Climbing the Pill-alayas

Long Time No Speak

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Hey Y'all.

I hope everyone is happy and feeling well. I know it's been wayyyy too long since I blogged. I didn't really have any exciting news to tell. But I will at least tell you a little bit.

I'm HOME for GOOD! But I won't lie. I miss Chapel Hill. I've started PT again, here in Lexington to continue, since I wasnt quite done. It's going good, it's good to be back with the friendly faces at PT. I missed them!

Before I came home for good, they surgically fixed my gut hole. THANK GOD. They did it laprascopically. So the hole is almost completely closed and it only leaks a tiny bit, nothing a band aid can't take care of. :) So it should be completely closed soon and I can start training for the tx games in July.

I had a bump in the road recently. After I got out of the hospital after my stomach surey, I went home for good. But, 3 days later I was coughing up nasty shit and feeling puny. So i called Ken, my coordinator, and told him. He wanted me to come up there the next day so the doctors could see me. So i did. I thought they would just give me some antibiotics and send me on my way. BUT no. They admitted me to give me IV antibiotics and fluids. They said I was real dehydrated. So i stayed in the hospital until Sat. (4 days) Then they sent me home with Levaquin.

So, its been a couple weeks, I take my last levaquin tomorrow. I'm still coughing up stuff thatdoesn't look normal. I havent had any temp or anything else. I go to clinic on Friday. I'm worried about what they are going to do. I pray that they dont put me in the hosptial for more IV's. And if they do, I pray it would just be a perifial IV instead of a Hickman.

THe Sweet Melissa gala is Dec. 3. I want to be well enoguh to attend. I want this coughing over and done with for GOOD. I'm tired of it. Ive never stopped coughing from the beginning of my transplant. They need to figure it out and fix it!

Exciting NEWS: I went to Atlanta with my aunt to visit family. It was my first trip since my transplant. It was so good to get away. We went to the aquarium it was awesome. And we went to the Coke factory. It was alright. The little ones liked it. Next time i go, I WILL go to the CNN building and see Nancy Grace!!!!!!!! I'll bust in if I have to!!! HEHE

Well I'm signing off for tonight. As Nancy says.....

"Until next time, Goodnight Friend." lol

P.S. Luke and I broke up.

Operation Bronch. - OVER.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Hidey Ho Heffers.

I'm home from the bronchoscopy. Well, I mean, I've been home. Since around 2:30 or 3:00 pm. I completely pigged out after the procedure. We stopped on the way home at McDonald's. I got a cheeseburger, large fries, AND 5 chicken tenders with ranch. I ate all of it, except 3 of the chicken tenders. I was STARVING. Then I attempted to get online and check my facebook. But after falling asleep in the middle of fb'in it, 3 seperate times and almost dropping my laptop, I gave up and laid down to nap. A nice long nap.

Of course when I got up, I was hungry again. It was around 6:30 pm so Mom and I walked down to the community kitchen and cooked some generic Chicken Voila for me and some dinner rolls. It was soooo tasty. I ate a big helping of that and then a bowl of orange sherbert icecream. Mmmmmm. Now my tummy is hurting a little, but I think it will go away.

Anyways...about the bronch. Everything went as well as it could go. Except that when Mom and I went out to the car to go to the hospital this morning around 6:40 am (had to be there at 7 am to register, bronch was scheduled for 8 am), our front left tire was FLAT. Just what I needed. *rolls eyes* So we ended up trying to call a cab but in the end my friend Victoria's husband Chris (my bf Luke's brother) came and picked us up and drove us to the hospital. Then picked us up afterwards and drove us home as well. THank God for him today!

So once they sedated me and began the procedure, I don't really remember anything. I guess I fell asleep. The dr. said that everything looked fine, but that I had some pulmonary edema in my vessels. SO, he prescribed me some lasix. YAY! i hope i lose weight! :) He didn't seem too concerned about the edema, said the lasix should take care of it. The xray looked stable he said, the same as the last one basically. I hope that the lasix helps with the pleural effusion as well.

