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| Mom says, "No pictures," but I know everyone wants to see how she's doing. |
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| Enjoying tilapia for lunch. |
I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since Mom had her liver transplant surgery. She continues to heal and recover quickly. Aside from having trouble sleeping due to her pain medication (causing some confusion, at times, which is part of the side effects), she is making progress and she continues to move forward. If you have received a phone call or text message from Mom lately and the message was questionable, it is because she is on her pain medication. In order for her to heal, the doctors need to manage her pain. Unfortunately, she has been exhibiting confused behavior, but nothing out of the norm for transplant patients. In order for her to get some sleep, Chad and I have planned for one of us to sleep over at the hospital every night.
Today, Chad and I met with the dietician to discuss Mom's dietary guidelines. She will be on a low potassium, low sodium, low carb diet. There are some specific restrictions but I'm sure we'll be experts in no time. Before her surgery, Mom always ate small portions and watched what she ate, so we predict this will probably not be a problem. If anything, we'd all probably lose weight by eating what Mom has to eat!
Mom hit a milestone today. She was able to use a walker and walk to and from the bathroom pretty much unassisted. She walked around the floor three times today. Even after they pulled out the last tube (JP) from her abdomen, she was strong enough to make that last lap. I asked if she felt a lot of pain and she replied, "Yes, only because they just sutured me but at least I don't have that extra weight (the tube and the drain bottle) hanging from me." I wish I had her high tolerance for pain.
Tomorrow we meet with the tranplant coordinator. She will teach us how to care for Mom when she gets home. It still amazes me that we'll be taking her home soon, if all continues to go well. There's always the slight chance of returning to surgery or staying a little longer in the hospital. So we will keep everyone posted.
If you're so interested and would like some literature on Life After Liver Transplant go here.
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| The view from Mom's room |
Love,
Guenie
Aloha e Auntie Nona and Cousins Guen & Chad!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update - so excited to see progress! Iʻm trying to decide whether or not to read the Hunger Games, because I got all into Harry Potter and that took ten years until the last movie. Such a commitment!
Please know that family far and wide (hmm, that sounds like some of us are far and some of us are wide - ha!) are sending you love and support.
With hugs from San Jose,
Luana (Luʻs daughter)
Dearest Cousin Luana,
DeleteThank you for leaving a message! You actually gave me a good chuckle!
I'm slowly but surely reading Hunger Games but I'm not sure I can commit to read all three (I'm still on Year One of Harry Potter!!). But I heard that it's a fast read so I'm up for the challenge.
Thanks again, for your aloha...Nice to hear from you!
Guenie