Moving up in the world

Had my first post-bronch pulmonary function test (PFT) yesterday, and my lung function is up to... 79%! That's an improvement of almost 10% from where I was 10 days earlier! I *told* you I'd get back to 80% and beyond! 😊

3 month bronchoscopy!

Check out https://youtu.be/W1pQaEHWdDk if you’d like to see a video recap of bronchoscopy day!

Thursday was my big bronchoscopy day! Post-transplant it’s standard to have bronchoscopies after 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year, and then annually after that. During a bronchoscopy they put a scope down my throat and into my lungs to look around and make sure everything is ok, and take sputum samples and biopsies to check for infection and rejection. In my case, we already knew things weren’t 100% perfect and that they’d have to open up and clear out some airways. Thankfully, I’m under general anesthesia for this whole process. General anesthesia used to be a big scary deal with my old lungs, but seems to be a lot easier and more standard with my shiny new ones. So on Thursday I went to HUP, changed into my very fashionable hospital gown, and went to sleep for a few hours while they fixed me up.

My biggest problem post-bronchoscopy is usually that my throat is very sore and it’s difficult to eat. This time we came prepared with a quart of Rita’s water ice in a cooler so I’d have something cold and delicious to soothe my throat. The nurses and other patients in the recovery room were quite impressed with our foresight and planning! Katherine also continued our new tradition of getting a cute little stuffed animal from the gift shop for me to wake up to post-bronchoscopy. So far there are two, and I’m calling them the Bronchoscopy Collection. At least now I have something fun to look forward to each time!

Shortly after the procedure they let us know that a few airways had been narrowed on the right side and one was narrow on the left side, so they went in and inflated a balloon to open and widen them. There was also necrotic tissue blocking some airways on the right side, which sounds scary but apparently is common. They saw the same thing during my previous bronchoscopy, and both times they were able to remove the dead tissue and open up the airways. I’m wheezing a lot less now, though I’m still a bit congested as I clear out the mucus that was trapped during the last several weeks. Hopefully things will heal up and clear out by the time I see the doctor again in 2 weeks, and my pulmonary function numbers will go way up!

Today I got my test results from the sputum samples and biopsies, and the verdict is… no infection and no rejection! We didn’t get cake this time, but it’s very exciting and encouraging that things continue to go so well! Now I just need to get the hip pain under control so I can get back on track with my exercise routine and rebuild my strength and endurance. I’m also still having some pain in my incisions, though it’s gotten MUCH better. Katherine keeps reminding me that it’s only been 3 months, and that I need to relax and not push myself too hard. Which is hard when I’m feeling SO much better and more capable. I want to conquer the world NOW!

Fiiiine, I guess I’ll try to cut myself some slack and allow this process unfold at its own pace – but I WILL get these lungs back up to 80% and beyond! Just you wait and see!!