It just so happened that Ian Ferguson, my longtime CF friend who is 13 years post transplant, had his annual appointment today. So, he came in last night and we went out to dinner. That was just what the Dr. Ordered. I needed to hear from someone how tough it really is the first few months, and really needed that motivational push and encouragement from someone who has been through this.
Ian and I comparing transplant incision scars.
Hello all,
This is Mitch here 3 1/2 weeks after successful lung transplant surgery. I just returned home about an hour ago from my first official clinic visit. Here they drew blood work, did another chest xray, I saw my surgeon Dr. Haithcock, and the Transplant team. It took the whole morning.
The great news is everything with the new lungs appear to be perfect. They are happy with how the chest xray looks, the results of the biopsy from the other day were completely negative for any acute rejection. This is a great sign that my body is slowly starting to accept the transplanted organ, as it is very common for the majority of people to experience some form of acute rejection within the first 3 months, but especially during the first month. They said my lungs looked clearer and the infection and congestion left over from surgery was resolving. So, they took me off of 2 iv antibiotics, and substituted an oral antibiotic instead. I have just 4 more days of some iv meds left and then on tuesday can get that final IV line pulled out of my arm. That will be a relief to not have any foreign tubes or lines in me!
Dr. Haithcock, the surgeon, came in and was very optimistic with me. He assured me all my aches and pains were justified and part of the healing process. Everyone has different complications or experiences and mine are not out of the ordinary. I have what they call a thoracic nerve stretch injury to my right side and arm. This makes my arm weak, ache, tingle, and the major problem is it causes my scapula to be unstable and wing out when I move. However, as much as it bothers me it is something that they say will get better with alot of time and exercise. He explained all my other ailments as part of my healing process which will take months. He removed all of my stitches from the chest tubes as well.
So, Although I am not feeling that great yet, I am very optimistic that everything is going as well as it possibly could. The medications wreak havoc on my mood and mental status throughout the day, sleep is virtually impossible, I still have some wheezing and fluid in my new lungs (but it is getting better), and of course alot of pain from where they broke my sternum. But I get stronger everyday and just need to push on through.
I look forward to progressing further and although each day is a challenge I look forward to it because I hope I will continue to improve.
-Mitch
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6 comments:
Mitch, Keep up the good fight. Glad to hear about your awsome check-up. Mary Chesley
Such fantastic news Mitch!!! What a huge relief it must be to get such positive doctors' reports and explanations for your complaints. It was great seeing Ian too, since we have been reading about him. Thank you thank you for this excellent news. Love You!
That is great to hear from you Mitch. Ian is a guardian angel!! So great he came to visit. Great to hear all your good news from the doctors. Keep pushing as there are alot of 5Ks out there waiting for us. !!! Love Jean
Mitch - you continue to amaze me with how you accept everything that is thrown at you and just remain so positive and upbeat. You're a champ. I wish you more and more days of less and less pain. As always, I am thinking about all of you and hoping for continued healing. xoxo love you joan. How about those redskins? They won just for you. :-)
Hi Mitch,
Congratulations on your progress; the beginning is the toughest part. I'm Mary, a CF-lung transplant patient, celebrating 15 years of my new life in 19 days. Had a lot of pain at the beginning, had trouble sleeping (prograf caused that for me), felt wore out and exhilarated at the same time.
My husband Butch knows your Mom Gayle ... how I heard of your blog.
I worked hard to make my pills & exercises & therapies part of my routine ... just part of the day. It can be a challenge, but it's worth the effort. I wondered how your blood sugars are doing? Are you diabetic, from CFRD, medications or otherwise? I found that high blood sugars, combined with immunosuppressive meds, caused most of my infections - more than pre-lung tx.
It's wonderful that you've got Ian for support. If you need more input from patients, the listserv Secondwind may be useful ... it's a collection of lung transplant patients, candidate & families. You are also welcome to ask me about questions about my lung journey ... mrpete1994@yahoo.com.
I was transplanted at UPMC in October 1994, spent 21 days in the hospital due to my poor physical condition pre-tx. I had one acute rejection in June 1998 when I tried an herbal pill for sinus problems & it blocked absorption of prograf. I've had several aspergillous infections, including an aspergillous ball surgeons found during my transplant surgery.
I had a kidney transplant in 2006 ... prograf & amphotericin gradually caused my kidneys to fail. Amphotericin is an old antibiotic for aspergillous.
I work full-time as an electrical engineer; I'm 48 years old.
Cheers! Life is wonderful, isn't it. The blog sounds like you've got a great family - my congrats to your wife & kids.
Mitch, you look great! Wishing that you continue to feel better each day. All our best from Boston.
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