and he said he still wants the stomach wrap and he was going to email Dr. Perez right away. Hmmmm...
Yesterday, Friday, a nice girl called and said she needed to schedule an appointment for me on Monday with a Dr. Mark Onaitis. I then asked who he was and when I found out he was a thoracic surgeon I asked if she had the wrong person. No...I had an appoint on Monday and he was going to do a procedure. What???!!!?!?! Who is this guy and what procedure does he plan on doing on me?????
Dr. Onaitis is going to perform stomach wrap surgery on Tuesday so he wants to meet me on Monday! I then asked this very nice girl what about my stomach surgeon? Do you know who Dr. Perez is? Nope, she didn't. Hmmm again. Maybe I was getting confused but then the girl that this all might have something to do with Dr. Zaas. Of course! He apparently was emailing both Dr. Perez and Dr. Onaitis at the same time and the two docs had different opinions regarding doing a stomach wrap on me. Dr. Perez --NO! Dr. Onaitis -- Yes because he doesn't think I really have a nutcracker esophagus. I wonder who's test results he was reading!
Anyway, the final outcome is that I go to Duke Monday to meet the surgeon and then go to pre-op. On Tuesday I go to Duke North (the hospital) and check in for the surgery. I'll be in the hospital two to three days and then it's home on liquids or soft foods. I will be so hungry and want to eat everything that I can't!
Say a little prayer that I make a good patient :-)
More updates later!
Hugs and Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
It's going to be a Happy New Year!
Hi all.
Well, as most of you know by now it's been a long month or so! In the middle of December, Lee and I flew to CA for Christmas and had a wonderful time with our family and friends. That time deserves a 'best Christmas ever' tag if only Amy and Michael were also there!
It was just after Christmas that things went haywire...we had already rescheduled our trip to return on the 4th of January because Lee really wanted to go to an important doctor appointment with his brother on December 30th. Everything went well with that appointment and so we were getting ready to head back to NC. We had to ship a couple of boxes because we somehow (like always!) ended up with more than we brought!!
It was so great to be staying with John and Sharen. Even though we added 5 more nights to our stay they were so fine about it. We got to see Emily (our youngest granddaughter) cheer for the Rio Linda HS Freshman team. That was really fun for us. She's so cute! We got to spend more time with Brandon too while he played NBA 2K11. I can't complain because I bought it for him! :-)
New Year's Eve we went to Karen and Rocky's house and had a really fun time. We had lots of food and played games and then we all went into the living room to play Dance II for the Wii machine. Even us old ladies gave it a try and it was a blast!!! If you're looking for a good exercise workout, this is it!
New Year's day was quiet until evening. Lee and I were going to spend the evening with the kids playing Wii while John and Sharen went to a play. Wii is super fun - I really never thought I'd have much use for it but I love it!!!
8:00 that night, my back started hurting and I went to lay down. The pain got so severe (couldn't even move without it taking me down). After two prescription pain pills we called 911. That was a first for me! Anyway I only remember parts of the trip to the hospital because I was really out of it (didn't know it had nothing to do with my back!).
Got to the ER at 10:00 p.m. and my temp was 103.6 degrees. That got their attention! Neither Lee nor I had any clue I was even running a fever!
ER started treating the fever and one of the first things they decided they needed to do was pull my PIC line out of my left arm. I've found that is the 'normal' protocol for anyone with a PIC line who presents in the ER with a high fever. They don't want to take a chance and it's relatively easy for germs to attach to the inside of a PIC line and then infiltrate the body (doesn't that sound ghastly!)
After they pulled the PIC, they decided I needed a line running from my groin to my heart...just no fun and pretty useless. They never used it as far as I know!
Labs and X-rays came back quickly and it was determined I had pneumonia, staff infection and gram negative infection. Geeez...that's enough for one night! But oh no that's not to be...during their administering to me my body decided to plummet my blood pressure. It went down to 74 over 18. Apparently that is really really not good! I came back around when one of the nurses was yelling and the dr. was yelling too (gee is that what woke me up?!??!!)
Anyway I went back out and have no idea how they fixed that problem. They put me in ICU and I spent the next day and night there. I got lots of IV meds and fluids. Next they transferred me to the transplant block of rooms and they gave me more drugs and monitored me. I was in the hospital for six nights. Definitely ready to go 'home' to John and Sharen's.
I was told by my CA docs that I needed to recuperate for two weeks before flying back to NC. Dr. Zaas, on the other hand, wanted me back at Duke ASAP. This created a dilemma because I didn't want to tick off either doctor. The CA doc would become my treating doctor upon a return to CA and Dr. Zaas is my current doctor. So I decided to 'split the difference' and go home in one week. Boy was Lee ready too! By then we had been in CA for over three weeks. Talk about overstaying your welcome!!! But John and Sharen were adamant that it was fine for us to stay as long as needed. I think they are now considering opening a boarding house or bed and breakfast when they retire. Just kidding! :-)
We finally got on a flight on January 15th - one month after we flew to CA!
We picked up our baby (Missy the dog) at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. She was really glad to see us and pretty well adjusted for having been dumped for a month :-) Camp Bow Wow is the greatest!!!!
The next couple of weeks were spent in doctor appoitments; finishing unpacking; taking down the Christmas decorations; and opening mail (ugh..the bills keep coming).
I go back to the doctor on the 23rd for a bronch, PFT, X-Rays and Clinic appointment. I'm worried about rejection. I've had minor rejection show up with every bronch except one. That's just not a good thing. I'll be talking with Dr. Zaas about this at my clinic appt. I'll let you know what's happening there.
This is all I can think of right now...
Love to everyone,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Well, as most of you know by now it's been a long month or so! In the middle of December, Lee and I flew to CA for Christmas and had a wonderful time with our family and friends. That time deserves a 'best Christmas ever' tag if only Amy and Michael were also there!
It was just after Christmas that things went haywire...we had already rescheduled our trip to return on the 4th of January because Lee really wanted to go to an important doctor appointment with his brother on December 30th. Everything went well with that appointment and so we were getting ready to head back to NC. We had to ship a couple of boxes because we somehow (like always!) ended up with more than we brought!!
It was so great to be staying with John and Sharen. Even though we added 5 more nights to our stay they were so fine about it. We got to see Emily (our youngest granddaughter) cheer for the Rio Linda HS Freshman team. That was really fun for us. She's so cute! We got to spend more time with Brandon too while he played NBA 2K11. I can't complain because I bought it for him! :-)
New Year's Eve we went to Karen and Rocky's house and had a really fun time. We had lots of food and played games and then we all went into the living room to play Dance II for the Wii machine. Even us old ladies gave it a try and it was a blast!!! If you're looking for a good exercise workout, this is it!
New Year's day was quiet until evening. Lee and I were going to spend the evening with the kids playing Wii while John and Sharen went to a play. Wii is super fun - I really never thought I'd have much use for it but I love it!!!
8:00 that night, my back started hurting and I went to lay down. The pain got so severe (couldn't even move without it taking me down). After two prescription pain pills we called 911. That was a first for me! Anyway I only remember parts of the trip to the hospital because I was really out of it (didn't know it had nothing to do with my back!).
Got to the ER at 10:00 p.m. and my temp was 103.6 degrees. That got their attention! Neither Lee nor I had any clue I was even running a fever!
ER started treating the fever and one of the first things they decided they needed to do was pull my PIC line out of my left arm. I've found that is the 'normal' protocol for anyone with a PIC line who presents in the ER with a high fever. They don't want to take a chance and it's relatively easy for germs to attach to the inside of a PIC line and then infiltrate the body (doesn't that sound ghastly!)
After they pulled the PIC, they decided I needed a line running from my groin to my heart...just no fun and pretty useless. They never used it as far as I know!
Labs and X-rays came back quickly and it was determined I had pneumonia, staff infection and gram negative infection. Geeez...that's enough for one night! But oh no that's not to be...during their administering to me my body decided to plummet my blood pressure. It went down to 74 over 18. Apparently that is really really not good! I came back around when one of the nurses was yelling and the dr. was yelling too (gee is that what woke me up?!??!!)
Anyway I went back out and have no idea how they fixed that problem. They put me in ICU and I spent the next day and night there. I got lots of IV meds and fluids. Next they transferred me to the transplant block of rooms and they gave me more drugs and monitored me. I was in the hospital for six nights. Definitely ready to go 'home' to John and Sharen's.
I was told by my CA docs that I needed to recuperate for two weeks before flying back to NC. Dr. Zaas, on the other hand, wanted me back at Duke ASAP. This created a dilemma because I didn't want to tick off either doctor. The CA doc would become my treating doctor upon a return to CA and Dr. Zaas is my current doctor. So I decided to 'split the difference' and go home in one week. Boy was Lee ready too! By then we had been in CA for over three weeks. Talk about overstaying your welcome!!! But John and Sharen were adamant that it was fine for us to stay as long as needed. I think they are now considering opening a boarding house or bed and breakfast when they retire. Just kidding! :-)
We finally got on a flight on January 15th - one month after we flew to CA!
We picked up our baby (Missy the dog) at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. She was really glad to see us and pretty well adjusted for having been dumped for a month :-) Camp Bow Wow is the greatest!!!!
The next couple of weeks were spent in doctor appoitments; finishing unpacking; taking down the Christmas decorations; and opening mail (ugh..the bills keep coming).
I go back to the doctor on the 23rd for a bronch, PFT, X-Rays and Clinic appointment. I'm worried about rejection. I've had minor rejection show up with every bronch except one. That's just not a good thing. I'll be talking with Dr. Zaas about this at my clinic appt. I'll let you know what's happening there.
This is all I can think of right now...
Love to everyone,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Saturday, December 18, 2010
It's beginning to look like Christmas!
Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!
We have arrived in Sacramento, CA and the weather is nasty! Rain and rain and rain! But...I have to say that rain is a great improvement over the snow and ice we left behind in Kernersville. Our driveway was a personal skating rink and as for the roads...we just stayed off of them until the ice melted in the afternoon. Then of course they re-froze at night and it started over again.
With a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Greensboro yesterday morning Lee and I were worried about Amy driving us to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. 4-wheel drive does not help on ice! We ended up getting a room at the Marriot by the airport and the shuttle took us the 1.2 miles to United's terminal. That gave us peace of mind...we didn't want to miss our flight and we didn't want to end up in a ditch somewhere and I didn't want Amy ending up in that same ditch on the way back home!
Our flight wasn't bad at all. We were really nervous about flying into Chicago because of all the storms in the Midwest. When we arrived it wasn't even raining! The flight to Sacramento was uneventful and I slept part of the way.
We are driving a mini van rental. I love it! Lee isn't quite as sure. I can see out of it as well as I can from my Rav 4. Maybe that should be my next car! :-)
We are staying at John and Sharen's house and that is going to be great. It's really nice to be able to just kick back and visit and the kids are so grown up now. We have lots of friends and family to see while we are in Sacramento and then it's on to Pebble Beach on Christmas day to see the rest of the family! I'm really looking forward to that!!!!
