Just an update From Last Week

Well the end of last week did not go as planned. Wednesday night I was feeling nauseated and Gravol was not working so I tried the new medicine that the doctor in Calgary gave me to try. I ended up having a terrible reaction to it and being sick for 6 days. I took it Wednesday night and by Thursday morning I hadnt slept at all and felt terrible with restlessness and and increased heart rate. I did not even think that I could even get to the car so mom called paramedics so they could come assess me. They came to the hotel room and checked me out and my vitals were all okay so they left and mom got me to the car and we headed to the hospital to see the doctors. He suggested I try taking Benedryl to see if that would help. I took 50mg of that and laid in bed at the hotel all day Thursday. I missed going to the gym and doing my exercises on Thursday and Friday. Friday I was still feeling bad. I did not want to take anything else so I loaded up on water and tried to flush the med out of my system. Mom and Mike took off Friday afternoon for the long weekend on the motorcycle and I was home to look after the pets. I still did not feel good Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. I had a pretty quiet weekend hoping that my anxiety from the med would go away and I would be back to normal. Now, here it is Tuesday and I'm beginning to feel normal again. If I can call myself "normal." HAHA!!! I'm still a little anxious and restless, but am 100% better than I was. I went to the gym this morning and did all of my exercises and even kicked it up a notch on the treadmill. We did not have an extra classes today. Tomorrow we have a family support meeting with our entire group. Then Thursday and Friday there are no classes and we will just being going to the gym to work out. I'm going to be buff by the time I get home. It takes me over an hour and a half to do all of my strengthing exercises now. I'm planning to continue to go to the gym in Penhold when I get home to keep my strength. It will make the recovery after transplant a lot easier. Big storm at home today. Stacey says the parking lot at her work is flooded and it has been hailing. It looks like the storm is heading our way too. Could be a loud night with thunder out there. Hopefully I get a full nights sleep tonight. More updates to come.....Stay tuned!

Muttart Conservatory Visit

Pictures from the Muttart Conservatory

Week 2

Well we are back in Edmonton for week 2 of bootcamp. It's actually going quite well. I already feel like I am getting stronger. I'm up to 30 minutes on the treadmill and about an hour of doing all the other weights and exercises. Mom gets to carry my clipboard around and mark off my exercises and clean my equipment. Today there is a patient only session. Tomorrow there is a wellness through activity course and Thursday Mom and Mike are going to a support group meeting. We have also been able to go out and see some of Edmonton when we are done at the hospital. Well, after I come back and nap! Yesterday we went to the Muttart Conservatory. It was okay. Not as big as we thought but lots of plants and flowers. We are also going to go to the zoo while we are here and we are meeting a friend of moms for lunch today.

And the week goes on...

Well Tuesday we met with our physiotherapist at 8:30am. She got me started on the physio program that I will be doing for the next 6 weeks. It consists of endurance, strength, balance, and stretching. I start off on the treadmill and then move through the weight machines. I am starting off slow, but we are going to add more exerciss as the weeks go on. Today, Wednesday, we went to the gym and got all of my physio and exercises done then came back to the hotel for lunch. At 1pm we had our first class. It was a relaxation class and guess what......?!?!?!?! MOM FELL ASLEEP IN IT!!! I guess she is rather relaxed and the techniques we learned really worked for her. Tomorrow we just have physio and then are heading to West Edmonton Mall for shopping and a movie. More updates to come....

Day 1 of Rehab

Today we had to be at the hospital at 8:30am to begin our 6 week rehab program. We met at the rehab department where I joined the group I will be with for the next 6 weeks. 4 other ladies needing lung transplants for multiple reasons. The first day was like an orientation day. I completed some surveys and questionaires about my health and did another 6 minute walk test. We got our schedule for the next 6 weeks and saw all of the classes we have to attend. There are even classes just for me and some just for mom. After the quick orientation we headed upstairs to clinic to see the transplant doctors. The doctor still talked about how high risk my surgery is, but did not make it sound discouraging. He talked about iv antibiotics long term before the transplant as well. He said we would talk next week about when they are going to list me. I am hoping it will be in the next week. The sooner the better. After seeing the doctor we were done for the day and headed back to the hotel to relax and check out the hotel. We we also did stop and get groceries so we could cook our own supper!!

Up to Edmonton We Go!

Tomorrow we start the 6 week rehabilitation program so we headed up to Edmonton tonight to check into our hotel. We are staying at the Coast Edmonton House. It is great. We have our own kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Just like having a small apartment. Tomorrow we will go get groceries but tonight we are just relaxing at the hotel.

Great News!

Well, after finishing up the pre-transplant assessment workup in Edmonton I was sent home to wait for the entire transplant team to make a decision on whether or not I would be a candidate for transplant at their center. I got a phone call last week and....I AM ACCEPTED!! Edmonton has decided that I am a good candidate for transplant at their center. This means we do not have to pack up and move to Toronto to have the transplant there. I will be able to stay at home and wait for my transplant rather than having to move somewhere else. 



I have now also been booked into the 6 week rehabilitation program at the University of Alberta Hospital from June 18 - July 27. This program helps prepare you for surgery and get you as strong as possible. I have not been officially listed as of yet (I am currently a category 0) because I had to get my immunizations up to date and that included a live vaccine. You can not be listed for 1 month following a live vaccine. The doctors also want me to complete the 6 week program before I go for transplant. I am hoping they will list me as a category 2 as soon as possible. Then the waiting game will begin! Hopefully it will not take too long to find me a good match!


I now have a couple more weeks at home just to relax and have some time to myself before going up to Edmonton 5 days a week. I have a wedding to go to coming up on June 15 and am also waiting to hear word of the arrival of my sister in laws baby boy any day now!


 We will be staying at a hotel with a full kitchen during the week and coming home on weekends. I do not think I could leave my poor kitty for 6 weeks and not see him at all. Mike would probably kill him before I got home! Glad I will be home weekends to look after him!