tuesday morning........09-15-09

The big news is Emily was discharged monday evening about 6 pm and is now still working on a

much deserved long nights sleep sans xrays or lab work or docs making rounds in the early am. I did hear a noise early this morning and for a moment was afraid that the surgery team had tracked us down and were going to pop in and ask us how we were feeling. I think it was Max the cat making his rounds. We are at very dear friends Rosanne and Ted's house. They so graciously provide us our home away from home while we are in Seattle, which is pretty often.  So medically Emily's post surgical healing is going well. Yesterday, at one pm was the broncoscophy. Tube down the throat under concious sedation, a look for infection and rejection and biopsies to be tested for rejection [this is the sure test].  There have been quite a few of these post transplant.

The problem for Emily is that she has become so sensative to the sedation that recovery afterwards has become an adventure in waiting. Time is marked in hours rather than the normal minutes. Yesterday , she was so deeply under that there was beginning to be some serious concern. But she gradually,  really gradually, returned.  She surfaced, it was a real battle, first just some little twitches then trying to open those big ole eyes of hers but with eye lids that had become so very heavy. This took hours, early on I had stepped out for some air and Peg was so concerned by Ems' lack of response that she called to let me know. Another, new PR from outside the hospital to the the recovery area. We can both still move it under certain conditions. After waking about half way they returned Emily to her room on 5NE for a bit of obserservation before  discharge. This is not the norm but we were happy to do it. Peg and I finished undoing the room, taking town the string of party lights, prayer flags and photos on the walls and saying bye to some of the most wonderous nurses. It was good to leave as it had become a pretty long week, good and in the big picture hopefully very valuable but long and tiring. You start to think maybe you have spent a lot of time on the floor when not only to you know most of the nurses but also have a nodding acquaintance with the team that is cleaning the area. And you recognize all of them from all of the round the clock shifts and they say hello.

Late in the day yesterday I was coming up the stairs [you are a regular in the hospital if you use the stairs all the time and avoid the elevators]. Not really paying attention when someone coming down gives me a friendly slap on the shoulder. I was really surprised and when I turned it was one of the surgical fellows who had been checking on Em this time and who had assisted on her transplant in Feb. This is a busy man who as far as I could tell had not left the building this past week. Yet he stopped me in the stairs and asked hey how is Emily this evening. Got a quick report and rushed on down the stairs. Just another small reminder that besides the being wonderfully skilled the docs, nurses, techs, etc really do care. 

So, Emily is sleeping now. our goal is to get back to Eugene in time for her to join her buds for there tuesday night burger and brew, now that will be some good medicine. Thanks again for all the support, please keep  it coming. Now Emily will see in the next weeks if this surgery has truly help at the source of the pain. We are very hopeful and optimistic. But it has been a tough week and it is a journey that goes on and on.....