Where you at, CG?

Recently, I have not blogged a lot. So- a quick update on the medical front:

I did have an additional bronchoscopy in the OR last Tuesday because the one that I had the week prior was not completed (no biopsies taken) because my new lungs were . . . . wait for it . . . bleeding! Just when I thought I put that trouble behind me. They were just irritated though, it was not hemoptysis.

The pros of having my bronch done in the OR are that a) you sleep thru the whole thing and therefore are not traumatized at all; they can take a lot of time because you’re asleep and get all the biopsies they want.

b)My surgeon does the bronchs in the OR , so I can get his assessment first hand on the results.

c)Did I mention the part where you are asleep and then you get to sleep it off?

The cons of the OR bronch are a) You have to go to pre-op screening with some random and “review your medical history” which is supposed to take 15 minutes. HAHAHAHA, all the CF patients laugh.

b) You must have someone not only drive you to and fro, but generally babysit you the rest of the day because you were actually “under” for the procedure.

c) You have to wear an ugly hospital issue gown.

d) You are more sore the next few days because of item a under “pros” and item b under “cons.”

BRONCH RESULTS: No rejection!!! Yahoo! This means that my body is totally accepting my new boy lungs that I now call "boyfriend." Teeny Tiny (+1) infection with psuedomonas, which was expected as nearly everyone with CF carries an active infection of psuedomonas, as it is a naturally occuring bacterial that doesn't normally live in "normal" lungs but is like dessert for CF cells (they really like it). I will likely always have a low level psuedo infection, but that's alright and its why I take a few of my twenty pills a day. They did find that my upper airway above the anastemosis (*area connecting my old body with my new lungs) still had a lot of secretions, but I have since found out that this is common among CFers because those cells still produce mucus like nothing has changed. The thing I need to do is get better at clearing that area, (clearing my throat) and for that we...

NEED MY DAMN STERNUM TO HEAL SO THAT BIG COUGHS DON'T HURT!

SIDENOTE: My surgeon has confirmed that "ooh . . . something . . . is different" about my sternum, but he is "not really worried about it," and we can go in and change it if I am still aesthetically displeased in like 6 months. AND - unrelated- I get to stop my Lupron shots!!

OKAY – other update in a nut shell:

I was emailing with one of my best online CF buddies, and wrote to him about how I have not felt a lot like blogging:

“I have not been feeling much like blogging lately. Now that literally everyone I have ever known is reading it (family and old friends and colleagues), it's just not as fun as when mostly CF people read it. I feel like I can't really write all the stuff I wanna write because all the randoms will start to worry about me or think I'm a-losin' my mind.
I might invite Fox over to write a post. HA.”

He responded with this:

“ Regarding your blogging, are you sure it's because everyone is reading it or is it because your life has changed and now it's not as interesting to do? Does the blog represent your old life, pre-transplant? Have you figured out what it needs to be to make you happy?”

I have not figured out much in response to this question other than to know that my usually anonymous friend is quite wise. I am not sure where the blog should go or if I should just power through this new knowledge that more people I KNOW, or shall I say, MOST OF THE PEOPLE I’VE EVER KNOWN are reading the blog- and just keep truckin’. Who knows? What do you think?

goodnight, cg