Up The Farway Tree

The Grand Reunion

Well, yesterday was the big day - when wee Seb came back home! He knew where he was right away and was desperate to get in the front door. When I opened the door I was treated to a few excited tail wags (a rarity from Seb) before he sprinted through to the kitchen and stood at the bark door. He then spent the next half hour outside barking at loud volumes and kicking up grass, just so everyone was quite clear that he was back in town. He was a little unsettled at first because he wasn't sure whether he was leaving with Anne and John or staying with us. He did bark when they left just in case they had accidentally forgotten him, but he soon settled down and was straight back into his usual routine.

After lunch I went upstairs and he followed me to the stairs and dropped his tail in a dejected manner, thinking I might be going out. He then saw me getting my boots on and began sighing loudly with despair. I then asked if he wanted to come with me - he cocked his head to the side with a quizzical look and then literally flung himself at me in excitement. He wouldn't let Andrew put his lead on.. it had to be me. We all went for a short walk and I took the route I used to do pre-transplant, which is a 10 minute walk, although make that 15 minutes to include Seb sniffing every tree we passed. I actually found it a lot harder than I expected and needed to stop a fair few times. I was a bit disappointed but Andrew pointed out that I still have the fitness of someone with 20% lung function, so it wasn't going to be that easy right away. I think I'm too hard on myself. Hopefully the more I do it, the easier it's going to get. Seb was pleased enough with his wee walk so that's the most important thing.

I was a bit bored in the afternoon because I have all this new found energy but am quite limited with what I can do at the moment. I offered to help Andrew paint the hut, but he thought lifting a paintbrush up and down would probably constitute putting pressure on the wound. Sensible man. I did hang the washing out though, and it's probably been well over a year since I did that!
I then caught up with a few things and made a list of all the people I have to phone to get all my equipment removed, so that will be todays task. The sooner I get rid of the oxygen etc, the better.

Since Andrew was out painting the hut I decided I would try and make dinner (not sure when I last did this). I was getting on really well until I lifted the pot to drain the rice, and I felt a searing pain through my sternum (breastbone). I sometimes forget that they did actually cut that bone and I think it is now held together with some wires (takes 4-6months to fully heal). I was told not to lift anything heavy but I didn't think the pot was that heavy. Needless to day I was very sore for the rest of the night and needed to take my stronger painkillers to try and settle it down. Very silly girl. It seems to be ok this morning though, so hopefully no harm done.

The other thing I did was order a medi-alert bracelet so that in a medical emergency the doctors would know that I have had a transplant. Newcastle advised me to do this because there are certain drugs, including some antibiotics, that can be fatal when mixed with my anti-rejection drugs. I am going to make a card for my wallet too, but thought I should have something to wear when I out walking Seb on my own. I managed to get one that is just a canvas strap with small metal disc, so it doesn't look too bad in the picture, although I will reserve judgement until it arrives.

I probably won't update my blog daily daily from now on, so if I don't post then don't worry, I'm probably just too busy enjoying my new lungs :-)