Lifesavers for Latasha

Today, Latasha started her second week of postoperative and hospitalization care with a whirlwind of appointments.

Going into the morning, it was difficult to want to get up and head back to the Cleveland Clinic. To say we need a break from there is an understatement. I suppose we both have a little bit of PTSD from Tasha being in there for 50 days. Every time I drive into the parking garage, my eye twitches a little bit, my anxiety levels go up, and my ability to tolerate people goes down.

But once again, I digress. We started out the day with a similar routine as last week: Labs, X-rays, spirometry, and EKG, followed by a follow-up with the transplant case nurse and then clinic time with the lung transplant doctor to review labs and go over the next plan of care.

Things on the immediate horizon are a bronchoscopy to see how the organ graphs are holding up and if there is any rejection and a gastrointestinal study to see if they can determine why Tasha is still having nausea and intermittent vomiting. So, we are standing by for those appointments.

They tweaked her meds some based on several doctors’ inputs, but the best thing was her last chest drainage tube came out. The thoracic team checked all of her surgical incisions and scars, removed the last of her stitches, and added another respiratory therapy exercise to help her lungs recover from the bleeding that occurred. She still has a small hematoma that will take time for her body to absorb.

Tasha walked over 1.6 miles around the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus unassisted and only had some muscle fatigue. On Sunday, she could walk two flights of stairs, steadily regaining her muscle strength. We just need to start doing some yoga to work on core strength and flexibility. Once that happens, we’ll be ready for this National Park hiking trip—well, maybe not quite yet, but preparation and dreaming are critical.

So, all in all, it was an excellent start to the week. We’ll be resting, recouping, and waiting to be called in for our next appointment this week.