Time Flies When You're Having Fun

In approximately 2 hours, it will have been one week since Jerid got the call. Amazing how time flies by. I would have thought these days would drag on, but instead they're gone in the blink of an eye. It's good. Lets just get this over with and come home.

In case you're curious, I left the hospital a little after 8 and am now home. The people at the hospital call this our "close home". But no matter what it's called, it's home to us. In case some of you out there don't know the story of where we're staying, I'll give you a little briefing. For the first 4 months or so that Jerid lived in Philly he lived in 2 different apartments. We were worried because he was here longer than expected and insurance money was starting to run out. I was also worried about him being so alone. We had heard of a program called Host for Hospitals where people open up there homes to people in situations like ours, but were uncomfortable with the idea. Having no choice though, we contacted the program and Jerid was matched with a family. What a miracle that not only did Jerid find a house to live in, but he found a home. The Talbott-Goulds have not only opened their home to us, but there hearts. They are family in every sense of the word and have made this time in our lives so much easier. Jim and Page are what we lovingly refer to as our foster parents, Jody, Alex, Caty and Adam are their children who have also welcomed us so warmly. I feel completely comfortable living in this beautiful house and have people to chat with who care about Jerid and to report his progress to every morning and night. I can't imagine how alone I would feel without them. They say that no thanks is needed, which is good because thank you isn't enough for all that they have done. I can't put into words how grateful we are to have found them.

So I am sitting in their beautiful back yard next to the most gorgeous waterfall and pond writing tonight. It's all lit up with the soft glow from lanterns. I spend my whole day inside and just felt like some fresh air. Sooo.... on to the report for the day:

Today was not such a good day. It started out bad when Jerid called me upset. He said he couldn't breathe and was in pain. When I got to the hospital he was fine, but apparently they had gotten him out of bed to sit in a chair and it was very painful and his BP got really high. Of course they got it under control and he was fine. However, this caused him to be anxious. Even though his oxygen sats were perfect all day, he felt as though he couldn't breathe. It hurt him to cough and he just felt down. With all of the medications he's on, this is normal. He's on very high doses of steroids which can cause him to be moody also. On top of all this we had a very busy day.

The Diabetes doctor came in to talk with us about his diet and insulin. All lung transplant patients are treated as diabetics. The meds cause their insulin levels to be high. This will last several months and may cause him to be diabetic forever. The doctor was very positive though and said that Jerid showed no signs of it continuing. It's just a wait and see.

The ear, nose and throat doc, and a speech therapist came in because Jerid still hasn't gotten his voice back. Apparently his right vocal cord is very weak and traumatized. This is causing the vocal cords to not have the vibration that is needed to speak. It can also cause him to not be able to swallow properly and therefore food can be aspirated. So he's been put on a mechanical soft diet which will be easier to swallow and learned some tricks to help. He also can't drink thin liquids so he has to have everything thickened- even water. This can take a few days to get back to normal, or it could take a couple of months. Again, we will just wait and see. They will come back to reevaluate on Monday.

A pulmonary rehab therapist came in and talked to us about breathing exercises. It was nice because I was confused on what exactly he should be doing and when. Now that I know, I can stay on top of it and make him do it.

We also had the normal slew of doctors and nurses and coordinators coming in and out to check up on him and answer questions.

Jerid got a pic line in today too. This will make things easier so that they don't have to keep sticking new IVs and needles in. Both of his arms are black and blue from his hands to his elbows.

For all of you that are wondering, Jerid still hasn't pooped yet. Just about everyone that comes into the room asks him if he did. It's been a week since he has and they're getting concerned. I'm pretty sure that if he can't get any out tonight, he'll get an enema tomorrow. That should be a lot of fun.

I hope that he's sleeping peacefully now. They switched his pain meds around a couple of times and hopefully we've got it under control. Through all of this today, he still smiled and joked and kept his spirits up. He really is amazing.

I've loved coming home each night and reading every one's comments. It's one of the first things I do and I get really excited. I report back to Jerid what you say and can't wait until he can read them himself. As always, thank you all so much for you kind words, love and support. It makes all this much easier knowing how many people are in our corner.

Night Night!