Medical update...
I have a cold (my very first one) but it seems to be manageable so far. My blood tests came back showing that my cyclosporine (anti rejection med) numbers are too low so once again I need to up the amount I take of that. I'm up to 175 mg twice a day. Blood tests also showed that my white blood cells are WAY too low...they were really concerned about that one because it means I basically have no immune system at the moment. The fix for that? More stomach shots! At least it's only once a week for this one! I need to find a lab here to have more blood work done on Wednesday. I don't plan on getting sick while I'm here...I just want to have fun!!!
We wish each of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas season! I'll write again after the holidays!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
We have arrived in Sacramento, CA and the weather is nasty! Rain and rain and rain! But...I have to say that rain is a great improvement over the snow and ice we left behind in Kernersville. Our driveway was a personal skating rink and as for the roads...we just stayed off of them until the ice melted in the afternoon. Then of course they re-froze at night and it started over again.
With a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Greensboro yesterday morning Lee and I were worried about Amy driving us to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. 4-wheel drive does not help on ice! We ended up getting a room at the Marriot by the airport and the shuttle took us the 1.2 miles to United's terminal. That gave us peace of mind...we didn't want to miss our flight and we didn't want to end up in a ditch somewhere and I didn't want Amy ending up in that same ditch on the way back home!
Our flight wasn't bad at all. We were really nervous about flying into Chicago because of all the storms in the Midwest. When we arrived it wasn't even raining! The flight to Sacramento was uneventful and I slept part of the way.
We are driving a mini van rental. I love it! Lee isn't quite as sure. I can see out of it as well as I can from my Rav 4. Maybe that should be my next car! :-)
We are staying at John and Sharen's house and that is going to be great. It's really nice to be able to just kick back and visit and the kids are so grown up now. We have lots of friends and family to see while we are in Sacramento and then it's on to Pebble Beach on Christmas day to see the rest of the family! I'm really looking forward to that!!!!
Medical update...
I have a cold (my very first one) but it seems to be manageable so far. My blood tests came back showing that my cyclosporine (anti rejection med) numbers are too low so once again I need to up the amount I take of that. I'm up to 175 mg twice a day. Blood tests also showed that my white blood cells are WAY too low...they were really concerned about that one because it means I basically have no immune system at the moment. The fix for that? More stomach shots! At least it's only once a week for this one! I need to find a lab here to have more blood work done on Wednesday. I don't plan on getting sick while I'm here...I just want to have fun!!!
We wish each of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas season! I'll write again after the holidays!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Well...I missed the month of November!
Hi everyone.
Thanks to those of you who sent reminder notes that my blog showed me still in the hospital! I did get discharged :-)
I completed the Rat-G treatment and didn't get sick at all in the hospital...I was so proud of myself! Well...they discharged me on Sunday evening and Monday morning around 3:00 a.m. I was sicker than I think I've ever been:-( Apparently I just had a delayed reaction to the drugs. Ughhhh! It was really horrible! I hope I don't have to do that one again.
That episode was the beginning of November. With me being that sick on the 1st I just knew the rest of the month would get better!
We were scheduled to move out of our apartment on November 13th and we really weren't ready. Lee had been taking loads in his pickup but we both think the junk was multiplying in the night! Lee packed up the kitchen and most of his clothes while I was in the hospital...guess he didn't need to eat or wear clean underwear (jk) !! We finally got it all packed up by the 12th. We had planned to go to a really nice restaurant for dinner on the 12th because we had no dishes, food or anything else. We were so exhausted that we canceled the reservation and I don't think I even ate that night! :-)
Saturday the 13th Lee went to pick up the rental truck and at least 20 people from our church came over to help us load the truck and clean the apartment. That was such a help...I've never walked out of my house and told my friends that they could lock the apartment up when they were done cleaning! Around 10 people drove to Kernersville to help unload the truck. Lee and I have been totally blessed to have found such a wonderful church family in Durham. We were doubtful when we first arrived in Durham but God lead us to Hope Valley Baptist Church and it's been fabulous - great messages, great friends and of course great food :-)
In our update we have now reached the middle of November with very little Christmas gifts purchased and about 3 million boxes to unpack or did it just seem like that many??? I thought we had labeled the outside of the boxes as to what room they went in..NOT. Because we were reusing the boxes we used when we came out to NC, several boxes didn't get re-labeled. That meant that canned goods ended up in the craft room and it took almost two weeks to find Lee's cell phone charger because it was in a box labeled 'guest room misc.' instead of 'office stuff'. Today is December 2nd and in the last half of November we have unpacked the majority of boxes and gotten somewhat organized.
We also had a great Thanksgiving! We went to Michael's family's house and it was so fun. They are the nicest people and it makes me laugh that they have some really funny 'growing up' stories just like we all do! We missed Amy and Michael because they went to Amy's dad and stepmom's for the holiday. Amy said they had a great time and I'm glad. They don't get to see Dale and Lorie all that often (distance) and life is precious and so is family.
About Thanksgiving for Lee and me...I obviously have everything to be thankful for this year! I can breathe. Above all I thank God for always being with me (then and now) and not letting me drag myself too far down in the muck and mire of self-pity and other non-productive emotions. I can't say enough about faith and patience. This year was a year of strengthened faith and new found patience!
Next I give thanks for the selfless decision of another person or family to donate lungs to me. Thanks to all the docs that kept me going until a donor could be found. Thanks to the surgeon and staff that did such an awesome job creating 'designer lungs' just for my body. Thanks to Tracie and the other TX coordinators for always being on top of my health issues...and we can't forget Lauren and Khara for all their work pre-transplant! Thanks to the docs that still keep me going every single day. Thanks for giving me back my life, my family and my friends.
On to a little medical update...
I haven't been in the hospital since the Rat-G episode. Yay!! Lee and I have both gotten run down from all of the moving. I have come down with a cold but it seems to be staying in my head. I've been getting short of breath so Tracie (tx coordinator) wanted me to come to clinic last Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving). I had a chest xray, blood work and a PFT (pulmonary function test). They looked ok but Dr. Zaas wanted to be oh so cautious and I count on that thought process to keep me alive ;-) He wanted to do a 'quick' CT scan to rule out pulmonary embolisms. Well that quick CT ended up taking six hours because the radiology folks thought I'd had a reaction to the CT dye. It wasn't fun waiting in Durham. But all was well and the scan was clear.
I had my regular bronchoscopy on Monday and I cane back again yesterday to see how my breathing was. I had all the same tests from the week before and saw Dr. Z again. Test results were ok again but because my cold was worse and I was coughing up a little bit of 'blood gobs' he put me on an antibiotic.
My bronch still showed a small amount of rejection so instead of the hospital they ordered solumedrol home IV and a prednisone taper starting at 60 mg. I already gave Lee a heads up that by the time I get the solumedrol and prednisone on board I'll be pretty hyped (let's paper all the walls in the house and then paint the outside...oh, come on Lee it's only 3:00 in the morning!!!)
I got a call yesterday afternoon saying I had to have a followup bronch the first of January because I still have mild rejection. I guess I would have had a break for a month or two if there was no rejection. I don't know what their plan will be if January's bronch shows rejection again. I think I won't worry about it because there's nothing I can do about it - except take care of myself.
I do want to remember to ask Dr Zaas at what point mild rejection might become chronic rejection. Chronic rejection is a biggie. So is moderate rejection - haven't had that!
I've been saving the most exciting news for last - Lee and I are coming out to CA for Christmas!!!! Thanks a huge bunch to Gordon and Ronda...your generosity doesn't seem to know any bounds! We will be coming out on December 17th and staying with John and Sharen and the kids through the 24th. Can't wait!!!!! Our baby Missy will be staying at Camp Bow Wow. It seems like a nice place and we'll be able to check up on her via cameras we can access over the internet. Hope that will be a positive thing!
On Christmas day we will drive to Pebble Beach to share Christmas with my side of the family - Gordon, Ronda, Keith, Stephen, Sue, Rick, Mike, Jake and Jen. We will miss seeing Steve, Amie, Phil and Zach but I certainly understand them wanting to stay in Denver with Amie's mom (her first year in Denver). We leave Pebble Beach the afternoon of the 28th so we are back in Sacramento to catch a flight that leaves way early :-)
We plan on attending church at FSBCRL on the 19th. It will be so nice to see everyone...been too long! The rest of the week is dedicated to seeing Lee's side of the family and as many friends as we can fit it!
Look for our Christmas card in the mail...if it doesn't arrive there's always next year to get them out!
Lots of love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Thanks to those of you who sent reminder notes that my blog showed me still in the hospital! I did get discharged :-)
I completed the Rat-G treatment and didn't get sick at all in the hospital...I was so proud of myself! Well...they discharged me on Sunday evening and Monday morning around 3:00 a.m. I was sicker than I think I've ever been:-( Apparently I just had a delayed reaction to the drugs. Ughhhh! It was really horrible! I hope I don't have to do that one again.
That episode was the beginning of November. With me being that sick on the 1st I just knew the rest of the month would get better!
We were scheduled to move out of our apartment on November 13th and we really weren't ready. Lee had been taking loads in his pickup but we both think the junk was multiplying in the night! Lee packed up the kitchen and most of his clothes while I was in the hospital...guess he didn't need to eat or wear clean underwear (jk) !! We finally got it all packed up by the 12th. We had planned to go to a really nice restaurant for dinner on the 12th because we had no dishes, food or anything else. We were so exhausted that we canceled the reservation and I don't think I even ate that night! :-)
Saturday the 13th Lee went to pick up the rental truck and at least 20 people from our church came over to help us load the truck and clean the apartment. That was such a help...I've never walked out of my house and told my friends that they could lock the apartment up when they were done cleaning! Around 10 people drove to Kernersville to help unload the truck. Lee and I have been totally blessed to have found such a wonderful church family in Durham. We were doubtful when we first arrived in Durham but God lead us to Hope Valley Baptist Church and it's been fabulous - great messages, great friends and of course great food :-)
In our update we have now reached the middle of November with very little Christmas gifts purchased and about 3 million boxes to unpack or did it just seem like that many??? I thought we had labeled the outside of the boxes as to what room they went in..NOT. Because we were reusing the boxes we used when we came out to NC, several boxes didn't get re-labeled. That meant that canned goods ended up in the craft room and it took almost two weeks to find Lee's cell phone charger because it was in a box labeled 'guest room misc.' instead of 'office stuff'. Today is December 2nd and in the last half of November we have unpacked the majority of boxes and gotten somewhat organized.
We also had a great Thanksgiving! We went to Michael's family's house and it was so fun. They are the nicest people and it makes me laugh that they have some really funny 'growing up' stories just like we all do! We missed Amy and Michael because they went to Amy's dad and stepmom's for the holiday. Amy said they had a great time and I'm glad. They don't get to see Dale and Lorie all that often (distance) and life is precious and so is family.
