Day Five

The picture above pretty much sums up Saturday and Sunday. Maddy fought the shoulder pain all weekend long. They continued to use narcotics to keep her pain to a minimum on Sunday. They started her on Ultram every six hours and left her the pump with hydromorophean that she could use every 20 minutes if she needed more relief. She spent a lot of yesterday trying to stay out of bed so she didn't loose any of the new lung function she has been fighting so hard to get. They did a chest x-ray and said everything looked great. The PFT's she does on the little hand held spiriometry machine are still up pretty high. They are only a little lower than when she was at home but that is probably because the pain keeps her from giving as much effort. Overall I think her new lungs have been great through this whole process.

Last night just before bed they took her off the pain pump and just kept the Ultram and Norco by mouth on a regular schedule. That was able to manage the pain without any issues for Maddy. The only problem she had after that is the narcotics have stopped her bowels from moving. And of course they want to make sure everything is moving in the right direction. They already have her on a regiment of Senokot, Colace, and Miralax to keep her moving but she needed a little extra boost. Instead of giving it to her yesterday, while she was up anyway, they gave it to her at 9:00 last night! Remember that little rant the other day about trying to sleep in the hospital. Yeah, that was easy compared to last night. The poor girl was up every other hour having to go to the bathroom. They were staggering the Ultram and Norco to keep the pain at bay so the nurse was in the room every other hour to give her a pill as well. You think those two things would sync up? Nope. We were up every hour to hour and a half last night!

The good news is that will be our last night in the hospital! Maddy's pain is under control and getting easier to manage every day. Her bowels have moved and she is able to drink and "eat" without any issues. The surgeon who did the transplant came by this morning and said he would like to get a CT scan of the area where he repaired the vein before she goes home. So we are stuck here until that happens. Everything else is just about ready to go. Dr. Haddad has already written her discharge orders, we are waiting for the Dr. Goldin's group to come by and write theirs, then a quick chest CT and we are heading home! Hopefully all this happens before noon today.

Thanks again for all the prayers. After this all Maddy has to do is show up for clinic every week and try to keep from catching any bugs! And of course get stronger and healthier every day. One day at a time.