I'm feeling okay so far post bronch. My left side was pretty sore afterwards, but the Dr. told me that it was probably from the biopsies. He said they found a little bit of mucus in my lungs, but not too much and they sucked it out and are culturing it to check for infection. So all in all, I guess things went good. I did have to stay a lil' longer after the procedure b/c my sats were being stubborn and not coming up like they should have. but after a lil oxygen for a bit,t hey came up and I was released to the homeplace! I've been coughing up a little blood off and on from the biopsies, but that is normal. Even though aggrivating!

Well, my tummy is hurting and It's time to climb the pill-alayas once again. So i'll holler at y'all later! Thanks for your prayers today!

Bronchcoscopy - Not a happy camper.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Hi Y'all.

Not much to report today. Had P.T. then went shoe shopping for new sneaks. (AGAIN) I needed a new pair so they can insert that thingie into the bottom to help with my ankle pain. They couldn't use the other ones I bought for it. Poop. There went another $65 into the black hole. Anyways...

Tomorrow I have my bronch and I'm a little nervous about it. Not really nervous about the process or procedure, but about what they may find. If I hadn't been coughing and stuff lately (Which is why they moved it up), I wouldn't be as worried. But, I'm going to try and not worry about it too much. I'm going to bed earlier tonight b/c I have to wake up at 5:30 am so I can be at the hospital by 7am.

Wish me luck tomorrow. *sigh* Thank you, drive through please!

Everyday should be a Duke day!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

What's up my people?!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far. Mine is going pretty good. Haven't had too much pain. Sunday was good. I spent the evening alone, all night. My brother left around 2pm in the afternoon to go back home since he had to work yesterday. And Mom didn't come back until yesterday morning in time to pick me up for P.T.

It was nice having freedom to do what I want, say what I want, walk around naked if I want. I watched Hounddog. GOod movie, but a little on the disturbing side. Dakota Fanning plays a young rape victim a little TOO convincingly. Ponder that for a while, folks. *shivers in disgust* Oops, sorry if i spoiled the plot of the movie. But you will probably thank me for it later. I have to admit, while the movie is pretty disturbing, she is good at putting on a REALLY southern accent. No girl her age should be so frickin' talented. It's just uncalled for. Anyways, I digress.......

Like I was saying, It was nice to spend the evening alone for once. But, at one point I did get bored as hell. And then I got a little sad for no reason. (F-You Prednisone - I survived you're attack!) After crying for about 30 minutes for no apparant reason, I took an ativan and calmed down. Yay for ativan!

P.T. went well as could be expected on Monday, with a lame ankle. Enough said.

SO...today was a great day. Mom and I went to Duke! YAY!!!! My first time on Duke's campus since 1993. I was 12 years old. And I walked around all day! It was such a blessing! (Both to be back at Duke and able to walk around and not get out of breath) First we went to the Bryan Center and ate at the Armadillo Grill. It was pretty tasty. THEN, we went to the University Store, where I dropped way too much cash on Duke shit. But it was so worth it. THEN....we went to the Duke Chapel.

The Chapel is so beautiful. Just as beautiful as I remembered it. We sat down and I said some prayers for my Donor and Donor family. I also took the time to thank God again for my new lungs and new life. We took some good pics of the chapel, inside and a few outside.

Tomorrow I have P.T. again at 11 am. Then on Thursday - THE BRONCH. :-( *sigh* Such is the life of a lung transplant patient.

*cue theme music as curtain falls*

Bagels and cream cheese anyone?

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far. My weekend is going splendidly if I do say so myself. Last night I went out to eat a fabulous dinner at Mama Dips with my friend Ann and her husband Alex. It was so tasty. But I HAVE to stop going out to eat before I go broke. But it's just so fun to enjoy being able to go out and not getting tired or out of breath and to just enjoy myself or have to worry about running out of O2. :)

Then today my Mom went home for the weekend and my brother drove up here to hang out and stay over with me so I wouldn't be alone. We ordered pizza for lunch from Alfredo's and it was super tasty. I love their pizza. So good. Then we just hung out, he watched some football while I facebooked and chatted. lol Around dinner time we went out and rented a couple movies, so I'm writing this while we're watching The Last House on the Left. Boy this movie is more disturbing than the first version! I also rented Hounddog with Dakota Fanning. Bree told me that it was also pretty disturbing. Great.

