It's been a long time since I wrote on this blog..... I have had my transplant!! I received my new lungs on 23rd November 2011 after a very eventful and dramatic few months and left hospital on 10th January 2012. I'm now recovering at home and so far so good....
You can catch up on my story at:
http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/my-blog/
(This is the blog I keep more up to date!)
Love Kerry xx
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Up to date blog
I keep forgetting about this blog but I hope anyone who is interested has found my other one. The link is:
http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
Ideally I wanted to keep both going but as you can see this just hasn't happened!
Xxx
http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
Ideally I wanted to keep both going but as you can see this just hasn't happened!
Xxx
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Jan 2011 big catch up!
Big Catch Up!
It's been a very long time since I set this up and a lot has changed for me! I will give a quick synopsis to bring you up to date.
I actually have another site which will be my main blog for everyone I know to see which will be kept more up to date than this one- .http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
Think this is the best way to make sure people don't get left out as it's really hard to keep in touch in hospital.
Unfortunately my hospital days seem to have begun. I didn't have a very good summer, I was consistently Ill with colds and chest issues but nothing major the doctors could really treat or do much about. Then at the end of November, it was time for my six month check up at Harefield. I had a nasty cold in the two weeks leading up to the appointment and was only just well enough to go. It was a very big thing doing the travelling over which I managed but that night in the hotel had a terrible night and when I got to my appointment the next day, I really wasn't feeling well. They agreed I wasn't well and admitted me which thankfully was a very wise decision! I stayed in Harefield hospital for a week then managed to get an air ambulance flight back to jersey (in the snow!) and stayed in jersey hospital for another 3 weeks getting better and putting some weight on as I had gone down to 35kg. The minimal weight safe to operate on is 40kg so I was taken off the transplant list until this was achieved. It was also decided I now needed oxygen therapy 24/7 which is a shame as I have always held my levels well. Lung function at this point is down to 12% which is pretty dire!
I managed to get home 2 days before christmas and had a Lovely quiet few days with Phil and Disney and the family. The wednesday after Xmas I went back to hospital for a check up, my chest was all clear and my weight was a whopping 38.5 kg. Dr luksza was going to call Harefield right away to say how well I was doing :-)
THEN, I started getting a little cough and by New Years Eve had missed a few nights sleep and was feeling really drained so I decided to call the hospital. I went to A&E via ambulance and to cut a long story story short ended up very poorly indeed in Intensive care by Sunday. I spent a week in ICU and have now been on a ward for just over 2 weeks I think (very easy to lose track of the days in here!) My weight plummeted after ICU but am slowly regaining.
They are still bafflled as to what I actually had, possibly the dreaded swine flu, we will never know, but it was viral and my body definitely didn't like it. It has been a real shock to all of us and a big wake up call as to how urgent this transplant is.
The trouble is now that every time I get close to a decent weight or going home, I pick up another bug. This week has seen a gastro virus and a chest bug again which hopefully they have caught quickly with the antibiotics. It's not been much fun to be honest.
Anyway the good news is I have amazing husband, family and friends who help me along all the time. Thank you so much for all your messages- please keep them coming, they always make me smile and I'm sorry I don't reply much. This update has taken days to type!!
Tue 25 th Jan
My weight yesterday was terrible, it is right back down to what I left ICU at after the gastro bug which is very frustrating! It takes me two weeks to put on 2kg but 3 days to lose it! Anyway now I have started eating again it should hopefully bounce back up fairly quickly.
The main news is I am back on the transplant list. Harefield have agreed not to wait for my weight to go up and have advised me that I have much more chance of getting my transplant sooner by being closer in the uk. So the plan is once I'm ready to leave hospital I will be going over to stay in the uk and hopefully the op will follow soon! There is a lot to arrange for the move so more info to follow on this when we know!
Think thats all for now! Xx
It's been a very long time since I set this up and a lot has changed for me! I will give a quick synopsis to bring you up to date.
I actually have another site which will be my main blog for everyone I know to see which will be kept more up to date than this one- .http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
Think this is the best way to make sure people don't get left out as it's really hard to keep in touch in hospital.
