Busy, busy, busy!!

I can't believe this post has taken me 3 weeks to write!

I've been going non stop since last time I've blogged. Just when I think I have a spare minute to sit down and write, something else comes up. Lots has happened in the last month, both good and bad. So here we go.

Memorial Day Weekend - Terry's birthday and the big move. 

We went out to lunch at Red Robin with my Dad, as usual. Poor Terry didn't get quite the celebration he deserved with our house being torn inside out. This was the weekend Jen and kids move out. We felt like we moved too, juggling furniture in every room. 

Josh kindly gave up his condo for Jen and the kids to live in so that they could not only have their own space but also their independence. But mostly, the move was to help slow down the progression of my CF that has been crazy out of control. The 24/7 non stop kiddos, baby sitting and the germs they brought home, took it's toll on me. Something needed to be done, to keep me from the germs that always landed me in the hospital with yet another exacerbation. 

Jen and Josh hatched the idea my last hospitalization. When they approached me with the idea, at first, I said, 'no way.' It killed me that a decision made by my X SIL Brent leaving Jen and grandkids, uprooted and homeless, would also now leave Josh affected too. But Josh assured me, that he wouldn't have offered if he didn't want to help me, giving me the time and space to recoup my health. Clearly, something needed to be done, and in their minds, seemed like an easy option. I agreed to give it a try. So far, so good, I've been feeling MUCH better having the opportunity to rest when needed.

I had the last of my TX tests, the left heart cath, on Mon June 14. Since I went through a similar right heart cath just 3 weeks ago, I kind of knew what to expect. Only this time was outpatient. We left the house at 5:30am for an ETA of 7:00am. Checked in, up to pre op and turned out the first procedure was cancelled, so they were able to get me in early. Done, in recovery and out the door of the hospital @ 1:00 pm - fantastic! The Doc said my heart looked perfectly normal with squeaky clean arteries. He said he would have never known I had a lung disease by looking at my heart. Great news all around. At least I know my heart is in tip top shape with no blockages, leaks, or plague!!

This procedure though was much more painful in the days ahead. Because they went into the heart through the femoral artery instead of a vein, they had to put a closure device on my artery to keep from bleeding out. Constant hard pressure was put on the site for 15 minutes. The closure device stays inside and dissolves within 6 weeks. Boy is it still tender in that area. I hobbled like an old woman for almost a week with strict instructions to not lift, or climb stairs. Um my bed is upstairs??? So I very carefully made my way up, and only one trip a day for a few. :)

Saturday 6-19 was little Miss Audrey's 2nd Birthday!!!! I can't believe it, she is getting so big. So of course Jen had the party here, inviting family and friends. We had a great time, eating, visiting and watching Audrey open gifts. Terry and I got her a talking Jesse doll, which she absolutely LOVES!!!

Sunday Father's Day, took Dad to breakfast @ Mimi's . . . mmmmmm. Their breakfast never disappoints, we love it. Other than that, with Terry's son in Oregon, no other celebrations. Just a lot of clean up from the party the day before and getting back to normal.

I go for my first Tx appt on this Tuesday 6-29. I see the nutrionalist, financial and Dr. G, one of the 4 pulmonologists on the Tx team. Wednesday, my file goes to committee for review, and I should know if it's time to list or wait. But there is a problem that needs to be discussed and decided with the surgeons.

At my hospital followup 2 weeks ago, I asked Dr. R to please show me my CT and xray and explain to me exactly what he sees that made him decide it was time for Tx. Besides frequent infections, he showed me on my CT, frame by frame, how my left lung is pretty much non existent, about the size of my fist. My right lung has curved around, to almost completely fill up my chest cavity. It was ugly!!! He proceeded to tell me how complicated a Tx would be, because everything has shifted so much in my chest. More than likely my puny left lung, is fused to the chest wall and will need to be scraped out. Yuck!

I point blank asked him, "Are you telling me that maybe the Tx team can't even do a Tx on me?" He hesitated, looked very seriously at me and Terry and said, "not necessarily, but we need to find out now, before things get worse. Since I'm not a surgeon, and your case is unusual, I need their input as the best way to proceed." Great! So there is a chance . . . of it not happening at all.

This week can't come quick enough for me. I'm nervous about hearing the news the docs tell me, I hope it is what I want to hear. I don't think Dr. R would have said anything to me about the possibility of no Tx, unless I came out and asked. But I'm the type that wants to know the truth and what I'm dealing with, hard or not. I hate the not knowing, I just want to find out. I've had a feeling all these years that maybe my prior surgery could come back and bite me in the butt down the road. Well, here we go, I'm on the road. But I have to be grateful for the years of life that surgery gave me. After all, I wouldn't be here otherwise.

Yes, I am grateful and I am blessed. :)