Big progress

We're still trying to figure out how to prevent me from waking up in excruciating pain early in the morning. Thus far no matter what we do I wake up in terrible pain, and it takes hours to get things under control. It's been really difficult, but at least it's temporary and the pain is usually manageable by the afternoon.

Yesterday I was a little more congested, so today they did a bronchoscopy to go into my lungs, clean things out, and see how they looked. Having a bronchoscopy after transplant is pretty standard, but I was doing so ridiculously well that they planned to wait and do mine as an outpatient. Since things were slightly off, however, they decided to go back to the original plan and do it now.

I've never had a bronchoscopy outside of surgery before, so I was always unconscious the previous times. They did this one at my bedside, so that was a new experience that I'd rather not repeat. During a bronchoscopy they put a probe down your throat and into your lungs, and are able to use a camera to see what's going on and a suction tube to take stuff out if necessary. They had me inhale and gargle various numbing solutions, but I have a strong gag reflex and really don't do well with things going down my throat. They also gave me some sedation to help keep me calm and relaxed. We did manage to complete the procedure and clear a bunch of mucus out of my lungs, but it was pretty unpleasant. Unfortunately for me, bronchoscopies happen every few weeks/months during the first year post-transplant. Hopefully the outpatient ones will involve more anesthesia.

On the plus side, I'm breathing MUCH better after being cleared out during the bronchoscopy, so that's nice. And I'm not having any lingering discomfort a few hours later. At least the unpleasantness served a purpose and didn't last.

As of today I'm officially steady enough on my feet that I no longer need a walker. I'm not winning any races, but I'm now able to walk by myself, which is very exciting and an important step towards going home. B"H I'm actually doing well enough that we're talking about sending me straight home, without going to an inpatient rehab, next week! I'll still have to come to outpatient rehab at HUP 3 times a week, but I can spend the rest of my time in the comfort of my own home. I am very excited to have a successful and comfortable return home this time around!!