Unfortunately my hospital days seem to have begun. I didn't have a very good summer, I was consistently Ill with colds and chest issues but nothing major the doctors could really treat or do much about. Then at the end of November, it was time for my six month check up at Harefield. I had a nasty cold in the two weeks leading up to the appointment and was only just well enough to go. It was a very big thing doing the travelling over which I managed but that night in the hotel had a terrible night and when I got to my appointment the next day, I really wasn't feeling well. They agreed I wasn't well and admitted me which thankfully was a very wise decision! I stayed in Harefield hospital for a week then managed to get an air ambulance flight back to jersey (in the snow!) and stayed in jersey hospital for another 3 weeks getting better and putting some weight on as I had gone down to 35kg. The minimal weight safe to operate on is 40kg so I was taken off the transplant list until this was achieved. It was also decided I now needed oxygen therapy 24/7 which is a shame as I have always held my levels well. Lung function at this point is down to 12% which is pretty dire!
I managed to get home 2 days before christmas and had a Lovely quiet few days with Phil and Disney and the family. The wednesday after Xmas I went back to hospital for a check up, my chest was all clear and my weight was a whopping 38.5 kg. Dr luksza was going to call Harefield right away to say how well I was doing :-)
THEN, I started getting a little cough and by New Years Eve had missed a few nights sleep and was feeling really drained so I decided to call the hospital. I went to A&E via ambulance and to cut a long story story short ended up very poorly indeed in Intensive care by Sunday. I spent a week in ICU and have now been on a ward for just over 2 weeks I think (very easy to lose track of the days in here!) My weight plummeted after ICU but am slowly regaining.
They are still bafflled as to what I actually had, possibly the dreaded swine flu, we will never know, but it was viral and my body definitely didn't like it. It has been a real shock to all of us and a big wake up call as to how urgent this transplant is.
The trouble is now that every time I get close to a decent weight or going home, I pick up another bug. This week has seen a gastro virus and a chest bug again which hopefully they have caught quickly with the antibiotics. It's not been much fun to be honest.
Anyway the good news is I have amazing husband, family and friends who help me along all the time. Thank you so much for all your messages- please keep them coming, they always make me smile and I'm sorry I don't reply much. This update has taken days to type!!
Tue 25 th Jan
My weight yesterday was terrible, it is right back down to what I left ICU at after the gastro bug which is very frustrating! It takes me two weeks to put on 2kg but 3 days to lose it! Anyway now I have started eating again it should hopefully bounce back up fairly quickly.
The main news is I am back on the transplant list. Harefield have agreed not to wait for my weight to go up and have advised me that I have much more chance of getting my transplant sooner by being closer in the uk. So the plan is once I'm ready to leave hospital I will be going over to stay in the uk and hopefully the op will follow soon! There is a lot to arrange for the move so more info to follow on this when we know!
Think thats all for now! Xx
Monday, August 30, 2010
It has been a shocking amount of time since I have blogged! Not had a great month or so unfortunately, caught a nasty cough and cold which hit me fairly hard and taken a long time to get back to anywhere near normal. I'm still extra tired and wheezy and not been up to using my computer hardly at all so feel like I have been very out of touch- thank goodness for facebook mobile!!
Not going to be a long post this time but hope everyone is doing well and I'll get back in touch soon!
Just to end on a nice note- it was my 28th birthday this week and I have been thoroughly spoilt by my lovely family, didn't do much but had a lovely day- and lots of cake! Fingers crossed I have just entered my transplant year :-) xx
Not going to be a long post this time but hope everyone is doing well and I'll get back in touch soon!
Just to end on a nice note- it was my 28th birthday this week and I have been thoroughly spoilt by my lovely family, didn't do much but had a lovely day- and lots of cake! Fingers crossed I have just entered my transplant year :-) xx
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Dreaming about the call...
I have been really struggling to sleep properly recently even though I am absolutely shattered every night and every time I do fall asleep I seem to be right in the middle of some action packed dream which makes no sense at all! No wonder I'm exhausted every morning when all night, I've been saving the world and everything else you can possibly think of! I wake up feeling like I have done all the things I've dreamt about!
Anyway, last night was particularly annoying- I had dream after dream that the phone was ringing with my call for my transplant. It's the first time I have dreamt about it- Im actually surprised at how calm I've been since I became active on the waiting list. I know it is highly unlikely I will be called so early on in my wait but I did think I would be more panicky about it all. However, last night everytime the phone rang in my dreams I woke up and wasn't quite sure if it had really happened and it was very unsettling!