About Thanksgiving for Lee and me...I obviously have everything to be thankful for this year! I can breathe. Above all I thank God for always being with me (then and now) and not letting me drag myself too far down in the muck and mire of self-pity and other non-productive emotions. I can't say enough about faith and patience. This year was a year of strengthened faith and new found patience!
Next I give thanks for the selfless decision of another person or family to donate lungs to me. Thanks to all the docs that kept me going until a donor could be found. Thanks to the surgeon and staff that did such an awesome job creating 'designer lungs' just for my body. Thanks to Tracie and the other TX coordinators for always being on top of my health issues...and we can't forget Lauren and Khara for all their work pre-transplant! Thanks to the docs that still keep me going every single day. Thanks for giving me back my life, my family and my friends.
On to a little medical update...
I haven't been in the hospital since the Rat-G episode. Yay!! Lee and I have both gotten run down from all of the moving. I have come down with a cold but it seems to be staying in my head. I've been getting short of breath so Tracie (tx coordinator) wanted me to come to clinic last Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving). I had a chest xray, blood work and a PFT (pulmonary function test). They looked ok but Dr. Zaas wanted to be oh so cautious and I count on that thought process to keep me alive ;-) He wanted to do a 'quick' CT scan to rule out pulmonary embolisms. Well that quick CT ended up taking six hours because the radiology folks thought I'd had a reaction to the CT dye. It wasn't fun waiting in Durham. But all was well and the scan was clear.
I had my regular bronchoscopy on Monday and I cane back again yesterday to see how my breathing was. I had all the same tests from the week before and saw Dr. Z again. Test results were ok again but because my cold was worse and I was coughing up a little bit of 'blood gobs' he put me on an antibiotic.
My bronch still showed a small amount of rejection so instead of the hospital they ordered solumedrol home IV and a prednisone taper starting at 60 mg. I already gave Lee a heads up that by the time I get the solumedrol and prednisone on board I'll be pretty hyped (let's paper all the walls in the house and then paint the outside...oh, come on Lee it's only 3:00 in the morning!!!)
I got a call yesterday afternoon saying I had to have a followup bronch the first of January because I still have mild rejection. I guess I would have had a break for a month or two if there was no rejection. I don't know what their plan will be if January's bronch shows rejection again. I think I won't worry about it because there's nothing I can do about it - except take care of myself.
I do want to remember to ask Dr Zaas at what point mild rejection might become chronic rejection. Chronic rejection is a biggie. So is moderate rejection - haven't had that!
I've been saving the most exciting news for last - Lee and I are coming out to CA for Christmas!!!! Thanks a huge bunch to Gordon and Ronda...your generosity doesn't seem to know any bounds! We will be coming out on December 17th and staying with John and Sharen and the kids through the 24th. Can't wait!!!!! Our baby Missy will be staying at Camp Bow Wow. It seems like a nice place and we'll be able to check up on her via cameras we can access over the internet. Hope that will be a positive thing!
On Christmas day we will drive to Pebble Beach to share Christmas with my side of the family - Gordon, Ronda, Keith, Stephen, Sue, Rick, Mike, Jake and Jen. We will miss seeing Steve, Amie, Phil and Zach but I certainly understand them wanting to stay in Denver with Amie's mom (her first year in Denver). We leave Pebble Beach the afternoon of the 28th so we are back in Sacramento to catch a flight that leaves way early :-)
We plan on attending church at FSBCRL on the 19th. It will be so nice to see everyone...been too long! The rest of the week is dedicated to seeing Lee's side of the family and as many friends as we can fit it!
Look for our Christmas card in the mail...if it doesn't arrive there's always next year to get them out!
Lots of love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Third Hospitalization :-(
My bronchoscopy results are coming in and three out of four biopsy 'plugs' show rejection. The docs aren't waiting for any more results. They want me in the hospital to take this pretty strong medication.
The short name of the medication is Rat-G and it's known to make lots of people really sick to their stomachs...but not everyone! I'm planning on being one of the not sick people.
Other than that, I was feeling pretty OK. I've been walking a lot and that feels really good. I'm up to a bit over a mile in 20 minutes. I know I'll get better but that takes time!
Lee is feeling good. We actually went to the doctor for him this morning - nice change :-) He had a cardiology appointment and all is well. That's great news. The doctor we had is from CA and his name is Mark Winchester. That's from the rifle family! He is super nice!
We have found a little house to rent in Kernersville. Because we need to stay at least a year post transplant, we had decided to make that year closer to Amy. It wasn't easy finding a rental house but this one will be fine. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and a fenced yard for Missy. It's about 10 - 15 minutes from Amy and Michael. We're slowly moving stuff up there but this hospitalization will put a dent in that...unless Lee moves all my stuff out without my being aware of it :-)
Everyone take care and I hope that everyone who's cheering for the Giants gets their wish!
Love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
The short name of the medication is Rat-G and it's known to make lots of people really sick to their stomachs...but not everyone! I'm planning on being one of the not sick people.
Other than that, I was feeling pretty OK. I've been walking a lot and that feels really good. I'm up to a bit over a mile in 20 minutes. I know I'll get better but that takes time!
Lee is feeling good. We actually went to the doctor for him this morning - nice change :-) He had a cardiology appointment and all is well. That's great news. The doctor we had is from CA and his name is Mark Winchester. That's from the rifle family! He is super nice!
We have found a little house to rent in Kernersville. Because we need to stay at least a year post transplant, we had decided to make that year closer to Amy. It wasn't easy finding a rental house but this one will be fine. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and a fenced yard for Missy. It's about 10 - 15 minutes from Amy and Michael. We're slowly moving stuff up there but this hospitalization will put a dent in that...unless Lee moves all my stuff out without my being aware of it :-)
Everyone take care and I hope that everyone who's cheering for the Giants gets their wish!
Love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I'm alive and well and ten weeks out!
I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged in such a long time.
Since the last blog...
I had my stomach wrap surgery on Thursday, September 30th and was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, October 2nd. I was a little weak from being in the hospital so long (almost two weeks) so we didn't do anything that weekend.
On that Monday we drove up to Kernersville to look at what might be available for rental houses. Because we have to stay at least a year post transplant, we had decided to spend that time up in Kernersville - closer to Amy and Michael. We would also be closer to Michael's family who have been a real joy to us! They have taken us in and made us feel like family!
The rest of that week I went to rehab every day and went from walking 10 minutes very slowly on Tuesday to walking a mile in 20 minutes by Friday. For me that is awesome because if I look back to ten weeks ago, I couldn't walk across the living room without my walker!
This week I saw the surgeon for a follow-up on the 11th. He asked how I was doing and my response was "just fine!" In fact, I was a little concerned that I had popped the two stitches that hold the stomach wrapped around my esophagus because I felt so good. Pretty much everyone I knew who had this done said the first three weeks were really bad and I just didn't have a single problem! :-) The surgeon assured me I didn't pop anything and said I didn't need to come back to see him!
Then, on the 13th, I saw Dr. Zaas. I hadn't had a clinic appointment with him since transplant. I really like each of the transplant doctors but I'll always have an affinity towards Dr. Zaas because he was the doc who saw me through the year of pre-transplant. Dr. Zaas is the only doctor who can look at me and know just how far I've come...even I tend to forget sometimes. The appointment was great. My X-ray was good, my PFTs were good and my blood work was good! Dr. Zaas lengthened my leash so that Lee and I can relocate up to Kernersville when the time is right. That's a big deal because sometimes patients are kept really close for months and months if the docs don't think they are doing as well as they should.
I was also switched from once a week to once every two weeks for clinic appointments. Yay! I must finally be improving!!!! I feel really good. In fact I've felt great since the 11th and I think that's a record for me :-) It is so great to be able to exercise and go to the store and do all the little things that other people can do. I still can't lift anything because of the stomach wrap but that will change on Nov 11th.
I'm attending a Women's retreat this weekend at our church and it's so fun to be with a bunch of other women without worrying about breathing! Life is really, really good!
On the home front, I'm finally finishing up some birthday presents to be mailed...thanks for your patience Brandon and Vanessa (September) and Sharen (July). I better start on Christmas now so they get shipped before Valentine's Day! :-)
I know there is other stuff I should be telling everyone but it's early here and I won't think of it until after I've posted this blog :-) Lee is great - like always! Have I said how fortunate I am to have him as my husband? He is so supportive and encouraging of me and I think he's been the best caretaker ever. He needs to win an award for all he's done in the last couple of years! Missy is good too. I don't think she's looking forward to winter here if we get snow again but other than that all is well with her...a place to sleep and a non-stop supply of dog treats :-)
I will honestly try to blog sooner next time. Also...as soon as I get the pics from Amy I will post some transplant photos for you!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Since the last blog...
I had my stomach wrap surgery on Thursday, September 30th and was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, October 2nd. I was a little weak from being in the hospital so long (almost two weeks) so we didn't do anything that weekend.
On that Monday we drove up to Kernersville to look at what might be available for rental houses. Because we have to stay at least a year post transplant, we had decided to spend that time up in Kernersville - closer to Amy and Michael. We would also be closer to Michael's family who have been a real joy to us! They have taken us in and made us feel like family!
The rest of that week I went to rehab every day and went from walking 10 minutes very slowly on Tuesday to walking a mile in 20 minutes by Friday. For me that is awesome because if I look back to ten weeks ago, I couldn't walk across the living room without my walker!
This week I saw the surgeon for a follow-up on the 11th. He asked how I was doing and my response was "just fine!" In fact, I was a little concerned that I had popped the two stitches that hold the stomach wrapped around my esophagus because I felt so good. Pretty much everyone I knew who had this done said the first three weeks were really bad and I just didn't have a single problem! :-) The surgeon assured me I didn't pop anything and said I didn't need to come back to see him!
Then, on the 13th, I saw Dr. Zaas. I hadn't had a clinic appointment with him since transplant. I really like each of the transplant doctors but I'll always have an affinity towards Dr. Zaas because he was the doc who saw me through the year of pre-transplant. Dr. Zaas is the only doctor who can look at me and know just how far I've come...even I tend to forget sometimes. The appointment was great. My X-ray was good, my PFTs were good and my blood work was good! Dr. Zaas lengthened my leash so that Lee and I can relocate up to Kernersville when the time is right. That's a big deal because sometimes patients are kept really close for months and months if the docs don't think they are doing as well as they should.
I was also switched from once a week to once every two weeks for clinic appointments. Yay! I must finally be improving!!!! I feel really good. In fact I've felt great since the 11th and I think that's a record for me :-) It is so great to be able to exercise and go to the store and do all the little things that other people can do. I still can't lift anything because of the stomach wrap but that will change on Nov 11th.
I'm attending a Women's retreat this weekend at our church and it's so fun to be with a bunch of other women without worrying about breathing! Life is really, really good!
