The rest of the Transplant week
The rest of the Transplant week.
May 26th, 2007
I don’t remember much after that I was told that Pastor Bob and David O’Neal came to see me but I have no recollection of their visits. At about 8:30 Saturday night the breathing tube was removed and was put on oxygen. I begin to wake up and finally the nurses set me up in bed. I do remember going in and out of sleep. On Sunday they started to remove more of the drainage tubes, and doctors were very pleased with my progress. I do remember Pastor Harold and Sibyl coming to see me and had a good visit with them. On Monday I was able to get in and out of bed several times and all the rest of the chest tubes were removed. On Tuesday I took a 200 ft walk and was so out of breath by the time I got back to my room I thought I was going to pass out. But I was told this was normal. All the nurses and doctors that came to see me said I was about 2-3 days ahead of recovery where most people are at this time. The following day I was moved to a step down ward, where I have a much larger room where I could move around in. I increased my walking each day and feeling much better than I had been. I was there until Saturday when I was released.Now some other tidbits. I no longer have to take meds for congestive heart failure, but I do have a battery of meds I now take because my immune system is so low and the fear of my body rejecting the new heart. These meds I will take the rest of my life. For the next month I will have a weekly biopsy done to see if there is rejection. My first on was last Thursday and came back at 0% rejection…Praise the Lord! Because of these meds it has got my blood sugar all out of whack, and I have to give myself insulin shots 4 times a day. But the blood sugar should come back in line as some of these meds are adjusted. Anytime I go out in public I have to wear like a surgical mask and refrain from touching and hugging people, this will last for 6 months. As a family we are going through a process in the way we cook our food and prepare meals. Washing of say vegetables and fruits must be washed 3 and 4 times. And we find ourselves washing our hands several times a day. If you would come for a visit Susan would greet you at the door with a little squirt of antibacterial gel. J. The time that generally a person stays in the hospital is 10-14 days, but I was released little over 7 days. The doctors seemed impressed with my quick recovery, with one telling me that he saw no reason to keep me any longer. Some have asked about the donor like I said in an earlier post they are tight lipped about sharing any detail with the recipient. However he did learn the night of the transplant that the donor was out of state, he was a young man in the age or 24-30. However since that time we learned though a conversation which was started by Pastor Joe. He was concerned and voiced this concern that would this new heart make a difference in my golf game, where I would be able to beat him, the nurse replied that all she could tell him that I would be golfing with a 26 year younger heart than I had before, which would have but this donor man at 24.. I have an option to write this family a letter of gratitude, which I will do. I have to be very discreet in this letter as not to let them know my address or full name and any personal info like that. I can give them my first name but that’s it. And then this letter has to go through several channels before it gets to the donor family. My thoughts were to write them in a few months, just in order that they have time to grieve. I also have been told that this man donated all of his viable organs to others as well. Well that’s about all I can think of right now. I will probably finish these post about this experience, tomorrow as I would just like to make some closing observations about this whole perspective. I wish I had the words to fully express to each person, whether here in Anderson, or Owensboro, and even in Dayton, for your prayers for us; they have meant the world to us. I am grateful to our Lord that He has put this kinship within us to bear one another’s burden and pray for our needs. What a privilege we have to lift everything to God in prayer. I thank you for indulging me in speaking of this event in my life.