Clinic went pretty well yesterday. They still are waiting to put me back on a profalactic antibiotic. Which makes me a little nervous but, I trust their expertise. They said my x ray looked fine, a lil better. Which is good. But, they discovered a pollup in my nose, which they said COULD be what's causing all of my coughing and the blood streaks in the sputum those times. Or it could be something else. or it could just be nothing to worry about. B/c I haven't had any temperature or shortness of breath or anythign else. But, just to be on the safe side, they've moved my 3 month bronch. up from the 17th of Sept. to this coming Thursday. I'm a little nervous about it. But, I'm being positive. :)

Tomorrow night Bo (my brother) is going to be back at home since he has to work in the morning. And Mom is staying home again and coming back up here Mon. morning in time to take me to P.T. So, I'll be staying alone tomorrow night. My FIRST night alone post transplant, all by myself. With no Dr.'s or nurses or Mom around. I'm a bit nervous but more excited than anything! Wish me luck!!!!

GUESS WHAT! I believe I've discovered what I inherited from my Donor!!! BAGELS! She must have loved bagels. B/c ever since my transplant I have craved them non stop. And before transplant i hardly EVER ate them. Not that I didn't like them at all, It's just i rarely ate them. And when I say rarely - i mean like once ever 6 months to a year, I'd eat a bagel. Now I can't get enough of their goodness! I clump on cream cheese and spread it allllllllll over and then practically inhale them. I eat them with breakfast at least 4 or 5 days out of a week. And still crave them during the day (but don't eat them during the day). Well occassionally I will if i didn't eat them at breakfast that day. :) Its so odd! But definitely cool to have such a connection with my Donor.

Well I'm going go watch Hounddog now. I'll blog at y'all later! Here's a pic of my Pomeranian Prince, Neeko, to make you smile! He always makes me smile!

Neeko loves corn on the cob!

Shrimp Sauce, Shrimp Sauce, where for art thou, Shrimp Sauce..????

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:57:00 +0000

Helloooooooo y'all.

Hope everyone had a great Thursday. I had a pretty low key day. It was one of my day's off from P.T. so I just lounged aorund all day until time to get ready to go out. Then tonight I went out to eat dinner with Stephenie. OHhhh my gosh. I'm so effin' full. All I've done all day is eat it feels like. Prednisone is NO JOKE! It makes me so hungry!!! We went to a Japenese steak house in Durham. It was soooooooooooooo tasty. It was the first time i'd eaten Japanese since my transplant. It sooo hit the spot. I ate sooo much! Oh how I've missed that shrimp sauce!!!! While, the food was wonderful, our cook was lacking on the trick skills. He messed up sooo many times. He must have either been new or he was having an "off" night. He went to flip the bowl up ontop of his hat and dropped it on all 3 tries. One time it missed his head completely and flew behind him.

But that's okay. It was just super exciting to be back at a Japanese steak house for the first time in forever. The first time sans oxygen. EVER. I didn't have to back away from the table or cover my face when he did the fire trick!!! Yay! Fire is no longer my enemy!!! :)

Then we went to Super Target, b/c she had to get some little gifts for her trainees at work. Okay I have a confession. Even though it is the stupidest ugliest thing I've ever seen...I've really wanted a Snuggie blanket ever since I first saw the commercial. Well.....they had them at Super Target...and....well...I was weak! I bought one! A pink one! I can't wait to get cold again so I can use it! :) Don't laugh at me! I hear your cackles! You're just jealous you don't have a Snuggie!!! lol

Tomorrow I have tx clinic and P.T. Then, I believe I'm going out to eat with Ann and her husband. God, I feel like all I do is eat these days. lol

Okay, I'm done for now. I'll see y'all later!!!!! *POOF*

Steph and I at the Japanese steak house! Her last night in Durham!

Mallin' it.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Hi strangers.

