More surgery for Diane :(

Apparently Diane, the other lung recipient, has to go back into surgery to have the lower part of her lung removed.  Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.  She and my Dad have been through the ringer these past two weeks, but they are both strong and we have complete confidence in the excellent doctors and nurses who have been so diligent in their care.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring better news for Diane!

Two Steps Forward

My hero! Just another marathon to him, I guess :) Dad just walked a few feet down the hall, and when they turned around and got back to his room he motioned forward that he could keep going and surprised the nurses and therapists. To be walking after what he's been through over the past 24 hours is a miracle. I will remember this picture forever

One Step Back

So this weekend Dad took two steps forward and yesterday was one step back. He was moved back down to the ICU yesterday afternoon because of some fluid thats been building up on his lung, as well as an infection and an atrial heart flutter. They had him on a Bpap oxygen mask that's basically like having a giant fan blowing a ton of oxygen into your mask. If he took it off for even a second his o2 levels would plummet. They gave him a med that causes his body to urinate like crazy in an effort to try to rid itself of the extra fluid in his lung, so the catheter had to stay in (I was mistaken when I said in my last post that it had been removed over the weekend.) It's been in since his surgery, so the sooner it can come out, the less chance for more infection.

He had to be reintubated this morning with the breathing and feeding tube, because he just wasn't able to stabilize his breathing even with the mask at full oxygen output. Last night he was breathing so rapidly and irregularly that it left me breathless just sitting there watching it. His hands and feet were like ice cycles from the lack of oxygen but he was in a cold sweat the entire time and said he was hot. When they let me into his ICU room, he tried to talk through his mask and told me with tears in his eyes that he wasn't afraid and that he loved us so much.

Having the tube back in is difficult because his throat was already so damaged from having it in and taken out the last time, but he's definitely calmed down and stabilized since having it put back in. Unfortunately we're back to trying to speak sign language with him to figure out what he needs or try to interpret his writing on a white board that's unclear because of his pain meds and all the wires on his fingers and hands. The physical therapist just came in and is moving his arms to stretch. I told the therapist how my dad was (is) a regular at the Treehouse Athletic Club and how he's run 17 marathons, and Dad gave me a thumbs up sign. They're going to try to get him to walk today - stay tuned!

Just Breathe ...

Sorry the updates have dwindled a bit here over the past few days - we promise to be better and appreciate all of your concern, it really means the world to us.  Dad's hanging in there, but we'd be lying if we said everything was fine.  He's in the thick of it right now as far as his recovery goes.  He's had some issues with his heart and blood pressure, as well as trouble trying to regulate and slow his breathing.  He still has one of his chest tubes in to drain fluid but he did have the epidural and catheter removed over the weekend which was great.  Last night he was able to walk to for a bit, but it totally wears him out.  He's also extremely nautious from some of the anti-rejection medications but he desparately needs to eat high protein/fat foods to try to build up some of the muscle that he's lost over the past 10 days (and he didn't have a lot to begin with.) 

I had told my Dad that my friend Doug Akagi, who had a double lung transplant at the U a few months ago, wrote in his blog that if you had asked him while he was recovering in the hospital if he would do it all over again, he would say no.  He was that miserable and the recovery was that difficult.  Yesterday, between short, labored breaths, he said "remember when your friend wrote that?  I'm there."  Just breaks my heart, because I know how incredibly grateful he is for this gift of life and how overwhelmed he's been with gratitude, so for him to even hint at the fact that this is that difficult for him is so hard to hear.

A few of us commented last week on how we noticed how nurturing he has been with this new lung - a lot like a new mother is with her newborn, aware of every breath they're taking or not taking at all hours of the day .  You'll be sitting there talking to him and out of the blue he'll ask "what's ... my ... oxygen ... at?" and then he'll close his eyes and try to take a deep breath and slow down.  Can you imagine how odd that would feel, to be able to actually have control over the organ that was just transplanted into your body?  No wonder he's probably been a little anxious and breathing to fast. It's important for him to rest and relax, but we also know that your visits are important to him as well.  We've found that it's great for him to just have one or two people in his room, sitting out of his line of vision most of the time and not trying to talk a whole lot to him but just reading or watching tv with him and helping to get him anything he needs.   We love you all so much and appreciate your continued prayers.


p.s.  Last report on Diane was that she was recovering well from her surgery a few days ago, had her breathing tube taken out and was up walking around on the 5th floor as well.  Dad told me yesterday that he's looking forward to meeting her - hopefully in the hall one of these days :)

Entering Gad Valley

Dad was cleared to be moved up to the 5th floor transplant unit this afternoon - totally bypassed the intermediate ICU which is GREAT news! He's doing his best to try to swallow solid food but his throat has quite a scar from removing the large vent tube. As he was forcing himself to eat another bite of mashed potatoes, I said "just think of this as the biggest marathon of your life, Dad. Pick a spot up ahead, set a goal, and don't focus on anything else 'til you get there." He laughed and said "then right now I must be in the St. George Marathon entering Gad Valley. Definitely looking forward to getting to Diamond Valley." He's my hero :)

Pray for Diane

Please keep Diane Atwood in your thoughts and prayers.  She's the recipient of the left lung (my Dad got the right) and apparently she has to go back into surgery because of issues with the lower part of her new lung. She was doing so well?  Scary.

The tube is out!!!

Dad's off the vent- they pulled the tube out early this morning and he's breathing on his own with his new lung!!! He's getting a small amount of O2 through a nasal canula which they'll be decreasing throughout the morning. Bryan's with him now and said that he's in great spirits, talking well, slept well, etc. I was literally on my knees praying for that tube to come out today when my phone beeped with Bryan's text that said they had pulled the tube and he was breathing on his own. We're so blessed!

I should also mention that Diane, the other lung recipient, was moved yesterday from the surgical ICU to the intermediary ICU and was up walking the halls!  These are good, strong lungs and I'm sure Dad will be following her lead in a day or two.  Such a miracle!  How can we ever thank the donor family enough?  Thinking of them ... always.

From Bryan:

Got a call at 5:30 AM to hurry up to the hospital because my Dad wanted me to be there when they discussed pulling his breathing tube (This can really only be done once with a new lung) so its important to get it right. That drive was very cold, dark and long from Draper to the U. I realized when I got there that I didn't have the radio on the entire drive, a lot of things go through your mind. They ended up pulling the breathing tube and turning off the ventilator right when I got there. After quite a bit of suction and nervousness he started breathing on his own! He and I just sat and had conversations about everything. He looks great, feels great and is eating ice chips. He told me "I'm the luckiest man alive". He still has a long road to recovery but it looks like he's going to make it out of here.

Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts, they REALLY did help, what a roller-coaster