Home.

My posts seem to be getting fewer and farther in between. That seems to be a trend with most of the blogs I follow- we all had our transplants within a few months of each other and we are spending time doing other things. I think that's a good sign.

Since my last post, I have come back home! I officially finished my three month program on Oct. 22nd, but we stuck around town an extra week. On the 29th, I was supposed to spend the day packing up our apartment and getting ready to leave. Instead, my breathing changed and I spent the day at clinic. Bloodwork, xrays, PFTs, and finally, a bronch. Oh joy. My PFTs had dropped 20% in a couple of days. It's crazy- even with a bad infection pre-transplant, my numbers would never drop so quickly. It scares me, and makes me stop again and think how precious and precarious this gift of new lungs can be. What if I had ignored it? What might have happened?

The bronch revealed that the ring of tissue around that anastomosis had grown back. It was dilated again, but we suspect it will continue to cause problems. Something to watch for I guess. We also took biopsies that were fine.

I stayed the weekend and returned to clinic on the 2nd. It was disappointing, because my motto had been 'home by Halloween.' No such luck, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. On Tuesday, my PFTs were back to normal and I was given the all -clear to go home! After nearly three and a half months, I was going home!

Our house was full of surprises, including a stocked fridge, bouquets of flowers, and a display of welcome home cards and artwork from my niece and nephews.

I have been busy around the house, unpacking and cleaning. I drove for the first time, which felt great. I am exercising everyday, both treadmill and weights. I am taking my dog for fabulous walks, to places in the community that I haven't been for a VERY long time! I am going to the grocery store by myself. I have met up with a couple of friends for lunch. I celebrated my niece's birthday- and we determined that I haven't gone upstairs in their house for over a year. A year! No need to avoid stairs now! I took the garbage out for the first time in ages. I raked leaves. I don't park in the handicapped spot. I went to the new Super Walmart for the first time- it was too intimidating with my oxygen, but I walked to every corner of the store to check it out. I went to the library for the first time this year- I was too worried to have books out if I got the call, and besides, I couldn't concentrate enough to read. I can get so much done in a day. It's easy to get caught up in a task, and then stop to think that this was something I couldn't do before!

I am still doing Tobi, so I haven't completely erased my CF lung routine. It's still a bit of a pain, but a minor one compared to the full routine! It was a nice feeling to go through my med drawers and get rid of the meds that are expired or no longer needed. I only wish that Alberta had a program where I could donate this medication for reuse. It looks like these programs are common in the US, but only a couple of provinces are experimenting with it. Oh well.

It feels so good to be back home!