My raging lungs

Okay.  I love my new lungs.  I do.  I can breathe.  But I swear these puppies have some angst and rage against me!  One minute they are nice and tame and working well.  I am happy.  Breathing nicely.  And then they go RAAAAAWWWRRRRR!!!!  Seriously.  Just like that.  I'd do it again but it wouldn't have the same effect :-P  Taking a shower is serious effort when they start misbehaving.  I am panting and cursing at them.  If I wasn't already so bruised I would beat the crap out of them!  Just kidding...

Luckily another recipient mentioned that it felt like she had a sack of potatoes on her chest and that it goes away in time.  Thank goodness for that!  Cuz sometimes I wonder if these lungs will ever get with the program...  It feels like I got the wrong size.  I know I didn't... but it feels like they are straining to be free of my tiny little chest cavity.  Dr. Y said he could hear my lungs adjusting into my chest cavity and filling up every available little space.  Kinda weird... okay, really weird.

But I am feeling great besides that!  My jello thighs are a bit better.  Man, I am no spring chicken anymore.  I sort of expected to bounce back a bit faster.  I am in no rush, so it's no big deal, but the jello thighs are getting kinda old.  What?  5 years of declining exercise didn't help?  I don't know what you're talking about.  :-P  I went for a walk around the block today again.  Not really any easier, per se, but I like getting the exercise.  I am going to try hard to start going twice a day around the loop.  It probably takes about 15 minutes to walk the loop.  I am also trying harder to walk further around the hospital (like Jeff not dropping me off at the door and stuff).  I'm not gonna get better if I don't use the muscles!

I am still sleeping really well and managed last night to sleep on my side.  Oh, sweet relief from sleeping on my back!  I have always been a side sleeper, so being on my back has just been awkward.  My incision hurt when I woke up, but it was so nice not to have a pillow under half of my butt for that stupid ulcer for a few hours.  Yes, I have to put a pillow under half of my butt so my ulcer isn't being pressed on.  Sigh... whoodathunk my biggest issue would be a pressure ulcer?  Oh!  The other awesome thing I've noticed is NO JAW PAIN.  Oh, to be able to bite into whatever I want and have no pain is just awesome.  Awesome.

I am eating really well but not putting on any weight at all.  Hmm... don't know where the food is going...  I know, I know... it's helping me heal and that requires calories.  We have a huge bowl of gorgeous tomatoes from our garden that I can't eat raw, so I am gonna roast them this afternoon.  Yummo.  It wasn't fair that Jeff had a huge caprese salad last night without me.  Boo hoo.  But I got the free and clear for dairy!! YAY!  Milkshakes, here I come!

My Uncle visited from Michigan the other day, which was really cool.  They sent me the coolest card ever.  The whole family (Aunt, Uncle, cousins, their spouses and the new baby) all posed "hanging" from a clothesline and they all signed the card (the front of the card said "Hang in there!"  Really, really cute and one of those cards that you never forget.  My Uncle then drove over to Phoenix to see my Grandma.  She took a fall like 2 weeks before I got the call and broke her hip and a vertebrae in her back.  So she was on the mend from that, got crazy, and fell again.  Sigh... stubborn ol' broad.  I guess she's doing much better but it kind of pains me that I can't go see her.

Well, I gotta go test my blood sugar and eat some lunch.  I'm getting hungry.  Which means I'll soon be in a food coma and taking a nap :-)  Life is good.  This healing business is serious stuff.