I think it's my mind realising how much I just want to get on with it all- I'm terrified of what the operation and the first few months will be like but I know I have to go through that before I can even think about being normal again and doing everything I keep hoping for, and the sooner it starts- the sooner it's over! Some days I don't feel ready to face it at all but most of the time now I am sick of being ill and just want that phone to ring!
Think I had better get used to waiting though- so many people wait far too long for that right donor- why should I be any different? I think I would actually feel guilty if I queue jumped other people who have been so desperately waiting for a year or more but I guess it can't work like that and I don't think I can wait too long- my last lung function was down to 17%.
Anyway, last night was particularly annoying- I had dream after dream that the phone was ringing with my call for my transplant. It's the first time I have dreamt about it- Im actually surprised at how calm I've been since I became active on the waiting list. I know it is highly unlikely I will be called so early on in my wait but I did think I would be more panicky about it all. However, last night everytime the phone rang in my dreams I woke up and wasn't quite sure if it had really happened and it was very unsettling!
I think it's my mind realising how much I just want to get on with it all- I'm terrified of what the operation and the first few months will be like but I know I have to go through that before I can even think about being normal again and doing everything I keep hoping for, and the sooner it starts- the sooner it's over! Some days I don't feel ready to face it at all but most of the time now I am sick of being ill and just want that phone to ring!
Think I had better get used to waiting though- so many people wait far too long for that right donor- why should I be any different? I think I would actually feel guilty if I queue jumped other people who have been so desperately waiting for a year or more but I guess it can't work like that and I don't think I can wait too long- my last lung function was down to 17%.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Other Blog!
I really liked the idea of having 2 blogs as some of you have done, one for people who know you and one for people who don't! I don't feel I want all my family and friends around me to read all the ramblings of my brain so I have set up another blog that will follow any transplant news if and when it happens. All updates will be on there and this one won't be updated until I'm back with it!
If anyone is interested- the other blog site is http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
This all seems a bit over-organised but I suppose it's best that way- I won't be able to update anyone once I'm called!! xx
If anyone is interested- the other blog site is http://kerrym82.wordpress.com/
This all seems a bit over-organised but I suppose it's best that way- I won't be able to update anyone once I'm called!! xx
Monday, July 5, 2010
More About Me!
I started my blog originally for the sole purpose of meeting people and sharing experiences about lung problems and tranplants etc and I have now done 2 posts on the subject and realise my blog is already sounding rather moany and depressing! So, in an attempt to change that I thought it would be nice if I told you a bit about myself- not just my life as an ill person! :-) So, here goes :-
I live in Jersey which is a lovely place, a little small and annoying and expensive to travel to the mainland but it makes up for that in it's beauty and friendliness. It is a great place to live, you are never far from the beach and it's slightly warmer than the UK usually! I have a lot of great friends over here and feel very lucky to have been brought up here.
I live in a small house on the outskirts of the main town here, which I own with my husband Phil and we have a 2 year old cavalier king charles spaniel called Disney (or Dizzy or Dis!) She is a complete spoilt little baby and although she is supposed to be my puppy- she only has eyes for her 'Daddy'! Disney is such a happy, friendly little doggie, just wants to be loved and cuddled constantly and is great company for me at home. One of my main goals in life is to be able to take her on lovely walks everyday! (Picture above of the cheeky little thing on my bed!)
Phil and I got married earlier this year, having been engaged for a year (before I got properly ill). Phil is great and very supportive.
I used to work in Finance, the main industry over here but gave that up last summer. I enjoyed my job but mainly because of the friends I had there. I am looking forward to doing something else when I go back to work- haven't decided what type of thing yet tho. I would love a wedding dress shop!!
I have a great family, 2 brothers and sister who are all younger than me and apart from 1 brother, they all live in Jersey too. My parents also live here and my Mum is with me most of the time at the moment at home.
I LOVE the following (in no particular order):
laughing, talking, holidays in the sun, happy people, manners, shopping, fancy dress parties, pink, purple and girly things, clothes, shoes & jewellery, friends & family, socialising, pyjamas and duvet days, sleeping, music, reading, films, big brother, cheese, capri sun drinks, thai takeaways and McDonalds cheeseburgers!!
I'm sure there is lots more I should be putting on that list but my mind has gone blank!
Think that's about all for now, hope that's not all too boring! xx
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