On the home front, I'm finally finishing up some birthday presents to be mailed...thanks for your patience Brandon and Vanessa (September) and Sharen (July). I better start on Christmas now so they get shipped before Valentine's Day! :-)
I know there is other stuff I should be telling everyone but it's early here and I won't think of it until after I've posted this blog :-) Lee is great - like always! Have I said how fortunate I am to have him as my husband? He is so supportive and encouraging of me and I think he's been the best caretaker ever. He needs to win an award for all he's done in the last couple of years! Missy is good too. I don't think she's looking forward to winter here if we get snow again but other than that all is well with her...a place to sleep and a non-stop supply of dog treats :-)
I will honestly try to blog sooner next time. Also...as soon as I get the pics from Amy I will post some transplant photos for you!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Monday, September 27, 2010
Change in Plans
Hi all.
There's been a change in plans...
Apparently my reflux is considerably worse than I realized - and worse than the docs realized! Because of this, Dr. Gray (last transplant doc I had to meet) was going to try and get me into the stomach wrap surgeon (Dr. Perez) within a couple of weeks so that my stomach wrap could get scheduled.
Then Dr. Gray spoke with Dr. Zaas and they ran into Dr. Perez in the hallway. They all spoke about my case and Dr. Perez said he would do the surgery this Thursday! Well....now I'm staying in they hospital and undergoing a couple more tests and meeting with the anesthesiologist and having the surgery on Thursday. Hopefully I will then be discharged on Saturday or Sunday if all goes well. This will be a really long hospital stay!
In layman's terms the stomach wrap takes a section of the stomach and wraps it around the esophagus to decrease the diameter of the esophageal opening into and out of the stomach. This keeps food and/or acid from refluxing back up into the esophagus and then into my brand new lungs. Reflux is one of the main causes of infection and then rejection in transplanted lungs. Duke is considering making this stomach wrap surgery a mandatory part of lung transplant.
Dr. Zaas really wasn't good with sending me home anyway because I am still struggling too much to breathe. He knows me and knows my baseline better than the other docs so he was able to see right away that my breathing wasn't where it should be. This time should allow me to heal, rest and exercise to get stronger.
I am planning on feeling much better when I go home but, from what I hear, that may not be the case. Apparently with the stomach wrap a patient feels cruddy (nauseous, etc.) for around 3 weeks and then they start feeling much better until there are no symptoms at all. At least I should be able to breathe better :-)
I'll keep you posted with other updates!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
There's been a change in plans...
Apparently my reflux is considerably worse than I realized - and worse than the docs realized! Because of this, Dr. Gray (last transplant doc I had to meet) was going to try and get me into the stomach wrap surgeon (Dr. Perez) within a couple of weeks so that my stomach wrap could get scheduled.
Then Dr. Gray spoke with Dr. Zaas and they ran into Dr. Perez in the hallway. They all spoke about my case and Dr. Perez said he would do the surgery this Thursday! Well....now I'm staying in they hospital and undergoing a couple more tests and meeting with the anesthesiologist and having the surgery on Thursday. Hopefully I will then be discharged on Saturday or Sunday if all goes well. This will be a really long hospital stay!
In layman's terms the stomach wrap takes a section of the stomach and wraps it around the esophagus to decrease the diameter of the esophageal opening into and out of the stomach. This keeps food and/or acid from refluxing back up into the esophagus and then into my brand new lungs. Reflux is one of the main causes of infection and then rejection in transplanted lungs. Duke is considering making this stomach wrap surgery a mandatory part of lung transplant.
Dr. Zaas really wasn't good with sending me home anyway because I am still struggling too much to breathe. He knows me and knows my baseline better than the other docs so he was able to see right away that my breathing wasn't where it should be. This time should allow me to heal, rest and exercise to get stronger.
I am planning on feeling much better when I go home but, from what I hear, that may not be the case. Apparently with the stomach wrap a patient feels cruddy (nauseous, etc.) for around 3 weeks and then they start feeling much better until there are no symptoms at all. At least I should be able to breathe better :-)
I'll keep you posted with other updates!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Sunday, September 26, 2010
It has been one long week!
Hi everyone.
I'm sorry I haven't blogged but life has been getting in my way all week :-)
You all know that I was admitted to the hospital on the 10th and discharged home on the 15th. That was a good thing.
Then during the weekend of the 18th - 19th I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. I haven't had a cold and/or flu for at least two years but one always remembers that scratchy funny feeling in your throat and chest. The glands in my throat and neck were tender also. I called my coordinator on call and -- off to the ER for x-rays and blood work to check for infection. Four hours later I was declared 'clean' and Lee and I got to go home.
Tuesday morning...my cold hit! I just felt lousy -- headache, chest tightness, achy, etc. I knew we had an appointment with Dr. Zaas on Wednesday and I really wanted to see him because I haven't had an appointment with him since transplant (I've been seeing other docs on the team). So...I contacted the coordinator on call and asked for something to tide me over until the next day when I saw Dr. Zaas. Tracie, my coordinator, called me back and said I had to go to clinic right then. She had talked with Dr. Zaas and neither were willing to wait a day for me to be seen. Off to clinic!
After more x-rays, blood work and PFTs I saw Dr. Snyder. She is a great doctor and I've seen her a couple of times since transplant. Short version of our conversation...the x-ray showed some 'atypical' stuff in the lungs and the blood work showed elevated white blood cells. Because I was so 'new out' (newly transplanted) and because they found rejection in the last bronch biopsy and because I was just in the hospital with the fungal infection Dr. Snyder wanted me back in the hospital so she could do another bronchoscopy on Wednesday and start treating me aggressively to try and knock all this stuff out of me!
Dr. Snyder didn't care if I got put on the 7800 floor (pulmonary) or not. She was willing to put me in any bed in the hospital and because of that Lee and I got to go home and wait for the hospital to call and tell us they had a room. That is so much better than waiting for hours in admitting! I ended up in 3100, the ICU step-down unit I had been in post transplant. That's nice because I do know some of the nurses.
When I got there Tuesday, they started me on IV anti-biotics and oral anti-biotics. I didn't know that you could take more than one at once but I'm certain these guys all know a lot more than I do when it comes to meds. On Wednesday Dr. Snyder performed the bronchoscopy and three biopsies. I had more blood work and we all waited for results.
Thursday late afternoon we got some results: First - and most important - the biopsy showed NO REJECTION! That is such a big deal!!! For the first time since transplant, my body wasn't trying, at least to some degree, to reject my new lungs. I was thrilled and so was Lee.
The results also showed lots of infection and food induced pneumonia. What that means is food particles are getting into my new lungs and causing infection and ultimately pneumonia. We needed to find out if the food was being aspirated or refluxed so more tests.
Lee got to watch the FEES study that determines if I'm aspirating food into my lungs. It's a really interesting test...they run a camera probe down your throat so that the camera is sitting right above the vocal cords and trachea. Then they feed me food dyed green and watch as I swallow the food. If I'm swallowing correctly, none of the green food or green liquid end up in or near the vocals or trachea. If the green does go in the trachea then it likely would end up in my brand new lungs. That wouldn't be good! Lucky for me all the green food and liquid went down the correct tubes and I passed the study with flying colors :-)
So now, the docs will be looking to see if I'm refluxing the food up into my new lungs from my stomach. If it's reflux then I'll have a simple surgery called Nissen fundoplication - which we all refer to as a stomach wrap. If I need to have one done, I'll go into more detail.
I know I've spent a lot of time talking about food in the lungs but this is one of the most common and serious things that can happen to a transplant patient. Food just doesn't belong in lungs and because it's foreign to the lungs, it causes infection and we can take it from there... We need to protect our new set of lungs as best we can and by ensuring food stays out, we can eliminate a whole host of problems!
Back to Thursday...the docs already had me on the correct drugs to combat the pneumonia and infection so my course of treatment was to continue the drugs and get stronger. Did I mention that I was back on oxygen? Oh yeah...Wednesday a.m. (around 4:00), the nurse came in to check my vital signs. I'd been sleeping and when she woke me up I felt just like I had - cruddy! My vitals showed my temp at 102.5 and my O2 number at 80%. It took her and I about 40 minutes of breathing oxygen to get my O2 level to an 'acceptable' level. Since that point they had me on oxygen.
The docs and nurses wanted me to keep my strength up so they encouraged me to walk laps around 3100 as much as I could. This is the same place I was after surgery and - if you recall - I was able to walk 38 laps! Well on Thursday I wasn't able to walk one lap without being totally out of breath and really weak! That probably freaked me out the most! I've always felt good about my ability to walk and 3/4 of a lap was just not cutting it!!! Everyone kept saying it was the pneumonia and my strength would come back soon. I tried walking with a walker and was able to make 2 laps. Thursday was not an encouraging day for me! :-(
Friday came and I had an x-ray and then they sent me for an ultra-sound of my upper arm where my PICC line is. They did this to make sure all was well with the PICC and the course it was taking through my body. I'm sure you've all figured out that if it's weird or not expected then it must be my body :-) During the ultra-sound they found a blood clot in my neck! So now I'm on Lovinox (blood thinner) shots in my stomach for the next six weeks or so. The shot itself really isn't painful...it's the medication. Around 3 seconds after I shoot the Lovinox in my stomach then it starts to burn for around 30 seconds to a minute. Fun Fun Fun! By the way, the PICC line was fine :-)
The x-ray I had showed edema (fluid) on both my lungs. That's a really good reason I was so short of breath. The edema puts pressure on the lungs and doesn't allow them to expand to get air. To get rid of the edema they put me on more IV lasix. I have to say it worked! By Saturday I think I eliminated all the fluid from the edema and more!
Because there aren't many tests run in the hospital on the weekends our game plan has been for me to "rest" on Saturday and today and Monday we would evaluate what needed to be done.
Here it is Sunday and I was finally able to come off of O2 yesterday afternoon and they have completed one of the anti-biotics. I'm now able to walk 4 - 5 laps which I know isn't much but it's better than when I started! I can take better breaths and I think when they do another chest x-ray the edema should be gone.
I really don't know what the docs will finally decide to do on Monday so I guess that will have to be another blog.
I'm sorry if this blog is confusing or convoluted. I was trying to bring you up to speed on a long a tiring week!
Love to all and Happy Birthday to Ronda!!
Lee, Wendy and Missy
I'm sorry I haven't blogged but life has been getting in my way all week :-)
You all know that I was admitted to the hospital on the 10th and discharged home on the 15th. That was a good thing.
Then during the weekend of the 18th - 19th I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. I haven't had a cold and/or flu for at least two years but one always remembers that scratchy funny feeling in your throat and chest. The glands in my throat and neck were tender also. I called my coordinator on call and -- off to the ER for x-rays and blood work to check for infection. Four hours later I was declared 'clean' and Lee and I got to go home.
