Four Months...and Counting

June 13, 2013

Four months ago today I was sitting in the middle of a meeting in the Xerox offices in Hillsboro when I got  word that there were lungs for Shirley and we needed to get to Seattle.  I had just returned from a business trip to Maine (and had been stuck in the Blizzard of the Century) and had only slept two nights in my own bed.  Little did I know that I wouldn't rest my head on my own pillow for another four months.

And what a roller coaster ride it has been.  Off the vent and breathing out of the new lungs on her own in just 30 hours; getting out of the hospital in only 18 days after transplant.  Settling in at Pete & Caroline's.  And then the infection...back to UWMC, ten or more trips to the OR to debreed and clean her infected incision.  The gall bladder drain.  Rebab, and finally out again after another 60 days.

And then round three.  The trip to ER; the gall bladder removal; sepsis; acute respiratory failure; cardiac arrest; resuscitation; emergency abdominal surgery; dialysis; ICU Delusion.  And now, finally--and hopefully permanently--a recovery.  Slow and steady.  New victories every day.  It is a very long bridge she is crossing over, but we look forward to the arrival on the other side and a new opportunity to enjoy life without the constraints of lungs that just couldn't do the job.

Today marks the fourth day of progressively better progress.  Shirley had three different sessions sitting up in a chair--each 1-3 hours in length.  Once, she was even able to stand up from the edge of the bed on her own power.  Her speech is improving, her voice is getting stronger and her vocabulary is coming back (I was called obtuse today).

I am confident enough in her progress and the watchful eye of the staff, that tomorrow I will make my first trip back to Portland since this saga began.  Twice before I've left on business trips, but this will be my first journey back to Oregon in four months.  Even though everyone I tell about my plans is supportive of it, I can't help but feel a little guilty leaving Shirley here in the hospital.  I didn't want to work her up about it (and frankly until today, I'm not sure she would have understood me) so I won't tell her about my plans until tomorrow morning.  Thankfully Pete & Caroline and my sister Cathi and her family are in the area and will visit her while I'm gone.

And while I leave with a little trepidation, I'm excited to see how much things will change after a 48 hour absence.