I've come to the conclusion that my new lungs are yesterday's news. :) I haven't had any comments in forever!!! Are you guys still reading this? Or should I give it up!?? lol Oh well. It gives me something to do whether you guys read or not! :)

Anywho's......

Today I had P.T. I walked on the treadmill for about 25 mins before Rich (the P.T.) stopped me b/c I was limping a little too much. The ankle is still giving me issues. It hurts when I put weight on it and walk. So, after the treadmill, he fitted me for an arch support thingy and put it in my shoe on that foot. I hope it helps. B/c I'm getting tired of hurting when I walk. He said it was probably a result of my broken knee trying to overcompensate. B/c I'm not used to being so active and now post transplant b/c I'm walking so much more, and the way my left leg and foot don't line up exactly straight, its causing me pain in the ankle region. Hopefully, when I get used to the arch support thingy, it will fix the pain issue.

Yesterday we went out to the drug store so I could pick up some of my pills. Then Mom wanted to get her hair done so we went to University Mall and she went to a salon there. Well b/c she walked in wihtout an appointment she had to wait a lil' while. She was in there for over 2 fricken' hours. So, I bounced! Left her there and went exploring the mall alone. Boy, that was a lot of walking. My ankle was killing me by the time we left and my legs were soooooo tired. But, it felt very liberating to go walking and shopping on my own, sans O2, sans gasping for breath and having to rest every couple minutes. I felt so Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! And happy.

While I was there, I spent money. :-( Dammit. I'm so weak. lol I bought a book to read and a book to send to Luke. Also, I got a cute water bottle and a pack of blank cd's so I can transfer some pics from my computer to get developed so I can start my scrapbook. I might have bought something else, but I can't remember for sure. lol

Last night I went out to dinner with Stephenie. We ate at Elmo's diner. It was the 2nd time I've been there. It was pretty tasty. Then we went to TCBY and got some yogurt! Mmmmmm. We're going out again probably Thursday. This is her last week staying in Durham for work. Friday I have plans to go to dinner with Ann and her husband Alex. I love being able to go out so much and actually have the breath and energy to have a good time!! Thank you donor and donor family!

Tonight I have support group at 6pm. So i plan on resting the rest of the day. I may play my Wii a little bit. Now that I'm off sternum precautions! I'm ready to bowl and play some pool! My Mom is going home on Saturday. Woo hoo! Mom free weekend! My brother Bo is coming up to stay with me Saturday night. We'll probably go out somewhere to eat and a movie or something. Who knows!

I'm off! Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Still breathing. Effortlessly.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:10:00 +0000

What's up bitches?!

Hope everyone is doing great. I'm doing pretty decent. I had P.T. today, it wasn't too bad. My ankle is STILL sore. So she only made me walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes. THen i did the bike with my legs for 20 minutes. Then I was done. I just wish my ankle would stop hurting when I walk. I bought an gel ice pack thingie to wrap around it after P.T. or when it's hurting.

Friday I had clinic. It went pretty well. They said the pleural effusion that they saw the week before on my x-ray, looked like it was improving, slowly. It's good that it's improving itself without the need for any kind of extra treatment or procedure. But, they did say it was doing it slowly. Plus, I've been coughing a lot more lately, but haven't had any temp. or shortness of breath or anything other symptoms that could mean something was wrong. But, he said that if I kept coughing like that, they may move my bronch. up and do it before Sept. 17.

Saturday evening, around 9:30pm., Stephenie, her husband Keith and I all went out to the DSI Comedy Theater in Carborro. (just outside Chapel hill) I had first heard about it from Tiffany. She takes improv classes there. So after visiting their website, I decided I'd love to go see some improv comedy. I'd never even been to any kind of stand up comedy club or anything. So, needless to say, I was super excited. lol It was really funny. We had a good time.

Yesterday afternoon, mom and I went over to Vicki and Chris's house to celebrate Shawn's birthday. I had a great time. Tiffany was there also, so we finally got to hang out again. I hadn't seen her since my birthday party, a month ago.