Tuesday morning...my cold hit! I just felt lousy -- headache, chest tightness, achy, etc. I knew we had an appointment with Dr. Zaas on Wednesday and I really wanted to see him because I haven't had an appointment with him since transplant (I've been seeing other docs on the team). So...I contacted the coordinator on call and asked for something to tide me over until the next day when I saw Dr. Zaas. Tracie, my coordinator, called me back and said I had to go to clinic right then. She had talked with Dr. Zaas and neither were willing to wait a day for me to be seen. Off to clinic!
After more x-rays, blood work and PFTs I saw Dr. Snyder. She is a great doctor and I've seen her a couple of times since transplant. Short version of our conversation...the x-ray showed some 'atypical' stuff in the lungs and the blood work showed elevated white blood cells. Because I was so 'new out' (newly transplanted) and because they found rejection in the last bronch biopsy and because I was just in the hospital with the fungal infection Dr. Snyder wanted me back in the hospital so she could do another bronchoscopy on Wednesday and start treating me aggressively to try and knock all this stuff out of me!
Dr. Snyder didn't care if I got put on the 7800 floor (pulmonary) or not. She was willing to put me in any bed in the hospital and because of that Lee and I got to go home and wait for the hospital to call and tell us they had a room. That is so much better than waiting for hours in admitting! I ended up in 3100, the ICU step-down unit I had been in post transplant. That's nice because I do know some of the nurses.
When I got there Tuesday, they started me on IV anti-biotics and oral anti-biotics. I didn't know that you could take more than one at once but I'm certain these guys all know a lot more than I do when it comes to meds. On Wednesday Dr. Snyder performed the bronchoscopy and three biopsies. I had more blood work and we all waited for results.
Thursday late afternoon we got some results: First - and most important - the biopsy showed NO REJECTION! That is such a big deal!!! For the first time since transplant, my body wasn't trying, at least to some degree, to reject my new lungs. I was thrilled and so was Lee.
The results also showed lots of infection and food induced pneumonia. What that means is food particles are getting into my new lungs and causing infection and ultimately pneumonia. We needed to find out if the food was being aspirated or refluxed so more tests.
Lee got to watch the FEES study that determines if I'm aspirating food into my lungs. It's a really interesting test...they run a camera probe down your throat so that the camera is sitting right above the vocal cords and trachea. Then they feed me food dyed green and watch as I swallow the food. If I'm swallowing correctly, none of the green food or green liquid end up in or near the vocals or trachea. If the green does go in the trachea then it likely would end up in my brand new lungs. That wouldn't be good! Lucky for me all the green food and liquid went down the correct tubes and I passed the study with flying colors :-)
So now, the docs will be looking to see if I'm refluxing the food up into my new lungs from my stomach. If it's reflux then I'll have a simple surgery called Nissen fundoplication - which we all refer to as a stomach wrap. If I need to have one done, I'll go into more detail.
I know I've spent a lot of time talking about food in the lungs but this is one of the most common and serious things that can happen to a transplant patient. Food just doesn't belong in lungs and because it's foreign to the lungs, it causes infection and we can take it from there... We need to protect our new set of lungs as best we can and by ensuring food stays out, we can eliminate a whole host of problems!
Back to Thursday...the docs already had me on the correct drugs to combat the pneumonia and infection so my course of treatment was to continue the drugs and get stronger. Did I mention that I was back on oxygen? Oh yeah...Wednesday a.m. (around 4:00), the nurse came in to check my vital signs. I'd been sleeping and when she woke me up I felt just like I had - cruddy! My vitals showed my temp at 102.5 and my O2 number at 80%. It took her and I about 40 minutes of breathing oxygen to get my O2 level to an 'acceptable' level. Since that point they had me on oxygen.
The docs and nurses wanted me to keep my strength up so they encouraged me to walk laps around 3100 as much as I could. This is the same place I was after surgery and - if you recall - I was able to walk 38 laps! Well on Thursday I wasn't able to walk one lap without being totally out of breath and really weak! That probably freaked me out the most! I've always felt good about my ability to walk and 3/4 of a lap was just not cutting it!!! Everyone kept saying it was the pneumonia and my strength would come back soon. I tried walking with a walker and was able to make 2 laps. Thursday was not an encouraging day for me! :-(
Friday came and I had an x-ray and then they sent me for an ultra-sound of my upper arm where my PICC line is. They did this to make sure all was well with the PICC and the course it was taking through my body. I'm sure you've all figured out that if it's weird or not expected then it must be my body :-) During the ultra-sound they found a blood clot in my neck! So now I'm on Lovinox (blood thinner) shots in my stomach for the next six weeks or so. The shot itself really isn't painful...it's the medication. Around 3 seconds after I shoot the Lovinox in my stomach then it starts to burn for around 30 seconds to a minute. Fun Fun Fun! By the way, the PICC line was fine :-)
The x-ray I had showed edema (fluid) on both my lungs. That's a really good reason I was so short of breath. The edema puts pressure on the lungs and doesn't allow them to expand to get air. To get rid of the edema they put me on more IV lasix. I have to say it worked! By Saturday I think I eliminated all the fluid from the edema and more!
Because there aren't many tests run in the hospital on the weekends our game plan has been for me to "rest" on Saturday and today and Monday we would evaluate what needed to be done.
Here it is Sunday and I was finally able to come off of O2 yesterday afternoon and they have completed one of the anti-biotics. I'm now able to walk 4 - 5 laps which I know isn't much but it's better than when I started! I can take better breaths and I think when they do another chest x-ray the edema should be gone.
I really don't know what the docs will finally decide to do on Monday so I guess that will have to be another blog.
I'm sorry if this blog is confusing or convoluted. I was trying to bring you up to speed on a long a tiring week!
Love to all and Happy Birthday to Ronda!!
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Still in Hospital and more tidbits of info!
Hi all.
It's the 14th of September (Tuesday a.m. if that's too hard to calculate this early in the morning :-) )and I'm still in the hospital. I've lost the bet I had with Lee about discharge. I said I'd be out today and he said Friday the 17th. Wow! I don't think I mind losing my part of the bet but I hope he's wrong too and I'm home way before Friday!!!
I am still hooked up to my chest tube and the fluid (or as I call it - pond scum) is flowing into a plastic box that measures how many units are coming out. Saturday through Sunday afternoon produced 210 units of fluid. They said they will be happy when I am producing around 20 - 25 units in that same period of time. Well that's a big difference :-(
I asked why I'm producing all this fluid and the explanation was:
Well, here it is Tuesday (I know it's really early!) and the fungus is still in the fluid - thus my loving nickname of Pond Scum!
That was problem number one....
Second problem was the biopsy results from the bronch. It came back showing that mild rejection. By itself that would not usually merit a trip to the hospital but combined with the other stuff going on the docs thought it would be smart to deal with it in-patient also.
Since I arrived on Friday they have been giving me large IV doses of a drug called Solumedrol. My explanation of Solumedrol is that it makes Prednisone look like baby aspirin! It's much stronger than Prednisone and its side affects are much stronger also! I am wired for sound!!! That's the major side affect. Maybe that's why they won't let patients administer Solumedrol from home...
The rejection is partly showing up in my body as lower oxygen saturation numbers (93-96 percent vs. the 98 percent I had right after surgery). The other symptom is shortness of breath. It is really noticeable because I am getting out of breath with very little exertion. That is not the same as when I was walking 38 laps in the step down! To be honest, I really don't even know how they are treating the rejection unless some of the drugs they are giving me for other things are supposed to be treating this too!
On a good note...I got my stitches and staples removed yesterday. One of the Physician's assistants was looking at the incision and asked why the staples weren't out. She said if she could get the doc's permission she'd take them out yesterday. When I ran into her later in the day and asked if she got the OK, Lee (her name) said she never heard back from the doc. Lee asked one of the transplant coordinators who was standing there if she thought the staples should come out. Emily (Trans Coor) calculated the weeks post transplant and said absolutely yes! Management decision was made and all the staples and stitches were out within an hour. The three of us (Lee, Lee and me) tried to calculate the number of total stitches I have in my body as a result of this surgery. Remember that almost all of my stitches are internal - along with the wire that is tying my rib cage together!
I might have more stitches that the average patient because of my 'designer lungs'. Dr. Lin needed to cut the donor lungs down to fit my chest cavity. That resulted in more stitches! Then there are stitches binding the lungs to my airway. Then there are the stitches that close up the chest cavity that was opened during surgery. And of course there are all of the miscellaneous stitches that Heaven only knows why they were done!
All told, we were estimating at well over 1,000 stitches but we'll have a better idea after talking with the surgeon. I'll update you on our revised number when I get it!
To round things up....the doc wants me on a few more days of Solumedrol and I have to keep taking the fungal medicines until the fluid is clear. I think we are looking at a Wednesday or Thursday discharge. Now I have not decent reason for picking those days except it means I won't be discharged on Friday like Lee's wager stated :-) I'll let everyone know the real discharge day when it arrives!!!
Take care and hugs to all!
Lee, Wendy and Missy
It's the 14th of September (Tuesday a.m. if that's too hard to calculate this early in the morning :-) )and I'm still in the hospital. I've lost the bet I had with Lee about discharge. I said I'd be out today and he said Friday the 17th. Wow! I don't think I mind losing my part of the bet but I hope he's wrong too and I'm home way before Friday!!!
I am still hooked up to my chest tube and the fluid (or as I call it - pond scum) is flowing into a plastic box that measures how many units are coming out. Saturday through Sunday afternoon produced 210 units of fluid. They said they will be happy when I am producing around 20 - 25 units in that same period of time. Well that's a big difference :-(
I asked why I'm producing all this fluid and the explanation was:
- Everyone has some fluid in their pleural area
- It helps lubricate the lungs as they expand and contract in the cavity
- When there is infection or inflammation present, the cells produce more fluid to protect the area.
- I developed a fungus - and no one has a clue why except these appear frequently after transplant
- The fungus irritated the lining of the pleural area so the lining cells kept producing more and more fluid to protect against the fungus.
- The extra fluid didn't help get rid of the fungus. Instead, all that fluid build up was now pressing into my new lungs and not allowing me to get good breaths because my lungs can't expand or contract from the pressure.
Well, here it is Tuesday (I know it's really early!) and the fungus is still in the fluid - thus my loving nickname of Pond Scum!
That was problem number one....
Second problem was the biopsy results from the bronch. It came back showing that mild rejection. By itself that would not usually merit a trip to the hospital but combined with the other stuff going on the docs thought it would be smart to deal with it in-patient also.
Since I arrived on Friday they have been giving me large IV doses of a drug called Solumedrol. My explanation of Solumedrol is that it makes Prednisone look like baby aspirin! It's much stronger than Prednisone and its side affects are much stronger also! I am wired for sound!!! That's the major side affect. Maybe that's why they won't let patients administer Solumedrol from home...
