Two Slicks: My First Check-Up

Jonathan did such a great job with writing about the past few weeks of the actual transplant so I’ll just pick up from here! I am feeling great! My new lungs are wonderful and amazing and beautiful and I love them. What a treasure it is to have this gift of fresh, healthy, living lungs. What a miracle the process is. Thank you, God, for all you have done. I love you.

So far I’ve been able to take a 15 minute walk outside everyday that I’ve been home, and yesterday I did a leg workout with Jonathan! It feels so good to move around. When I walk I can talk and think about things other than if I’m going to ever be able to catch my breath. Mom said the freckles on my nose are starting to come back from being outdoors! I’ve really enjoyed each moment outside and I see how God was working out the timing to bless me even with the detail of recovering in spring time!

My pain has been controlled very well. The worst part is that I have really bad swelling in my legs and feet. The doctors said that it is normal after surgery. I’ve been keeping my feet wrapped in ace bandages when I get up and when I’m relaxing they have to be elevated and iced. My skin is so stretched…it is very uncomfortable. If it weren’t for the swelling, I’d be in great shape! The doctors said that the swelling will go down with time and soon I’ll be back to normal.

Mom has been staying with me everyday while Jonathan is at work. I cannot tell you what an incredible person my mom is. If you know her, I know you agree. She is one of the Godliest women that has ever lived. She is so humble, so genuine, so precious. I feel so blessed to have her as my mom and I am so excited to be able to spend time with her over the next month or two. Today she took me to Hopkins for my first post-transplant check up. First I had a chest x-ray, then pulmonary function tests (PFT’s), then I saw my transplant doctor and coordinator. My x-ray showed that I still have fluid in my lungs. That is normal and my doctor was not alarmed. He said that with time it will disappear and as it does my lung function will continue to improve and I will be able to breath even deeper! My PFT’s showed that my lung function number has doubled from the number I had before the transplant! Dr. Orens was very pleased and said that my lung function will continue to improve for the next 3-6 months! I was a little nervous to show “my book”…a binder where I keep the results of all of my home monitoring. Every morning I take my temperature, weight, blood pressure, and 3 sets of PFT’s (I have a mini PFT machine at home). In the evenings I do basically the same routine. I record all the results so that I can compare from day to day to determine if I’m dealing with rejection or infection or any other complications related to the transplant. So, I brought my binder and showed my coordinator for the first time. She said it looked great and that I was doing everything perfectly! She said my numbers looked good and that with time my confidence would grow! What a relief! I was so nervous that I was doing something wrong or missing something but thankfully I seem to be doing ok!

On Thursday we have to go back down to Hopkins to meet with the diabetes department and also to replace the PICC IV line that was placed when I was in the hospital. Unfortunately, one side of the IV stopped working the night we got home and although the other side is working just fine, it is not good to have something in my body that isn’t working properly. So, Thursday should be another adventure! I’ll be sure to give you an update!

When they told us that for the first year my full time job would be taking care of my self…I believed them, I just didn’t really think they meant full time. They did. Mom wrote down a schedule for me of all of the things I have to do, medicines to take, IV’s and other transplant related things. Almost every hour there is something to do. My pill box in quite impressive too! I am now on 20 medicines! It is crazy! Jonathan and Mom are doing such a great job taking care of me though. They are making sure I get all my meds and IV’s on time and they bring them to me and get me everything I need. How incredibly blessed I am to have them! And Dad takes such good care of me too! When I’m at their house he always makes a bed for me on the couch and props my feet up and gets me what ever I need!

Like I said, I’ll give you an update after Thursday’s appointments. I would appreciate prayers specifically for the PICC line placement. It can sometimes be difficult and painful…and I’m not one for pain really! Thank you again and again for all of your prayers so far! God is amazing! And He has listened. How great is that?

- Rachel

Here are a few more pictures!