friday 4-17 post bronchoscopy report

Well, the bronchoscopy was actually today not yesterday, I made a wee mistake and we actually were at UWMC bright and early on thursday. Talk about all dressed and no where to go. Emily and Peg were kind and after pointing out that I was a complete idiot,  said not to worry. It was an honest mistake that any one without a brain could have made.

Today's procedure went well. A bronchoscopy is a tube with a camera sent down the airways, they can look around, do a bit of lavage [washing] or take biopsies. With the extreme fatigue that Emily has experienced the last two weeks came concern of rejection. Monitoring for signs of rejection is the primary reason for staying in Seattle. This doesn't seem very likely at the moment because her breathing tests and other vitals remain excellent, but this is a time of great caution.  A dozen tiny samples were taken from within the lungs and the lab work was done very fast. We got a call right at 5 pm and they told us that there were no signs of rejection.

Whew and wahoo ! A great relief. Now there will be a wait to see if lab turns up any signs of infections. The lungs looked great. Emily's theory of a long slow virus seems to be the most likely answer. So lots of sleep and rest for the next days. 

correction

Okay, so actually today is the 15th, not the 16th and tomorrow is my two month anniversary. So when you read the below posting keep in mind I was having a blond/morphine moment and got confused on what day it is.

Two Months

Well, today is my two month anniversary for transplant!!! 

This is just a quick post to say hello, and let you know that I am working on the next batch of pictures to continue to visual journey of this process. We took a TON of photos, so there is lots of editing and picking and choosing to be done. I am also not the most proficient when it comes to computers, so then getting them posted with the correct comments attached takes some time too. But never fear, they are on their way!!

(I will give a little warning now, some of the pictures to come are pretty graphic. Those of you who know me well know I am not one to hold back, so I had pictures of pretty much everything taken during this process. Some will make you laugh, most will probably make you cry, and depending upon you tolerance for blood some will make you gasp, gag, or possibly full on want to puke and/or faint. So, just a little heads up.)

I know I haven't posted in awhile, now being out of the hospital and stable there is not much to report on a day to day basis. Overall things are going really well. I have had no major complications or issues so far (knock on wood), and my trajectory for recovery is right on schedule. With that being said I am going to now completely contradict myself by telling you that I have been feeling a little under the weather the past ten days or so. I think I picked up some kind of flue/viral thing. I have not been acutely ill, just very, very tired and achy. That mixed with the fatigue of recovering from major surgery has made me REALLY tired, like sleeping 15 hours a day tired. All my labs and the tests for my lung function are stable, so the doctors are not too worried, I am having another bronchoscopy tomorrow so that we can rule everything out.

I think I just have a virus and I am slowly riding it out, but it is taking longer to kick because I did just have major, major surgery two months ago and I am still in the early phase of my recovery. The cool thing is that this has not manifested into a respiratory infection and totally laid me flat. That is a new experience for me because pre-transplant anytime I got sick it would immediately turn into a lung infection and make me very ill. The concept of being able to ride something out on my own is a totally new concept, and honestly kind of weird. 

So, speaking of sleeping I am going to go and take a nap. I love you all, I hope you are all doing well, and more pictures to come soon!