At P.T. I asked if my friend Candace who got her new lungs earlier this year, was still in the hospital. She had come into the hospital when I was still inpatient post transplant. She has been having a rough time lately. Kristin (the PT) told me that she was still inpatient at the moment. But couldn't tell me anything else. (HIPPA laws) I also found out that my transplant buddy at rehab that I work out with, Joe, is back in the hospital. He got his transplant like a month or so before me and was doing awesome. I'm not sure what the problem is, since legally no one can give me any info without his or his family permission. But, please keep Candace and him in your thoughts and prayers!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it yet or not, but my Bronchiectasis twin Bree got her transplant recently on 7/8!!!!! I'm so psyched for her! Ironically, we both got our transplants very close to our birthdays. So we both got to celebrate our birthdays post tx, and o2 free!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Congrats again Bree! Check out her blog link under my links, it's called "The Blog Blog."

Well, I'm going to go find something to do. Or try at least. :) *POOF*

Shopping - the root of all evil.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:18:00 +0000

What's up People?

Hope everyone is well. Rehab has been a bitch this week. I think they are trying to kill me. lol Monday, I forgot and wore my flip flops to PT. B/c I was coming straight from Lexington and I had forgotten to pack my tennis shoes. So they worked my ass out. lol Then yesterday, b/c my ankle was hurting, Kristen had me do only 25 mins on the treadmill. I thought maybe she was letting me off easy. But, then she announced she would be walking me over to the new Quizno's at the hospital, to show me where it is. Which consisted of going outside and walking up about 25 steps. Whew! It was so hot outside!!! Plus the steps! I thought i was going to fall down in a puddle and die. But, I did better than I thought I'd do. So, finally, when we got back inside the PT department, I thought maybe I was done, but then she announced I had 15 minutes left. So she put me on the leg press machine. Which I really didn't mind, but then she set the weight to 25 lbs and I about shit myself. I had to do 3 sets of 10 leg presses at 25 lbs each time. I was exhausted and red all over from being hot and sweaty. That's the most I've ever sweated in like 17 years.

Today was one of my days off from Rehab, so Vicki and I went shoe shopping. I needed to get some decent tennis shoes for Rehab(since mine don't have backs on them and just slip on). We went to DSW and I ended up spending way too much money. I got 2 pairs of tennis shoes and like 3 or 4 pairs of other shoes, and some socks and heel inserts. Then we went to A.C. Moore which is like a Michael's. I spent way too much money in there too. All b/c I want to make a scrapbook of my transplant experience. Overall today, my wallet is severely damaged lol I have to remember to transfer some of my savings back into my checking lol But, at least I'll have some more supportive shoes to walk on the treadmill with. Hopefully, it will keep my ankle/s from hurting.

Luke and his friend have left this afternoon, on their "man journey" aka "Survival trip" down some river. I'm a bit worried. There's no telling what he might get himself into. At least I know he can take care of himself.

Anyways, I gotta take another hike up the Pilla-layas and maybe watch a movie. See ya later!

Back in L-Town, aka Stale -Town, aka Lex-Vegas, aka Lexington,NC. (home)

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:17:00 +0000

What's up y'all!

I'm finally back in Lexington (Home) for a couple days. It's the first time I've been home since my transplant. It's been pretty good so far. We got home around 11 a.m. yesterday (Saturday). I took a nap for a while and then my friend Jonathan and I went to Sonic for dinner. YAY SONIC. Another first since transplant. Man I missed Sonic, something bad. lol It was a tasty treat. lol

Then, after dinner, I went to a party for my friend's birthday. It was good to get out and I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a long time, including a friend of mine that I hadn't seen since my transplant. (Brooke) Since I can't drive yet (sternum precautions) Brooke and her husband Josh came and picked me up for the party. It was fun and good to see everyone. I got home around 10:15 pm or so. Then watched a couple episodes of True Blood. Ahhh I finally got a fix. lol There is more to watch tonight before I'm all caught up. Man I miss my HBO and Showtime shows. Shit, I miss my DVR, period!

