Friday, November 4, 2016

Lung Transplant Testing, Part 1

This is going to have to be a two-part blog. Mom has an early morning PT appointment and I don't have a lot of time. So much happened yesterday that it is going to take two blogs to get it all in.

I was so nervous about the testing and getting to the university hospital in the city on time that I woke up at 2:30AM and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally, at 3:30AM, we both threw in the towel and we got up. Michael's shoulder had been bothering him (doing so much better after icing and some balm) so he was not able to sleep well either. I had everything ready to go so all I had to do was to get dressed and kiss Michael goodbye as I got into the car at 5:50AM.

Great drive, little traffic, easy parking and I arrived to the lab with my large jug of urine and my stood sample 10-minutes before they handed out numbers for the blood draw. I saw so many people I have known through the years as they walked by on their way to their clinics. Former and new doctors, clinic staff and everyone waved to me. Even Dr. K. said a hello!

I waited for the lab registration, got my blood draw number then waited as those employees to arrived. One of them was my very favorite. She was the one from Africa, we began our friendship when she told me she comes to our little town to buy goat meat long ago and I always hope I get her. My number was finally called and she was the one to do my blood draw! We hugged! We laughed and it was marvelous to do that so early in the morning. Suddenly, it all changed.

Her computer would not print out the labels to be put on the vials. She said I might have to go up to the clinic, get them to enter the orders again, I would have to begin the process all over again, the waiting room was packed at this point and I was worried that I was going to miss my echocardiogram appointment plus I had not eaten since the testing required fasting. OH NO!!! I worried. She took off to try to print them from the computer in the room next to ours. Minutes later, she arrived with a long strip of labels.

It was then that I watched as she began to gather the vials that I realized how big this was. I showed her my secret vein, she began and filled all but three vials from that vein. She was shocked. It was a REALLY good vein. Did I mention she FILLED 40 VIALS! Yes, forty.

We hugged goodbye, I had 45-minutes to run across the street to the cafeteria to get a light breakfast and COFFEE and to take my morning medication before running back across the street and up to the Transplant Clinic for my Echocardiogram appointment.

And that is where the story will continue tomorrow. Echocardiogram! Transplant Coordinator! PFTs! Arterial Punch! 6-Minute Walk! So much to share with you.

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