As of this morning Linda has been out of the ICU for her second day. Except for one Jackson-Pratt drain right over her new liver, all the tubes, probes, catheters and other artificial connections to mechanical devices have been removed, and she is completely "on her own."
Her incisions are healing well. She still has her left arm in a sling as a result of the shoulder fracture from her fall at home before she went into the hospital, but the orthopaedic surgeons have looked at their new X-ray images, and concluded there isn't anything else they need to do for that at present, as the bone is healing well. The nutritionist came by yesterday with some suggestions to increase her daily calorie intake so as to promote quick healing both from the transplant surgery and the arm fracture. They say with the chocolate protein shakes she is drinking her protein intake is good. This morning I'm going grocery shopping to get crunchy peanut butter for her, as the creamy style is all the hospital has available, and peanut butter was one of the top calorie increase suggestions.
The occupational therapist and the physical therapist both come by every day at different times to give her their workouts aimed at building her muscle strength and dexterity back up. They are talking about sending her to a subacute rehab facility for a few weeks after she is discharged from Indiana University Hospital, and that could mean bringing her back to the Chicago area sooner than otherwise possible, as a rehab facility near home could still do the daily blood draws for her Prograf level she will need until the proper dose regimen is determined and stabilized. Otherwise we would have to stay near IU Hospital for six weeks after discharge so she could come in to the clinic every day.
The doctors say her new liver function is excellent, and her kidney function is now fully back to normal. The next goal is to get her out of bed and literally "back on her feet." We are expecting a few visitors this weekend, phone calls are always welcome, and she is looking forward to getting her hair done here on Sunday, so as you can understand from that, she feels herself getting better every day. Of course there is still a lot of hard work ahead for her, but with the strength provided by her transplanted liver and its healthy functioning, she should be up to the task. The cards, balloons, puzzle books and playing cards provide relief from the boredom of hospital life, and the candy and other treats are welcome ways to keep her calorie intake up to the levels the doctors want her to have. We both feel blessed to have such wonderful support from family and good friends during this time of healing and recovery.
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