Wednesday, June 5, 2013

First Clinic Day

Tricia had her first clinic day today post second transplant.  Clinic days typically take all day and consist of blood work, x-ray, breathing tests, blood gas, and a visit with a transplant pulmonologist.  Everything continues to look good.  The doctor took her off a few meds, which is always nice.  Tricia was excited because it's the first time she's been able to have a clini day without the help of a walker or wheelchair in about 8 months.

Of course, the bad part of clinic is that Tricia has to miss a day of physical therapy.  Monday and Tuesday were her first two days of PT.  She is doing well and working hard, but those first two days have shown just how much muscle and weight she has lost and how long it's going to take her to start feeling good again.  It was great to see the friends we've made at the Center For Living, and to see how many patients have been transplanted in the month Tricia was in the hospital.

Tricia continues to receive most of her nutrition through her feeding tube, and because she hasn't eaten well in about eight months and hasn't eaten at all for about a month, it will take a while for her appetite to come back and for her stomach to tolerate big meals.  She is sleeping well, and several of the minor issues she has been dealing with for months because of med side-effects and the severity of her declining health have begun to dissipate.

As always, thank you for the prayers, encouragement and positive comments.

Nate

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Tricia continues to be such an inspiration for thousands of us who follow her story and pray for her and your family. May God continue to bless her recovery.

Unknown said...

Have followed your story for years and continue to pray for you. You live in my favorite place on earth at the Outer Banks.

Unknown said...

Wonderful! Always makes my day to get your good news! Prayers from South Dakota!

Titus 2 Thandi said...

Wishing her a speedy and consistent recovery. No rollercoasters ahead :-)

John said...

Tricia you are an inspiration to millions out there. Keep up the hard work! Thank you for sharing this journey with all of us. I think one day your entire family needs to sit down with a talk show host and share this miracle across the world! Take care cyster and keep fighting the good fight!

Judy K said...

So grateful for these critical steps in the right direction. One day at a time, you guys! Our God is so very, very good!

And thanks again for an update!

Nana Judy

lg823 said...

I also greatly enjoy the updates and reading about the progress and recovery Tricia has made. Thanks for keeping us informed.

Island Baby said...

Glad to read everything is going so well for Tricia. Thank god for her feeding tube allowing her to receive enough calories to gain weight! Most of thank you to the donor family for their selfless gift of life to Tricia.

Have you ever written a letter to the first donor family or has some contact? Not sure if that's something you would be interested in doing but my aunt did write a letter to her donor family a year after her transplant and the family responded and we have all met several times now. Amazing experience for all of us!!

Becky in VA said...

Love to all.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all of you.

Vivian said...

thank you so much for the update. i was so afraid with the posting issues we wouldnt' hear from you for a long time.
i have checked everyday and prayed for her.
many blessing for her to keep improving.

Fermina Daza said...

So excited and grateful for the good news! Sad to see you had to take your Twitter private (worried me when I didn't see any tweets) but completely understandable.

Praying the successes continue!

marcia said...

Thanks for the update, Nate! Big smiles, here, while reading! :) Prayers continue for measurable progress with each day. "The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning...."

Lil' Ladybug Designs said...

Good to hear!!!! Missing the facebook updates but thankful you are updated here!!
Praying!!

Millicent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Millicent said...

Good to hear!!!! Missing the facebook updates but thankful you are updated here!!
Praying!!

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy to read about all of these encouraging and positive improvements Tricia's making! :) What a beautiful difference from her last couple of weeks BEFORE the transplant, which were awful & scary. :(

I know her post-tx progress is slow going, and I'm sure she (and you guys too) wish things moved faster. But Rome wasn't built in a day, to quote that boring cliche, and a body needs time to build up too. But it's clear Tricia is motivated to do everything, and she has the best people rooting for her: her hubby & daughter! :D Looking forward to reading more positive updates. And in the meantime, I DEFINITELY am still thinking/sending good thoughts Tricia's way!

Hugs from Redwood City, Calif.,
Shari K.W.

Mary said...

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear everything is going well. God Bless you and your family.

A simple being said...

Amazingly inspiring...that's about all I can say. Bet you guys spend alot of time I. Silence just in awe of everything. Keep up the good work duke and family , Tricia...kick it !

Catherine said...

What a great report! Continuing to pray for all of you.

Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood and Family said...

Hi Nate! I don't know if you remember me, but I was so happy to see your latest updates! You and Tric have so often been on my heart over the past several months. I don't have twitter or facebook, so even when you took a break updating here, I prayed for you every time I thought of you all.

With caring for our kiddos and the work of the ministry here, I don't have much time to be online anymore, but I got the flu this weekend and so had some time to rest/read/check blogs.
I spent at least 30 minutes reading all your latest updates and will definitely be praying for Tricia in the days/weeks ahead as she recovers! What a testimony you all continue to be to the grace of God! Give your wife a gentle hug from me and tell her I'll be praying!
love,
Jaynee

Marcie in Canada said...

Miraculous! Thank you Lord, You are good.

Jody said...

So happy for the blessing of a second tx for Tricia. I had followed your blog since before the first, then followed on twitter when you took the blog off-line. But your twitter account went private, and I could not keep up any longer. This morning I was browsing online and the Lord brought y'all to my mind. I know that normally means I need to pray for the person He has laid on my heart. I checked your blog and was excited to read the latest! I will keep y'all in my prayers in Texas.