Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Down with the Skis!

Hello Everyone!!

It has been a long time since my last post. It has been something I have been meaning to do for quite some time. Obviously, with the long delay everything must be going great! For the most part they are.

On April 8th, was the 7 month mark. We made it out to Colorado in a whirlwind 6 day trip. We were so busy, but had so much fun. My lungs are improving and getting stronger, but still not quite where I want them to be. The good news is I have had no issues with infection, and the narrowing has subsided to an extent where it is barely noticeable. I do not feel like I am close to the capacity or level that I can get to, but that is perhaps a good thing, because the amount of activity I can do at this level is so much more then I could do 5-10 years ago.

First our trip. We arrived in Denver and is was a balmy 70 degrees. It was so beautiful. I will add a bunch of photos below. The mountains were all snow capped and they were calling for a big storm to hit on Thursday, the day we were heading to the mountains. We arrived Tuesday and immediately went and visited Rebecca's great friend from her youth, Jamie Brooks! Jamie and her husband Devo, and Daughter Chloe entertained us and showed us their beautiful home. Devo made us a home made meal of pasta and homemade meatballs, that were superb. Denver is a really cool city and we stayed downtown and walked around a lot. On Thursday morning we left for Vail. We left just in time, because when we got through the Eisenhower Tunnel and approached Vail pass the weather was just starting to turn. We made it to Vail around 1pm. However, my friends Nick and Missy and their young children got into a major traffic accident on I-70 at Vail Pass! You can google the headlines. It was a 40 car pile-up and they were one of the 40 cars. Luckily, they were ok. Their car almost flipped over and if not for Nick knowing the pass and being in the right spot when he topped the crest, they could have been terribly injured. They were stuck in the car for over 4 hours, while paramedics and fireman cleared the cars and helped people. Their car was damaged but drivable. By the time they arrived that night, they were in shock still but relieved. So, were we. To top off the night, we all got in the hot tub to relax, and apparently a broken beer bottle was left at the bottom of the tub. Simon was jumping up and down and sliced his foot open, right below his big toe! The day was not going well!! The weather was too bad to even drive to an emergency room, so we called a doctor on call and sent him digital picks of the foot. It probably could have used about 10 stitches, but we cleaned it out, flapped the skin over it and bandaged it up according to the Doc. He was the nicest man! We owe Dr. Gray a shout out! We did not think Simon was going to be able to ski, but if you know Simon then you know he is a tough boy and once the foot was bandaged insisted everything was ok. The next morning, I rewrapped it and he was limping, but I threw him in his ski boots and then you could not tell he was limping anymore!! So, what you can't see must be ok. Amazingly he skied both days and never complained. It snowed the whole 3 days we were there off and on. The snow was incredible. The boys got so much better at skiing. I held my own, however the new lungs were not quite ready for 11k plus feet. I had a lot of trouble keeping my SATS (blood oxygen level) up. In fact at the top, they were dropping to 78-80. I felt a little delirious, but just had to stop and regroup every 20 seconds or so. Needless to say, even my adventuresome self, did not drop back into the back bowls. I did not want to be somewhere where help was far away and Nick and Rebec seemed a bit nervous. So, Rebec and I stayed on the front of the mountain, which is still huge and skied the whole front mountain the two days. By the second day, I was acclimating a bit and my SATS were closer to 82-85 and 87-89 at the base. I think this is due to the fact that I do have some narrowing and that the airways are still healing. Also my endurance and lung capacity still needs to improve. It was worth it though, and we all had an incredible time.

We made it back to DC. and returned to school and work. Work is still very busy and it feels good to be back. I get more and more adjusted everyday. I actually just returned from Chapel Hill yesterday. I went down to have Dr. H. do a follow-up 7 month bronch. He did this on Monday and said everything looked "really good". He was pleased. He said their was a bit of narrowing which he dilated, but no need for stents, and that he thinks they will continue to heal over time and my body will keep getting stronger.

It is miraculous to think that 7 months have passed. It actually feels a lot shorter. Probably because the first 4-5 months were so focused on recovery and my complications were fairly troublesome. Although no major rejection issues or major infection issues, it still was a difficult battle, which I am still re-cooperating from. I still have soreness along the rib-line where the ribs were spread, and I still have issues with some of the medications. I am off of all antibiotics except Zithromax, which is a maintenance drug that I took pre-transplant anyway. My body continues to adjust to the immunosuppression meds and their weird side effects. I also am basically a diabetic again, which means watching my blood sugars and taking insulin. So, this I have to get under control.

Thanks for the continued support and I will try and post a bit more frequently because I know their are people who are interested and also people out there who are still waiting for a transplant or who have had one and follow the blog for information. I know I found reading other peoples stories and experiences interesting, and I still do follow other transplant blogs.

Happy Spring Everyone!!
-Mitch
Click on the photos to enlarge


Here is a view out of our Hotel window in downtown Denver. The picture does not do the mountains justice.


Jamie and Chloe


Me and Si. Having fun in Denver

Matias and Baby Tyler. They were becoming friends.



The whole Gang in Vail Village. Me, Si, Mati, Reba, Zoey, Nick, Tyler (hiding in backpack), and Missy!!
Nick and I at the top of of Vail! A personal Highlight and accomplishment!! Next year we tear up the mountain more!!