Sunday, April 27, 2008

Transplant update - Day 3 - Sunday 10:30pm




Here she is! She was in a bit of pain when we took the photo but she was trying very hard to smile for everyone.

Basically today has been about starting to mobilise her. She was moved into a chair for a few hours and the physios were in to get her to do breathing exercises, deep breaths and coughs to try to clear any secretions that are gathering in her chest. She's been finding this difficult for a number of reasons; pain, dry cough and generally quite weak. She really has to learn how to cough all over again, something she was actually very good at before the tx, which probably makes it more frustrating!

They were also encouraging her to try to eat by offering her soup or similar things. That wasn't good enough for Jac though so she asked "Can I have some ice cream instead?" Fair enough!

The pain has been an issue for most of the day though. The epidural block seems to be very positional, its just very difficult to find the right position where its blocking all of the pain pathways. This seems to be what happened last night, she rolled flat onto her back, off her right side, and almost immediately her left leg went numb from the epidural and pretty quickly the pain in her chest subsided. They were upping the dose of the drug they put through it to see if that would help as well. Just spoke to the ward and the pain seems to be better tonight again, which should help her get some sleep.

Also, they were going to move her out of ITU and into HDU (high dependency) but there were no beds available. This is yet another sign of how pleased they are with her progress.

Andrew

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jac you look absolutely amazing!!! :) I'm so proud of you - keep up the good work! Sending lots of love, Claire xxx

Anonymous said...

Jac, you look amazingly well! So good to "see" you :o)

We've been following your blog relentlessly. Not quite sure what I'll have left to say when I see you next for coffee - but sure you'll have LOADS to tell me. Can't wait! I'll bring a BIG cake. Ali aims to beat Tesco Carrot & Orange cake!

Lots of love
Lee (& Ali...& Tatti)
xx *purr*

Anonymous said...

Looking absolutely fantastic! How on earth do you do it?!

Go Jac!

Love & hugs

Jennifer

Anonymous said...

Fantastic to be able to see you, you look great..... Everybody here sending their love and best wishes. Andrew, "best picture to date!" Big hugs , Rose and Kevin xxx

It's Her said...

Ah you look stunning!! :D Each day you get through is one day you put behind you and one day closer to being fully better!

Wishing you all well for the coming days if I don't get a chance to read. Thinking of you always Rosie xxx

Emmie said...

Jac you are looking amazing, though I can see you are smiling though pain which must be so horrible for you. I really hope that eases soon and that you can be pain-free. I'm bowled over by your progress and how you manage to look so good just days after massive surgery. All your family and friends must be so incredibly proud of you. I'm sure its not an easy time for you right now but in a few months all this will be behind you and you'll have a whole new life to look forward to. Thanks once again Andrew for these updates, they mean the world to us! xxx

Anonymous said...

From Shelleys Dad.
Chuffed for you Jac. Looking good.
Once they remove the epidural and the drains, things will fly and you will feel much better.
Great to see you are doing so well.
Jim

Anonymous said...

Jac you never cease to amaze us! So happy to see you looking so well

Margaret, Stewart,
Anne-Marie and Kathryn x x x x

Anonymous said...

Good morning. Love Auntie Rose

Tinypoppet said...

What is with your ability to look so damn pretty all the time?!

It has made my morning to see this, I will be sitting at work with a massive grin on my face all day! :) Thanks again for keeping us all updated Andrew, it is so appreciated xx

Anonymous said...

Loving the curls wee one :) You're doing grand, keep it up. And thanks to Andrew once again,
lots of love
F and Chris etc
xxxxx

Anonymous said...

Apparently you're the talk of Bathgate - my friend Margaret's mum heard about you from the paper shop man...How he knew I don't know, maybe your family?! Fame at last eh :)

xx
Fi

Anonymous said...

What brilliant news, i am so glad you have had it and are on the road to recovery and a life full of wonderful and yet normal things/activities like being able to breathe and walk and adventurous stuff too!
love angharad (CF) Wales.xx

Anonymous said...

Sounds like she's doing brilliantly - I'm so happy for you all.

The next few days/weeks will be a struggle for you all, as there's a lot to get used to and it's very hard work, but she's one of the biggest fighters I know so I'm sure she'll cope with whatever gets thrown at her.

Tell her to keep smiling and working hard and she'll be back blogging herself in no time.

Big hugs, Jac, xx

Anonymous said...

Fantastic News.
All delighted to hear your news and to see you looking so good. Everyone here at the office/centre sending their love and best wishes...
Angela X

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Keep going Jac.

Take care,

Anders xx

suzie said...

Oh wow!!

How brilliant do you look Jac, I've only just realised I've never actually seen a pic of you before so its nice to meet you.

Stay strong hun, you're doing great.

xxx

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Andrew. Great to see Jac, and very impressed she had her hair done for the shoot ;-)

I really hope they can sort the pain out and get her a bit more comfortable.

Audrey xx

Anonymous said...

Hi honey,

You never cease to amaze me, you look fantastic! I am so so happy that all is going well - you are incredibly brave and one tough cookie. Once you're feeling better, your feet are not going to touch the ground :-). I am so proud of you and sending lots of love and hugs. Panda sends his love to (got him out of the garage when you went in to surgery!). Love to Dids, Therine and James too.

Lots of love, Nic xxx

P.S See the next time I doubt you (e.g. being back at work within 2 months - you don't have to go to these lengths to prove me wrong!).

Anonymous said...

Hi Jac we dont really know you ,although we did meet at Kelly's & Andrews wedding,as well as constant reports from your Aunty Rose.We just wanted to say that you look super and we hope that you are pain free very soon.Best regards & love from Pauline & Phil.p.s your Mother may know us as the standin holiday makers.xx