The rejection is partly showing up in my body as lower oxygen saturation numbers (93-96 percent vs. the 98 percent I had right after surgery). The other symptom is shortness of breath. It is really noticeable because I am getting out of breath with very little exertion. That is not the same as when I was walking 38 laps in the step down! To be honest, I really don't even know how they are treating the rejection unless some of the drugs they are giving me for other things are supposed to be treating this too!
On a good note...I got my stitches and staples removed yesterday. One of the Physician's assistants was looking at the incision and asked why the staples weren't out. She said if she could get the doc's permission she'd take them out yesterday. When I ran into her later in the day and asked if she got the OK, Lee (her name) said she never heard back from the doc. Lee asked one of the transplant coordinators who was standing there if she thought the staples should come out. Emily (Trans Coor) calculated the weeks post transplant and said absolutely yes! Management decision was made and all the staples and stitches were out within an hour. The three of us (Lee, Lee and me) tried to calculate the number of total stitches I have in my body as a result of this surgery. Remember that almost all of my stitches are internal - along with the wire that is tying my rib cage together!
I might have more stitches that the average patient because of my 'designer lungs'. Dr. Lin needed to cut the donor lungs down to fit my chest cavity. That resulted in more stitches! Then there are stitches binding the lungs to my airway. Then there are the stitches that close up the chest cavity that was opened during surgery. And of course there are all of the miscellaneous stitches that Heaven only knows why they were done!
All told, we were estimating at well over 1,000 stitches but we'll have a better idea after talking with the surgeon. I'll update you on our revised number when I get it!
To round things up....the doc wants me on a few more days of Solumedrol and I have to keep taking the fungal medicines until the fluid is clear. I think we are looking at a Wednesday or Thursday discharge. Now I have not decent reason for picking those days except it means I won't be discharged on Friday like Lee's wager stated :-) I'll let everyone know the real discharge day when it arrives!!!
Take care and hugs to all!
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Friday, September 10, 2010
More fun!
Another fun filled birthday! I'm in the hospital for a little "repair" work.
As I said earlier if things didn't change I'd be back in and they didn't change! My biopsy results from the bronch showed mild rejection - better than severe! The CT scans I had done showed more fluid - after it was drained off on Friday.
So today I came into the hospital and the first thing they did was put in a chest tube. Let me say...it's way better to wake up from an operation with the tubes already in your chest than to experience inserting the tubes while you are awake!!!! That last part was REALLY painful. But...it's done. The doc that put in the chest tube usually doesn't do it anymore. He's like the top guy and he teaches others. I liked him a lot. He talked to me all through the procedure and let me know how things were going and how we were progressing. No surprises from him.
Then they brought me to a room up here on 7800 where I'll be until discharge. My doc wants to try and figure out a couple of different things. First...can they find an "outside" reason for the rejection? To that end they will be doing lots of stomach and reflux type tests to see if I'm aspirating into my new lungs. That can cause rejection.
They will also be giving me some stronger IV meds that they don't want to administer at home. All in all this isn't the way I'd choose to spend my b-day but, at this point in my life, my lungs come first! That's why we are here at Duke - for my lungs. These docs are the best in their field and they know what they are doing. If they say I need to be in the hospital then away we go :-)
We'll keep you posted on any other weird tests they might do or if we find any answers.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
As I said earlier if things didn't change I'd be back in and they didn't change! My biopsy results from the bronch showed mild rejection - better than severe! The CT scans I had done showed more fluid - after it was drained off on Friday.
So today I came into the hospital and the first thing they did was put in a chest tube. Let me say...it's way better to wake up from an operation with the tubes already in your chest than to experience inserting the tubes while you are awake!!!! That last part was REALLY painful. But...it's done. The doc that put in the chest tube usually doesn't do it anymore. He's like the top guy and he teaches others. I liked him a lot. He talked to me all through the procedure and let me know how things were going and how we were progressing. No surprises from him.
Then they brought me to a room up here on 7800 where I'll be until discharge. My doc wants to try and figure out a couple of different things. First...can they find an "outside" reason for the rejection? To that end they will be doing lots of stomach and reflux type tests to see if I'm aspirating into my new lungs. That can cause rejection.
They will also be giving me some stronger IV meds that they don't want to administer at home. All in all this isn't the way I'd choose to spend my b-day but, at this point in my life, my lungs come first! That's why we are here at Duke - for my lungs. These docs are the best in their field and they know what they are doing. If they say I need to be in the hospital then away we go :-)
We'll keep you posted on any other weird tests they might do or if we find any answers.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Well...what a clinic appt!
To say the least, Lee and I are a little overwhelmed after our clinic appointment this afternoon.
In a nutshell, the fluid they drew out from around my lungs contained a fungus. Oh joy! That means I need another CT scan (8:00 a.m. tomorrow) to see if there is more fluid that isn't being picked up on the x-ray. Then I need to start daily IV treatments of Heaven only knows what medicine...it comes from oncology. That's scheduled for 7:45 a.m. tomorrow so it will be a little tight getting to the appointments but they said to keep them both and make them both! :-) After tomorrow they will continue the IV at home. That means Lee and I will be doing it! That's OK, we're pretty good at IVs by now :-)
If my bronch results come back with anything else (rejection, infection, or more fungus) - or the CT scan shows more fluid - then it's a one-way trip to the hospital to "fix" me. Oh, did I mention that they now think my incision might be infected. My gosh! I've kept it clean and dry but they said it could be from the inside.
The doc also put me on another oral fungus medicine this afternoon. He said the drug has an interaction with my Cyclosporine (my major anti-rejection medication). Apparently the drug turns Cyclosporine into some kind of "super drug" so I need to cut back my dosage by more than half. It makes me a little nervous to cut my anti-rejection meds but the doc was really adamant so I go with him!
I know this is short but I wanted to let you all know what was going on at this point in time. As I get more info I pass it along.
Take care and love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
In a nutshell, the fluid they drew out from around my lungs contained a fungus. Oh joy! That means I need another CT scan (8:00 a.m. tomorrow) to see if there is more fluid that isn't being picked up on the x-ray. Then I need to start daily IV treatments of Heaven only knows what medicine...it comes from oncology. That's scheduled for 7:45 a.m. tomorrow so it will be a little tight getting to the appointments but they said to keep them both and make them both! :-) After tomorrow they will continue the IV at home. That means Lee and I will be doing it! That's OK, we're pretty good at IVs by now :-)
If my bronch results come back with anything else (rejection, infection, or more fungus) - or the CT scan shows more fluid - then it's a one-way trip to the hospital to "fix" me. Oh, did I mention that they now think my incision might be infected. My gosh! I've kept it clean and dry but they said it could be from the inside.
The doc also put me on another oral fungus medicine this afternoon. He said the drug has an interaction with my Cyclosporine (my major anti-rejection medication). Apparently the drug turns Cyclosporine into some kind of "super drug" so I need to cut back my dosage by more than half. It makes me a little nervous to cut my anti-rejection meds but the doc was really adamant so I go with him!
I know this is short but I wanted to let you all know what was going on at this point in time. As I get more info I pass it along.
Take care and love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Bronch today
I had a bronchoscopy (bronch) this morning. It went much smoother than the one they did while I was still in the hospital. A bronch is where they send tubes down your throat into your airways into your lungs to look around, take samples etc. They have to spray lots of numbing stuff in your throat before they can do this. They also drug me up with fentenyl and verced (no idea if either of those are spelled right but they really work!).
The hospital bronch didn't start off well because the intern came in and wanted to start spraying the numbing stuff down my throat. Well...that stuff makes you gag. I asked her to please stop but she kept on spraying. Lesson learned...too much spray causes me to vomit on the intern! They stopped for a minute after that :-)
I told the nurses about that episode and asked if they could please drug me a little before they started spraying the numbing stuff. When the nurses told the doc their suggestion of drugs before vomit he was all for it (he was dressed very nicely). So they gave me just enough drugs that I was totally relaxed and able to work with the doc in numbing my throat. Then they shot more drugs in me and next thing I knew we were done!
The doc talked to Lee and said that everything looked great. He didn't see any signs of infection or rejection or fungus. Those are the three things that the docs are always looking for. During the bronch, they spray some water in my lungs and then suck it out and test the water for the three problems. They also take a couple of little chunks for biopsy. I'll have those results in a few days.
After the bronch Lee and I went to get me food and then back to the apt for a nap - the drugs hang around for a while :-) My next bronch is scheduled at the three month mark - unless they want to do one in between.
I have another clinic appointment in the morning. I'm really ready to get my staples and stitches out...I hope tomorrow is the day! I have a list of questions for the doctor and once I've seen him, I'll let you know his answers. I'm seeing Dr. Steele tomorrow (I saw Dr. Snyder last week). I hopefully will see Dr. Zaas next week but he's in London this week so Dr. Steele it is.
Take care everyone and give yourselves a hug for me!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
The hospital bronch didn't start off well because the intern came in and wanted to start spraying the numbing stuff down my throat. Well...that stuff makes you gag. I asked her to please stop but she kept on spraying. Lesson learned...too much spray causes me to vomit on the intern! They stopped for a minute after that :-)
I told the nurses about that episode and asked if they could please drug me a little before they started spraying the numbing stuff. When the nurses told the doc their suggestion of drugs before vomit he was all for it (he was dressed very nicely). So they gave me just enough drugs that I was totally relaxed and able to work with the doc in numbing my throat. Then they shot more drugs in me and next thing I knew we were done!
The doc talked to Lee and said that everything looked great. He didn't see any signs of infection or rejection or fungus. Those are the three things that the docs are always looking for. During the bronch, they spray some water in my lungs and then suck it out and test the water for the three problems. They also take a couple of little chunks for biopsy. I'll have those results in a few days.
After the bronch Lee and I went to get me food and then back to the apt for a nap - the drugs hang around for a while :-) My next bronch is scheduled at the three month mark - unless they want to do one in between.
I have another clinic appointment in the morning. I'm really ready to get my staples and stitches out...I hope tomorrow is the day! I have a list of questions for the doctor and once I've seen him, I'll let you know his answers. I'm seeing Dr. Steele tomorrow (I saw Dr. Snyder last week). I hopefully will see Dr. Zaas next week but he's in London this week so Dr. Steele it is.
Take care everyone and give yourselves a hug for me!
Love,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tweeking things a little
Hi all.
Well, I've been home two weeks now and it's been pretty uneventful. Lee and I are learning how to run our own little pharmacy here in the kitchen! It's pretty nuts all the drugs I need to take but from what I hear, some of these drugs should be cut back or eliminated at some point! Yay for that!
I'm still diabetic and having to give myself baseline insulin shots at breakfast, lunch and dinner. None at bedtime which I guess is a small victory we can be happy with. Hopefully the diabetes could go away also when some of these heavy duty drugs are cut back. We can hope!
