Dr. Mulligan Day!

It’s Monday night and you know what that means!!?? Monday Night Raw, yeah baby! Can’t wait for the main fight Roman Reigns (my boy!) vs Seth Rollins (boo). Ha ha

Anyways today was a very busy day! Woke up at 8:00 am did my morning routine, ate breakfast, headed for the shower, and then got ready for the day. We had an appointment with Dr. Mulligan this morning so we were out the door by 10:30. This past Friday I got a call from a nurse on 5 northeast (the floor I was admitted on) saying I had a stack of mail arrive. I told her I would be at the hospital on Monday so I would stop by and pick it up. Boy was she right! I had a stack of greeting cards from Sandy Brown, Aunt D (my children too), Diana Brown, Shelly Wilson, Grandma Myers, and Aunt Sharon Swartsley. Thank you everyone for the cards! It totally made my day, loved reading your encouraging words!

After we picked up the mail we headed back down stairs to the Surgery Pavilion for our appointment with Dr. Mulligan. I was excited to hear what he had to say, but a little nervous at the same time. The nurse checked us in and took us back to the examine room, where we waited patiently. It wasn’t within a few minutes and there was a knock on the door. In walks Dr. Mulligan and his medical assistant. He looks at me shakes my hand and says “you look great!” He went on to explain the air pocket in my left upper lobe is getting smaller, so as of right now still no need for a drain. I will have another X-ray on Wednesday when we go to post transplant clinic. Dr. Mulligan also explained when they did my incision they cut me from armpit to armpit following the breast line, opened me up like a clam shell, broke my sternum down the middle to remove my old lungs and insert my new lungs. Anyways they had to wire my sternum back together, so it can heal. My last X-ray showed my sternum has shift slightly, nothing to be concerned about just have to be extra careful for the next 8 weeks. No reaching behind, putting my hands over my head, no pushing or pulling on anything even door handles, and sleeping I have to lay flat on my back. One wrong move could make my sternum shift even more. If it does then Dr. Mulligan would have to go back in and fix it, and that’s the last thing I want to do! Yikes! He told me to keep up the walking everyday, but try to challenge myself a little more each day, walk up hills, get my heart rate up, make my new lungs expand and use them. My new lungs are still trying to attach to my chest cavity, by getting out and using them, making them work then I will get the full potential out of them. Were if you limit the ability of your new lungs, then you won’t get the full potential out of them. So keep walking and exercising! Since I get out and walk everyday, as of right now I do not have to do Physical Therapy! Whoop whoop! Dr. Mulligan also gave me some very encouraging words, he said “right now your body is recovering from a major nasty surgery but in 6-8 months just imagine how your going to feel. Able to do things you couldn’t do before, you can do now without any pain. Just have patience!” I asked Dr. Mulligan about my old lungs and what they looked like. His reply was “they were nasty, gross and you were one sick girl!” Those words scared me at first, but then I thought to myself “Jennifer your not sick anymore!!!” After Dr. Mulligan finished his assessment, he left the room and his medical assistant removed the remaining steri strips, and then removed the drain tube stitches. Who would have thought at 31 years old I would finally have my first stitches removed, spend my birthday in the hospital, and also receive a brand new set of lungs! A lot of first, but extremely grateful!!

Can’t express how grateful I am for Dr. Mulligan saving my life!! I can’t put it into words. My eyes are tearing up just thinking about it.

After our appointment we drove around the university district looking at various shops, and then we ventured back to our hotel. My mom decided to head upstairs to do some work, while the three of us jumped on the Trolly and headed downtown. We walked around for over two hours. The sun was out, little windy at times, but felt great! Hey Dr. Mulligan said I need to walk and challenge myself each day! We took a small break at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then continued shopping. We had a great time! It was getting close to dinner time, so we jumped back on the trolly and headed for the hotel. The Trolly runs right in front of our hotel every 10 minutes so it’s pretty convenient way to travel. When I arrived back to our room, there was a package for me on the table. I quickly opened it up and it was a super sweet card, and two beautiful CF necklaces from Nickye Rank and Jason Mendenhall. Thank you so much!! I love it!!

Well today was a busy day and I didn’t nap, needless to say I’m ready to hit the hay. Better start my nightly routine. Tomorrow if the weather is nice, we will have another adventurous day! Can’t wait! Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Until next time………

~Jen~
“Just Breathe”