I’m home and back to blogging on my own behalf.
When I first bought the Poang Chair from Ikea years ago I had no idea much I would utilize it. It’s very comfortable, even if they’re not of the best quality and aesthetics. I probably wrote 90% of my master’s thesis in the chair.
After my first transplant it was the only chair that I was able to sit down and get up from without help. I did have a little leverage – Mary Rose gave me one of those Tempurpedic Pillows when I was in the hospital the first go round, and it’s served me well. It literally saved my neck (and shoulders too!) in the ICCU, and it’s also the perfect fit as a chair cushion for the Poang – it gave me just enough height for me to get up by myself, not to mention the comfort. The chair had also become my bed because I couldn’t sleep laying down. If I had known how much I’d be using it, I would have bought the matching foot rest. Once again the Poang Chair is my bed and resting place for the day. I don’t know what I would do without it. In fact, I’m sitting it in it right now as I type. 🙂
Let’s talk toilet. This time around, the toilet at home is too low for me to get in and out of by myself because I’m so deconditioned from not being able to do much of anything for so long before the transplant. Janet happened to have a toilet seat riser that she had offered the first go round, but I didn’t need it then. Today we picked it up from her, and it’s one of the best things ever. I can now go to the bathroom without someone helping me sit down and get up everytime I need to’go’. Independence!
Pillows. I had no idea how much of a role a pillow can play in one’s life. As many of you know I have a butt sore from the hospital and shoving a pillow under that leg makes a world of difference. They’re also great for proping you up for the best position in a chair. I’ve been using 3-4 pillows for the chair. In the hospital I think I had 7 pillows in my room to help position me to be upright and not laying down. It’s also the perfect warmth for when it’s not cold enough for a blanket but you want just a little something to keep you comfortable. You can also stack pillows in many fashions to sleep upright against the headboard. Jami had bought me a couple of pillows the first go around to serve as a ‘coughing pillow’, but they’re working out great because it feels so much different and gives a whole new dimension of support that than my down pillows do not. Not to mention, who doesn’t enjoy a soft cushy pillow to hug for comfort?
I must be doing better if I’m sitting here typing about the most random things.
Today I had labs in the morning and a clinic appointment with my pulmonologist. Getting up and down the stairs is really going to be my biggest hurdle in all of this. My apt only has hand rails on one side. The other side just a wall and of no use to me. Without someone else supporting my other arm and my hips from the back I can’t get up even one step. The day I can write on here that I was able to get up the stairs alone will be a day of great celebration. I suppose I should view it as forced exercise that’s good for me, but it’s hard to keep that in perspective.
The next step is the vocal chord surgery I was scheduled to have in June but obviously missed. The biggest thing my doctors are worried about is aspiration. I came home with the feeding tube and use it from 8pm to 8am and eat very small bites of food through the day. The idea is to keep my nutrition up for healing while simultaneously trying to re-expand my shrunken stomach and eventually get off the feeding tube altogether. It’s a bit of a bother but it’s not too bad – way better than when had O2 in the house.
When we got home from the hospital there was a white box with a card waiting for me on my door step. My landlord brought me See’s Candies and a card. How sweet is that?!
It feels like I have a million miles to go, but it’s good to be home.