Up The Farway Tree

Day 17 - Sunday

Today was overall another good day. I had a reasonable nights sleep but was still pretty sluggish this morning and would gladly have rolled over and gone back to sleep. I did try to get to sleep without the sleeping tablet last night but found myself nearly dozing off then waking up startled and anxious, so in the end I just took the tablet. I'm hoping once I get back home into my own bed this will settle down and I can get some sort of normal sleeping pattern back. I suspect as I gradually become more active during the day I will be physically tired out also, which will no doubt help.

I followed the same exercise routine this morning, with the bike etc. I found it much harder today but I think that's just the normal effect someone would have when they start exercising for the first time and wake up feeling a bit sore the next day. I didn't over do it though and just stuck to a steady speed on the bike and I got there in the end. I'm sure it will get easier as the days go on and I will probably look back and laugh at how hard 10 mins on the bike was!

This afternoon I had a visit from Andrew's mum and dad, which was really nice. Hello Anne and John if you are reading this tonight! They met Andrew at my mums friends (where mum and dad have been staying) so had brought Seb with them. Apparently he gave Andrew the complete cold shoulder and totally ignored him. He was a bit nicer to mum, but she was cutting up chicken at the time so he had an ulterior motive ;-) I suppose we did suddenly abandon him in the early hours of the morning and he isn't going to let us forget it in a hurry. I wonder what his reaction will be when I finally get home and see him...I wont be betting on a warm greeting though, that's for sure.

Mum then came in later this afternoon and we sat outside for a while in the sunshine. She had brought a hat with her so at least I didn't have to wear my wee hoody today. We ended up sitting out too long and missed the doctors ward round ...oops. I don't think there was anything much to say today anyway, as I wont be getting any more tests until tomorrow.

My main ongoing problem is this niggling pain in one specific area. I don't feel the oramorph is even that helpful for the pain, which is now like a toothache as opposed to sharp pain. I think the pain team will be back round tomorrow so I will see what they suggest. For the most part of the day it isn't too bad though so it's not a huge problem. The vision continues to be an issue and I still can't read properly as everything keeps going blurry, as if I need to blink and clear my eyes. I am reassured that Emily (friend who has had transplant) had a similar problem which did settle down eventually, so fingers crossed that clears up soon. I've also been having more problems with my blood sugars since I changed anti-rejection drugs. They are constantly running high, which is probably contributing to the tiredness. I have been trying to adjust my insulin but will most likely need to meet up with the diabetic nurse when I get home and sort out a new regime once everything settles down. It's still a small price to pay, and something that can be sorted out.

So all in all, it's been quite a good day and I can start to imagine going home now and coping with that. I can't believe how far I have come in just over 2 weeks...it feels like I have been away for months because so much has happened. So strange to think that in that little time my life has been turned around completely and will never be the same again. I am used to hospital discharge being associated with feeling 'a bit better' and just waiting on the next infection, yet this time I will be discharged and things will just continue to improve. What a wonderful thought..