March 20, 2014

First day of SPRING! .......Finally. 

The most anticipated & welcome day for me every year since March 20, 1981, when I welcomed my first son, Brad. 

Happy Birthday Brad!

(I can't wait to see you tonight). 

Spring is a time of hope & beginnings. 

I love the way these tough little crocus can burst through the snow to bloom!

Last weekend I was blessed with the company of my son, Mitch for 4 days. We watched movies, ate all kinds of food and spent quality time together. The time went by too quickly. 

It was sooo good to see him. 

I am now into my fifth month on the waiting list & yesterday was my bi-monthly Tx Clinic day. Fasting bloodwork, chest X-ray, pulmonary function test - every department was running behind schedule so I just kept moving, always passing the Tim Hortons when the line was too long....

I had hoped to fit in the support group meeting & lunch with the group, but never got a pause. Even the elevators were holding everyone up, it was so busy. 

When I finally grabbed coffee & a snack, landed in the clinic waiting room, I was called in immediately.

I barely got my coffee open in the exam room when the Nurse Practitioner arrived. This was a new (to me) team member. I got the impression she had taken the time to read my file & was familiar with my history. She considered me to be stable & though my lung function dropped a further 1% to 16%, I was keeping up in my physio & my bloodwork numbers were satisfactory.

My blood pressure was good, but when she listened to my lungs she said it didn't sound like a lot was going through them. 

I'm just grateful for no crackling, wheezing or serious coughing, which seems to have eased up a lot since I have avoided any infections for the first winter in a few years. 

I had a few questions saved up for my appointment regarding the surgery, antibodies & other details. We had a good informative discussion & it helped boost my confidence again. 

After briefing the respirologist who would be seeing me, they came in & basically confirmed everything we had already discussed, including the fact that I would remain at Status 1. (Status 2 is higher priority for Tx). It's a good news/bad news kind of thing. 

They told me my next clinic appointment in May would coincide with my 9 year post-Tx assessment. 

That kind of snuck up on me - wow!

It was a short & quick clinic because sometimes the wait can be 3-4 hours. I tried to fit in my physio afterward, but sadly it was an early close day at the treadmill room so I wasn't able to do my full workout. I felt like a kid let out of school early!