Today I went to church. I hadn't been since before my surgery. I'm glad I went but, when I went to do communion, I spilled my wine all over myself. lol Typical Meghann. Thanks a lot prograf! You suck! My hands were pretty shaky this morning, apparently lol The preacher acknowledged my presence and welcomed me back to church in front of the whole congregation, which was nice, but embarrassing b/c then everyone clapped. I hid behind my church program. lol

Right now, I'm hangin' out over at Lori Beth's house with her for the afternoon. I hadn't been online since before I left Chapel Hill to come home, so I hopped on via her laptop.

This morning around 8:00 am, my knee (the good one) woke me up. This is like, the 3rd time that this has happened. The other two times was back in Chapel Hill at the house we're staying at. Those times, my knee kept me up all night hurting when I was trying to sleep. This time I woke up from the pain shooting through it. NO matter what position I put it in, it still hurt super bad. So i had to get up early and wake my Mom up and get some pain medicine. It was hurting me so bad that I actually cried a little. I haven't even cried from my post tx chest pain. That's how bad the knee was hurting.

But, luckily the pain medicine helped in time for me to attend church. Probably b/c I took a lil extra than I normally do. (But well within my limit, of course!)But then, before church let out, the pain was starting to come back. So I had to take some more before I left to come over here to Lori's. I just don't understand why this knee is doing this. I would think it would be my bad one. The one with all the pins and the plate in it. I brought my pain med. with me over here, b/c I'm gonna be here for a while.

Later when I get back home to my parent's house I have a date with Neeko. I'm going to take him on our first REAL walk together. EVER. I'm so relieved that he seems happy to see me. He's been sitting with me a lot and paying me a lot of attention. I was worried that he wouldn't love me anymore or not really give a shit that I was there. Like, maybe he had forgotten about me. But he hasn't! Yay! I miss him when I go back to Chapel Hill tomorrow morning.

Later after I get back home to the 'rents house, my friend Emily is coming over. I haven't seen her since Halloween 08!!! Jonathan might come back over to watch some more True Blood. I'm not sure.

Tomorrow morning, around 8:00 am, I'm going to go by Physical Therapy at the hospital to see my girls. (my PT's for about 17 years on and off.) They are going to shit themselves when they see me without my o2. lol Then we're going to be on the road back to Chapel Hill by 9:00am b/c I have PT at 11:00 am.

Anyway, I wrote a book. My fingers are tired from typing. Until next time, stalkers. :)

In Rob's words, "I'm headin' out like a fetus!"

LOLOLOLOLOL

The Treadmill vs. The Cripple Knee : Treadmill - 1 Cripple Knee - 0

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:32:00 +0000

What's up ya'll.

I'm home from Rehab (P.T.) and eating lunch at McAllister's Deli. MMmmm it sure was tasty. Rehab was good today, except I lifted my leg up while I was on the treadmill to scratch it and ended up slamming it into the front handles on it. OUCH! So i had to stop for about 30 seconds to rub the soreness out. Luke got a huge laugh out of that situation when I told him. lol It was my "bad" knee too. The one with all the metal in it. But, luckily I didn't hit it on the side with the pins in it. Whew. That could have been disasterous. But, aside from that, everything went well. I walked for 40 minutes and increased my speed all the way up to 2.3 mph. That is incredible fast for me. I did 2.3 for at least 10 or 15 minutes at the end. My legs and ankles are sooo tired. But, at least I survived! Woo Hoo! Slick Richie said that I did great and that they were going to have to start finding me more things to do b/c I'm getting too good on the treadmill. MUahahahahahaha. :) *evil grin*

My aunt Jane is here right now spending the afternoon, until her son (my cousin Matt) comes to pick her up. He lives in Durham and she is going to stay the night at his house. Then tomorrow, she is going to come back over here and stay the night with us. Also, Lori Beth is supposed to be coming up here this afternoon and staying the night with me. Mom, Lori, and I are going to support group tonight at 6pm and then afterwards, Wal-Mart. I need to get some more clothes to wear to rehab. Mom's paying with ther Sam's Club card. :) YAY. Thanks Mom!

