No update until now because Jeff and I spent the day with Alison in Iowa City! She looks SO GOOD. Lots of color in her face and arms, and for the first time in a long time she has WARM hands! Like a typical young adult, she's longing for a shower, once the chest tubes get removed. We thought her hair looked awfully good considering it hadn't been washed since Wednesday. After all, it isn't like you can say, 'hey, I need to jump in the shower first,' when you get the call that donor lungs have become available and must be transplanted within hours.
Its pretty incredible to think that just 72 hours after she came out of double lung transplant surgery, she has walked the entire length of her unit and back, in RSCU.
She ordered up her own lunch, including a chef salad with extra ranch, a baked potato with eight pats of butter and cottage cheese. She couldn't quite eat it all, but she did her best, knowing good food and protein will help her wounds heal.
Today the patch came off the straw-sized hole on her neck where she had one of numerous IVs. Mama Garvin showed us Alison's various "messages" or "questions" she had written to them before the vent tube came out. This was mostly in the first few hours after surgery, on Thursday and some on Friday.
"How many tubes are coming out of my body?" she wanted to know. She was also concerned that her mother had forgotten to call the gals at pulmonary rehab at Palmer back in West Union, to say she wouldn't be making her regular appts. Her sense of humor and spunk are evident as she convalesces from this major surgery, too. Throughout her frequent hospitalizations, Alison has often had allergic reactions to various medications. This surgery was no different. It seems the epidural pain medication is the cause of constant itching - everywhere on her body. As a caring mom tends to do, Mama Garvin asked where it itched so she could scratch for Alison ... but the reply was, "in butt." Ok, so as much as mom loves you, she wasn't going to scratch THERE!
In a few more days we hope to hear that the chest tubes, catheter and epidural pain med are things of the past as she continues to progress. Keep up the fantastic progress Alison! Sleep long and well tonight!
Yay! Jo just texted me your blog site, it is amazing Janelle...I will post the site on facebook. So many people have been praying for Alison, Jo, Scott, and the entire family. So much love and support out here! Small town blessings...
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