Assessment Day 1

Assessment Day 1? Check!

Let me start by saying that today was a long day. My husband and I needed to be at the hospital for our first appointment at 7:30am. Before that I had to do my treatments and get ready, so it was a really early day! We were able to stay at a hotel across the street from the hospital, so that was a plus.

First on the schedule was bloodwork... 15 vials worth! There's nothing like fasting for 12 hours and then losing a bunch of blood. An ECG was next. Then I met with one of the transplant doctors (a different one from last time). Next we were off to meet the social worker and chat about everything from my support people to finances. We were allowed a lunch break -phew- and then met with the pre-transplant coordinator (nurse). We discussed more about the actual procedure and logistics. Last on the list was meeting the anesthesiologist.

By the end of the day I was pretty tired and hungry and perhaps a little grumpy. We walked back to the room where I relaxed for a little bit, ate a lot of snacks and then had a nice nap.

Everyone we met today was friendly and very knowledgeable. Today was good to start to figure out the hospital and all of its buildings and hallways... it's strange hanging out in a hospital where we don't know any staff or any shortcuts through the basement. One of the new hospital buildings is new and is super nice and bright- what a treat! I was also very proud of myself for walking all day. It was a lot of back and forth, but I did it. Luckily my husband carried the backpack full of O2 tanks for the day- I could hardly even lift it!

Another neat thing happened today- we bumped into someone from my clinic who had got new lungs two months ago. We had actually been in hospital together back in May. This person didn't even finish the six-week physical therapy program before they got the call. It's crazy to think that your new lungs could come that quickly!

Day 1 is a wrap! Time to get some sleep.