I've been into clinic a few extra times because these guys take absolutely nothing for chance. I had a pain so I ended up with a chest x-ray and a VQ scan (looking for blood clot). They found fluid on the bottom of my lungs (mostly left lung) so the next day I had that fluid 'drawn' off. Not vey pleasant but at least they did it from the back so I didn't see that six foot needle (jk). They numb you then stick in the needle and then stick in a small catheter and pull out the needle. The fluid then drains out. There wasn't a huge amount of fluid but they want to test it for infection.
The group is as paranoid about infection as I am! Infection, left untreated, is something that can kill you when your body is so immunocompromised! It can cause rejection and that is not something we want!
I have my bronchoscopy on Tuesday morning. This is my second one (first in hospital) and there will be many more. They will be looking for infection, rejection, fungus or anything else that might jump up and rear it's ugly head!!! Hopefully none will be found but, for the first year, we are all prepared for a trip or two to the hospital if needed. I do have a friend who is six months out and hasn't had any rejection! Yay for Susan. I hope I do as well as she is. Susan is really strong. But...don't confuse strength with no rejection. Someone can be super strong and super dedicated to taking care of themselves and it can still pop up...very strange.
Now on to something really fun...
My friends Polly and Linda came out to see Lee and I this last week. They came for four nights and stayed in one of the corporate apts at our complex. We had so much fun! We went to local restaurants that they don't offer in CA and the food was great. Some of these places made us hesitate just a little when we drove up but the food was great. Hog Heaven BBQ, Five Guys Burgers, Waffle House (Stephen-- they loved it!). Then yesterday I was too pooped to join them on their site seeing adventures so Lee and I stayed home and they drove to the beach. The pics were gorgeous and they ate at Olde Salty's (I don't think there's one of those in CA either :-)
We didn't get any weather from Earl - sunshine and beautiful here - and the beach they went to on Saturday looked just fine too.
Well that's it so far. I'm going to try and make it to church today - hopefully I'll still have it in me by 10:45 :-)
Happy Labor Day to everyone and love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Well, I've been home two weeks now and it's been pretty uneventful. Lee and I are learning how to run our own little pharmacy here in the kitchen! It's pretty nuts all the drugs I need to take but from what I hear, some of these drugs should be cut back or eliminated at some point! Yay for that!
I'm still diabetic and having to give myself baseline insulin shots at breakfast, lunch and dinner. None at bedtime which I guess is a small victory we can be happy with. Hopefully the diabetes could go away also when some of these heavy duty drugs are cut back. We can hope!
I've been into clinic a few extra times because these guys take absolutely nothing for chance. I had a pain so I ended up with a chest x-ray and a VQ scan (looking for blood clot). They found fluid on the bottom of my lungs (mostly left lung) so the next day I had that fluid 'drawn' off. Not vey pleasant but at least they did it from the back so I didn't see that six foot needle (jk). They numb you then stick in the needle and then stick in a small catheter and pull out the needle. The fluid then drains out. There wasn't a huge amount of fluid but they want to test it for infection.
The group is as paranoid about infection as I am! Infection, left untreated, is something that can kill you when your body is so immunocompromised! It can cause rejection and that is not something we want!
I have my bronchoscopy on Tuesday morning. This is my second one (first in hospital) and there will be many more. They will be looking for infection, rejection, fungus or anything else that might jump up and rear it's ugly head!!! Hopefully none will be found but, for the first year, we are all prepared for a trip or two to the hospital if needed. I do have a friend who is six months out and hasn't had any rejection! Yay for Susan. I hope I do as well as she is. Susan is really strong. But...don't confuse strength with no rejection. Someone can be super strong and super dedicated to taking care of themselves and it can still pop up...very strange.
Now on to something really fun...
My friends Polly and Linda came out to see Lee and I this last week. They came for four nights and stayed in one of the corporate apts at our complex. We had so much fun! We went to local restaurants that they don't offer in CA and the food was great. Some of these places made us hesitate just a little when we drove up but the food was great. Hog Heaven BBQ, Five Guys Burgers, Waffle House (Stephen-- they loved it!). Then yesterday I was too pooped to join them on their site seeing adventures so Lee and I stayed home and they drove to the beach. The pics were gorgeous and they ate at Olde Salty's (I don't think there's one of those in CA either :-)
We didn't get any weather from Earl - sunshine and beautiful here - and the beach they went to on Saturday looked just fine too.
Well that's it so far. I'm going to try and make it to church today - hopefully I'll still have it in me by 10:45 :-)
Happy Labor Day to everyone and love and hugs,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Mama's got a new set of lungs!!!
Hi everyone! I bet you were wondering if I'd ever be blogging again. Well ... so was I :-)
Amy did such a great job keeping things updated that I didn't think my input was all that necessary! It actually took me until now to sit down at the computer and start typing. I keep telling people that 'I'm fine' but that just seems so minimal compared to what I really am!!!
I am a walking miracle!!!! I can breathe! I can breathe as well as most people! My heart rate isn't sitting at 125...it's hanging out around 75 - 80. My pain decreases for the most part every day.
I had my first clinic visit today (post transplant). It was supposed to be tomorrow but I was having some pain when I was taking deep breaths so they brought me in a day early.
My pulmonary function test was amazing!!!! I showed an improvement of 181 percent over my last PFT (pre-transplant). And these results are when it was a little painful to take a deep breath! I am equal to around 75 percent of the other people out there breathing!!!! Yay!
My blood tests were fine and my x-ray showed possible fluid buildup in the bottom corners of the lungs. So...of course...Lee and I are off to Duke North for a CT scan tonight. If it shows fluid then they will drain the fluid and / or put in another chest tube. I'm voting for there not being any fluid!
These little situations are to be expected and it doesn't mean they need to put me back in the hospital. If they were to drain the fluid they can see if there is any infection there. That would be jumped on right away.
I did find out today that while my antibodies were a go with this donor, apparently I had a positive cross match which meant after all was hooked back up, my cells started fighting with my new lung cells! That's why I had so many doses of plasmapheresis. I'm glad I was out of it early on so I wouldn't be worrying about that too! I guess that's OK now because they stopped the pheresis a couple of weeks ago.
Yesterday I went to rehab and walked without my walker, did the bikes for 15 minutes and worked on weights for lower body...also did the floor class. It felt good!
I'll keep everyone posted on the CT scan and whatever else they decide to do.
Thanks so much from the very bottom of my heart for your love, support and prayers. Each and every one is appreciated and needed!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Amy did such a great job keeping things updated that I didn't think my input was all that necessary! It actually took me until now to sit down at the computer and start typing. I keep telling people that 'I'm fine' but that just seems so minimal compared to what I really am!!!
I am a walking miracle!!!! I can breathe! I can breathe as well as most people! My heart rate isn't sitting at 125...it's hanging out around 75 - 80. My pain decreases for the most part every day.
I had my first clinic visit today (post transplant). It was supposed to be tomorrow but I was having some pain when I was taking deep breaths so they brought me in a day early.
My pulmonary function test was amazing!!!! I showed an improvement of 181 percent over my last PFT (pre-transplant). And these results are when it was a little painful to take a deep breath! I am equal to around 75 percent of the other people out there breathing!!!! Yay!
My blood tests were fine and my x-ray showed possible fluid buildup in the bottom corners of the lungs. So...of course...Lee and I are off to Duke North for a CT scan tonight. If it shows fluid then they will drain the fluid and / or put in another chest tube. I'm voting for there not being any fluid!
These little situations are to be expected and it doesn't mean they need to put me back in the hospital. If they were to drain the fluid they can see if there is any infection there. That would be jumped on right away.
I did find out today that while my antibodies were a go with this donor, apparently I had a positive cross match which meant after all was hooked back up, my cells started fighting with my new lung cells! That's why I had so many doses of plasmapheresis. I'm glad I was out of it early on so I wouldn't be worrying about that too! I guess that's OK now because they stopped the pheresis a couple of weeks ago.
Yesterday I went to rehab and walked without my walker, did the bikes for 15 minutes and worked on weights for lower body...also did the floor class. It felt good!
I'll keep everyone posted on the CT scan and whatever else they decide to do.
Thanks so much from the very bottom of my heart for your love, support and prayers. Each and every one is appreciated and needed!
Love to all,
Lee, Wendy and Missy
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Doing Well
I went to spend part of the week with Mom and Lee after she got home Monday. Mom and Lee are doing well. There is definitely a lot to remember after coming home from a lung transplant.
Oh my gosh, is there a lot of medicine! Mom's pill box for the week is about the size of a sheet of paper. It took them 2 1/2 hours to get it all set up for the first week and after seeing all that medicine, I can DEFINITELY see why! Mom takes medicine every day at 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 5 pm and 10 pm plus she will continue having IVIG once a week with an in-home nurse. I'm sure it will all become routine after a while, but for now it will take some serious adjusting. I think by the time I left Thursday I had finally gotten Mom's blackberry to ring at the right times every day.
This week was not the 'typical week' as Mom had quite a few appointments, which I'm sure will taper over time. I got to go with her to her swallow test Thursday and that was SO cool (but also pretty disgusting, too)! They put a camera up her nose and watch her drink and eat various things that are dyed green. She liked the Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, but is SO not a fan of YooHoo. The Speech Language Pathologist thought it all looked good, but last I heard Mom was waiting on final sign off from her doctor to start drinking thin liquids and regular food. I took a lot of pictures, but did not have a chance to upload them before leaving for my business trip today. If Mom says it's okay (they're gross) I will post them next week :).
Well, I am on the plane to San Diego (got to love in-flight Internet...or hate it if you are working on the plane like I am except this quick break for this post :) ) for a work conference until Wednesday. On Wednesday, two of mom's friends from CA, Linda and Polly, are coming to visit and I know they are really looking forward to that. Probably because they are pretty sure they won't be as drill searganty as me! I am hoping to go see them all Friday evening after work, too.
It's CRAZY to me that by the time I see Mom next she will be four weeks post-transplant. We have all been so blessed by how smooth this has gone and how great Mom is doing.
Till next time - love to you all!
Amy
Oh my gosh, is there a lot of medicine! Mom's pill box for the week is about the size of a sheet of paper. It took them 2 1/2 hours to get it all set up for the first week and after seeing all that medicine, I can DEFINITELY see why! Mom takes medicine every day at 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 5 pm and 10 pm plus she will continue having IVIG once a week with an in-home nurse. I'm sure it will all become routine after a while, but for now it will take some serious adjusting. I think by the time I left Thursday I had finally gotten Mom's blackberry to ring at the right times every day.
This week was not the 'typical week' as Mom had quite a few appointments, which I'm sure will taper over time. I got to go with her to her swallow test Thursday and that was SO cool (but also pretty disgusting, too)! They put a camera up her nose and watch her drink and eat various things that are dyed green. She liked the Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, but is SO not a fan of YooHoo. The Speech Language Pathologist thought it all looked good, but last I heard Mom was waiting on final sign off from her doctor to start drinking thin liquids and regular food. I took a lot of pictures, but did not have a chance to upload them before leaving for my business trip today. If Mom says it's okay (they're gross) I will post them next week :).
