This is my yellow painting looking good in a frame Martin made.
It seems like more than a week since I last wrote on the blog. Probably due to the week being full of drama; I had two false alarms and spent 11 hours at Papworth, 4 hours waiting to go there, and 8 hours driving there and back and . On Tuesday I got my first ever call just as I was finishing my porridge. No eating or drinking from then on. I was collected by the ambulance car a couple of hours later and was driven the two hours to Papworth.
I then went through the whole process of being prepped for surgery - bloods taken; disinfectant shower, reams of questions, a visit from the anaesthetist, all jewellery removed ( took some time for the nurses to get my earrings out, and I was distracted by thinking my ears had aged!). gowned up and DVT stockings on then told it was off as the lungs turned out not to bee good enough.
Martin’was coincidentally working in Cambridge so got there before me. We then made the two hour return trip at about six o’clock.
On Thursday I went to Priscilla Bacon Lodge - the hospice where I did my breathlessness course- for some deeply relaxing reflexology which was just what I needed.
Then on Friday I got a call from Papworth again at about the same time as before. So we went through the whole process again but this time it went on for longer and we left Papworth at 9.30 pm. Totally exhausted.
They do a preliminary check for suitability and if there’s an initial match they call you in to get prepared. While that’s happening there’s a parallel process going on with the donor lungs and it’s not until they’ve examined them and done tissue matching that they can make the final decision whether to go ahead or not. They won't transplant lungs if they're not good enough quality.
I think it’s unusual to get calls so close together- the transplant co-ordinator wasn’t expecting it either.
Well at least I now know what to expect. It’s good to see the process in action and know that it’s all finely tuned, and all the staff instill confidence so I know I’m in good hands.
At home I carried on painting of course and I'm please with this blue one which is waiting for a frame:
We finished the week with a very good roast chicken cooked by Martin that I thought was worthy of a picture:
And this week's paintings are by Ellsworth Kelly. I like the bright colours and dramatic shapes. He also does beautiful plant drawings
So I just have to carry on doing exercises to maintain some fitness and keep away from infections (easier in the summer although even now there seem to be some nasty coughs hanging around). There’s no knowing when I’ll get the next call but I’m a bit more on edge now.