Same as it never was

My apologies for being slack lately...hopefully this will make up for lost time.

Lee had two important doc appts this week. One with his new Pulmonologist, Dr Gries, and the other with his GI specialist Dr Jobe. We loved Lee's Pulmonologist at Duke, he was great. So we have high expectations. Let's hope she delivers something other than the baby she is carrying.

Dr. Gries thinks he'll be transplanted before January. But like she said, and we've heard countless times before, no one knows for sure. Great. Just great. An answer but not really an answer. All par for the course in transplantland.

The worst part about the transplant for Lee is the dreaded feeding tube. It's been an issue for him from day one. In fact, he almost decided against getting a transplant because of it.
Dr. Gries says that for him, he will more than likely be on a feeding tube for 2-4 months after the transplant. But maybe longer. Maybe for life. LIFE!? Ugh. Not what Lee wanted to hear. I told him he should eat whatever the hell he wants and however much he wants from now on.

More unknowns. Fabulous.

Turns out that there are now 2 people in "competition" with Lee for lungs. There are hundreds waiting, but only 2 others that have the same blood type, chest size, and lung allocation score. So instead of making one person mysteriously disappear, I have two. Got my work cut out for me.

If the waiting and the feeding tube issue aren't bad enough, let me add another crappy factor to this equation. His lame esophagus. It needs fixin'. And the way they intend to do that is with a second surgery called a Fundoplication. Here's the kicker, not sure how long after the transplant he can get this done. Originally, we heard 6 weeks. But now, after his appt with the GI specialist, they are saying anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months!!!

More vagueness. Awesome.

Gee Leslie, got any good news? Oh yeah, kind of. Lee has been advised to take less Prednisone. The good news is he will now sleep a little better. The bad news, he feels worse and has less energy.

Ummm, sorry guess that wasn't all that good after all.

I'd love to report that we've completely settled in, that we're doing great. But the truth is, we're just ok. Although Lee seems to be handling everything much better than me. It's been tough, I won't lie to you. We can't seem to find a routine. Yet. And we both miss our furry companions something terrible. Mom is taking great care of the cats and Turtle and Waylon are making Stella feel right at home. But we can't help but wish the critters were here with us snuggling and purring and talking.

But no need to worry, everything will be alright. We've got friends coming to visit next week. And before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here and we'll be stuffing our faces with turkey.