Well, I am on the plane to San Diego (got to love in-flight Internet...or hate it if you are working on the plane like I am except this quick break for this post :) ) for a work conference until Wednesday. On Wednesday, two of mom's friends from CA, Linda and Polly, are coming to visit and I know they are really looking forward to that. Probably because they are pretty sure they won't be as drill searganty as me! I am hoping to go see them all Friday evening after work, too.
It's CRAZY to me that by the time I see Mom next she will be four weeks post-transplant. We have all been so blessed by how smooth this has gone and how great Mom is doing.
Till next time - love to you all!
Amy
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Mom is home!
Hi everyone,
Mom is home and doing well. Her pain level is so much better! Tomorrow will be the first day back to rehab, which I know will be great. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Love,
amy
Mom is home and doing well. Her pain level is so much better! Tomorrow will be the first day back to rehab, which I know will be great. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Love,
amy
Saturday, August 21, 2010
We're at Day 15 Now!
Hi everyone,
I am sitting here with mom at the hospital today. She is doing really great and wanted me to make sure I let all of you know that she has been upgraded from chopped food to mechanical soft food. For those of us that are not nurses - that just means soft food. This will definitely be a nice change.
Before she can go home, they still need to remove the rest of her chest tubes. She is doing fabulous on her walking - she walked 38 laps yesterday, which is more than 2 miles. Mom can't even remember the last time she walked 2 miles. It looks like she might be able to go home next week. They will do another swallow test on Monday to see if she can graduate to drinking thin liquids. Until then she is using a thickener before drinking anything. She just had a 'thickened' diet coke with lunch. She has this process down pat now!
I know I haven't been providing many updates, but things really aren't changing, which is actually a great thing!
Will let you know when she comes home.
Hugs,
Amy
I am sitting here with mom at the hospital today. She is doing really great and wanted me to make sure I let all of you know that she has been upgraded from chopped food to mechanical soft food. For those of us that are not nurses - that just means soft food. This will definitely be a nice change.
Before she can go home, they still need to remove the rest of her chest tubes. She is doing fabulous on her walking - she walked 38 laps yesterday, which is more than 2 miles. Mom can't even remember the last time she walked 2 miles. It looks like she might be able to go home next week. They will do another swallow test on Monday to see if she can graduate to drinking thin liquids. Until then she is using a thickener before drinking anything. She just had a 'thickened' diet coke with lunch. She has this process down pat now!
I know I haven't been providing many updates, but things really aren't changing, which is actually a great thing!
Will let you know when she comes home.
Hugs,
Amy
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day 4 - Day 10
I have been a terrible blogger for mom. Things have been very busy around here.
Late on Day 4 (Monday, August 9, 2010) Mom was moved from the ICU to the Step Down Unit. This is still in the cardiothoracic unit, but no longer the ICU. On Day they gave Mom her swallow test. She was most anxious for this test and the results so that she could hopefully drink or eat. At this point, the only thing she had received by mouth was a "mouth swab." A mouth swab is basically a VERY, VERY small sponge on a stick that is dipped in water. She could only have those once an hour at most, which was not nearly enough! I think Mom may deprive Lee and I from liquids after she is home from the hospital to help us understand what she was going through. Just kidding...we hope! :) Two of Mom's chest tubes were removed on Monday, which they said would help with her pain levels. Mom had her fourth pheresis treatment Monday morning.
Day 5 (Tuesday, August 10, 2010) - Mom had her final round of pheresis Tuesday morning. Mom found out she passed the swallow test and was approved for thick liquids and pureed foods (Read: crazy thick, gelatin-like juice and blended food-like items). Still no thin liquids. Mom was very happy to receive the juice, but DOES NOT like the Dairy Thick drink. I don't think I would like it either. She was able to have yogurt and applesauce, which was quite a highlight.
Day 6 (Wednesday, August 11, 2010) - We thought Mom was doing pretty well with her walking and were impressed with the seven laps she had done so far. At least we were until one of the surgeon team doctors told mom she should be doing walking more by this point and he wanted her to be walking 20 laps by the weekend. We didn't know this. Mom, being Mom, said, "You mean I'm being a slacker?" Dr. H said Yes. Prior to his visit that afternoon, Mom had said she was tired and was going to rest. Not even two minutes after he left, she said okay, let's go walk again and we did two more laps. This was my first walk alone with Mom. We discovered Lee is a much better walker, I kept running into Mom's ankles with her poles. This did not make mom happy! Lee stayed the night with Mom in the hospital.
Day 7 (Thursday, August 12, 2010) - I had to go to work Thursday afternoon, so I stayed the night with a friend Wednesday night in Durham so I could be there by 8 am. Dr. H had already visited mom that morning and they disagreed with her walking goal for the day. He said 12 laps, she said 10. She had already walked 4 laps by the time I got there, she and I walked another 2 with the PTA. He is super nice and had walked with Mom for the last few days. I did a little bit better with the pole that day. That night I found out that Mom exceeded both her goal and Dr. H's goal and walked 16 laps Thursday! The speech pathologist also came in while I was there Thursday morning and approved mom for chopped foods.
Day 8 (Friday, August 13, 2010) and Day 9 (Saturday, August 14, 2010) - I didn't get to see Mom Friday or Saturday because of work and my 30th birthday party (which went on without mom at her insistence!). She walked 20 laps both days, which is just awesome! She had her epidural removed as well, which meant no more walking with the pole. They removed more chest tubes Friday, which is great, but Mom has an air leak from this, so she has puffed up quite a bit and sounds like she sucked on a lot of helium. This is fairly common and the doctors are not concerned about this, they cannot remove any more tubes until it goes away though.
Day 10 (Sunday, August 15, 2010) - Michael and I visited Mom Sunday afternoon, we walked two laps together (I was a much better helper since the pole is gone!) The pain medicine definitely makes Mom pretty sleepy, but we had a nice visit. I showed her all 200 photos from my party. We definitely missed Mom and Lee Saturday, but the best birthday present I could have asked for is Mom receiving her lung transplant.
If you aren't an organ donor already, please sign up today. We are so fortunate that Mom's life has literally been saved because someone signed up to be an organ donor.
Thank you again to all of you for your love and support.
Love,
Amy
Late on Day 4 (Monday, August 9, 2010) Mom was moved from the ICU to the Step Down Unit. This is still in the cardiothoracic unit, but no longer the ICU. On Day they gave Mom her swallow test. She was most anxious for this test and the results so that she could hopefully drink or eat. At this point, the only thing she had received by mouth was a "mouth swab." A mouth swab is basically a VERY, VERY small sponge on a stick that is dipped in water. She could only have those once an hour at most, which was not nearly enough! I think Mom may deprive Lee and I from liquids after she is home from the hospital to help us understand what she was going through. Just kidding...we hope! :) Two of Mom's chest tubes were removed on Monday, which they said would help with her pain levels. Mom had her fourth pheresis treatment Monday morning.
Day 5 (Tuesday, August 10, 2010) - Mom had her final round of pheresis Tuesday morning. Mom found out she passed the swallow test and was approved for thick liquids and pureed foods (Read: crazy thick, gelatin-like juice and blended food-like items). Still no thin liquids. Mom was very happy to receive the juice, but DOES NOT like the Dairy Thick drink. I don't think I would like it either. She was able to have yogurt and applesauce, which was quite a highlight.
Day 6 (Wednesday, August 11, 2010) - We thought Mom was doing pretty well with her walking and were impressed with the seven laps she had done so far. At least we were until one of the surgeon team doctors told mom she should be doing walking more by this point and he wanted her to be walking 20 laps by the weekend. We didn't know this. Mom, being Mom, said, "You mean I'm being a slacker?" Dr. H said Yes. Prior to his visit that afternoon, Mom had said she was tired and was going to rest. Not even two minutes after he left, she said okay, let's go walk again and we did two more laps. This was my first walk alone with Mom. We discovered Lee is a much better walker, I kept running into Mom's ankles with her poles. This did not make mom happy! Lee stayed the night with Mom in the hospital.
Day 7 (Thursday, August 12, 2010) - I had to go to work Thursday afternoon, so I stayed the night with a friend Wednesday night in Durham so I could be there by 8 am. Dr. H had already visited mom that morning and they disagreed with her walking goal for the day. He said 12 laps, she said 10. She had already walked 4 laps by the time I got there, she and I walked another 2 with the PTA. He is super nice and had walked with Mom for the last few days. I did a little bit better with the pole that day. That night I found out that Mom exceeded both her goal and Dr. H's goal and walked 16 laps Thursday! The speech pathologist also came in while I was there Thursday morning and approved mom for chopped foods.
Day 8 (Friday, August 13, 2010) and Day 9 (Saturday, August 14, 2010) - I didn't get to see Mom Friday or Saturday because of work and my 30th birthday party (which went on without mom at her insistence!). She walked 20 laps both days, which is just awesome! She had her epidural removed as well, which meant no more walking with the pole. They removed more chest tubes Friday, which is great, but Mom has an air leak from this, so she has puffed up quite a bit and sounds like she sucked on a lot of helium. This is fairly common and the doctors are not concerned about this, they cannot remove any more tubes until it goes away though.
Day 10 (Sunday, August 15, 2010) - Michael and I visited Mom Sunday afternoon, we walked two laps together (I was a much better helper since the pole is gone!) The pain medicine definitely makes Mom pretty sleepy, but we had a nice visit. I showed her all 200 photos from my party. We definitely missed Mom and Lee Saturday, but the best birthday present I could have asked for is Mom receiving her lung transplant.
If you aren't an organ donor already, please sign up today. We are so fortunate that Mom's life has literally been saved because someone signed up to be an organ donor.
Thank you again to all of you for your love and support.
Love,
Amy
Monday, August 9, 2010
Day 3
Well, we've made it to Day 3 post transplant. Mom is doing very well. She has been walking three times a day like she is supposed to. Yesterday (Day 2) she even walked more than one lap in one walk. She has to be able to walk 20 laps (one mile) in one day before she is allowed to go home. She is having plasmapheresis everyday so far to make sure she doesn't have any antibody issues.
We are very pleased with her progress. When I have something new to update, I will make sure to update the blog for all of you. Thank you again for your continuing support and encouragement, Lee and I really appreciate it. Mom is still in the ICU, so she can't have any calls, deliveries, etc. Lee and I are not able to even see her for very long each day. We will make sure to let you all know as soon as she is able to receive anything.
Thanks,
Amy
We are very pleased with her progress. When I have something new to update, I will make sure to update the blog for all of you. Thank you again for your continuing support and encouragement, Lee and I really appreciate it. Mom is still in the ICU, so she can't have any calls, deliveries, etc. Lee and I are not able to even see her for very long each day. We will make sure to let you all know as soon as she is able to receive anything.
Thanks,
Amy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)