Well, thats all for now. Tootles.

Bloggin' it up y'all.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:50:00 +0000

What's up y'all?

I'm back again. You'll never escape me!!! :) Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday. Ughhh I hate Mondays. But, actually, my day was pretty good. I had rehab like I mentioned in the last post. I surprised myself with how good I did. I broke a couple of my treadmill records. I actually walked for 45 mins non stop. Before, 40 mins was the max. I had walked on the "Beast." And also, I walked at 1.9 for a lot of the time, which is the fastest I've ever walked. Before my transplant, I couldn't walk more than like 1.2 or 1.3 without thinking I was going to pass out. So, Yay for me.

After rehab, we walked up to the 4th floor to the Tx clinic b/c I needed to make sure I had my appointment down for Friday. And I had left my personal copy of my PFT's from Friday in clinic, so I wanted to get another copy. After we left the clinic, we walked down to Anderson South, which is the unit I was on after ICU. I wanted to see the nurses for the first time since I got discharged. I saw a couple of them and then asked them if my friend Candace was still there on the floor. She had her double lung transplant earlier this year. But when I was in the hospital after mine, she was readmitted with some complications. Two weeks ago I was told by the social worker that she wasn't doing very well, so while I was at the hospital today visiting the floor, I asked them if she was still there b/c I wanted to see her. I found out she was in the ICU on the 2nd floor. (Where we all go straight after the transplant surgery) One of the nurses led us down there and went into the ICU to see if she could have visitors. She wasn't able to have visitors, but her parents were in there. They were upset and didn't want to talk at the time, so they gave the nurse permission to let me know what was going on with Candace. I won't go into it, b/c it's not my place to tell, but she's very sick right now and they don't know what is going to happen. It makes me so sad. It is so upsetting. I found myself crying in the hallway. Please keep her in your prayers!

I'm changing the subject before I cry again....

After we left the hospital, we were both hungry, so we went to Bailey's to eat lunch. Mmmmmm Bailey's. The food was excellent. And we had a really nice waitress. Plus it wasn't very crowded. That's always a plus. After we got home, I've just been hanging out, resting from rehab. And of course I talked to Luke. You know that is always a given. :)

My brother sent me another pic to my Crackberry today of my 'lil pomeranian prince, Neeko. I can't wait to go home on Saturday and see him. I want to hold his furry little body in my arms and squeeze him for hours. I hope he still loves me and doesn't feel like I've neglected him or ignored him on purpose. Surely he'll understand, right?

Well, I'm off for the night. Sleep well, my loyal followers. For tomorrow is another day. And you never know what it may bring!

Go lungs go.

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:21:00 +0000

Hidey Ho, stalkers. :) (jk)

I hope everyone has had a good week and weekend. My week was decent. I just did the usual routine that I'm pretty much getting used to by now. Rehab on Mon, Wed and Friday, along with tx clinic on Friday as well. Rehab went okay this week. I had a couple minor issues that were Non-rehab related that kept me from doing as much as I could on a couple of the days, but nothing serious. I intend to make up for it this week. Tomorrow morning can't come soon enough. (Pysche Pysche, your momma ride's a motor bike.) lol For Seeeeerial though, I do want to kick ass in rehab from now on b/c I have a lot of travel plans to make for the not so distant future and I intend to be in shape so I can take the most advantage of my trips.

Where do I plan on traveling to, you ask? Lots of places. KY to see Luke, MD to see Monica and Mike (where we'll also go to DC since they live so close). Also, I intend on going to Wilmington one weekend in October I think it is, to attend a party with Emily and her brothers. And of course I will take a trip down to Myrtle Beach to see my Dad's side of the fam. I'd also like to save up some money and go on a cruise. But who knows if that will happen. lol I've been spending enough money as it is.

Clinic on Friday went well. I went up 5% on my FEV1. (Forced Expitory Volume over 1 second - part of the Pulmonary Function Tests,for you non-lung disease folks.) The blood work was good, except they said my liver stuff was elevated a little bit. But they said it could be from the Bactrim they started me on as a profalactic. So the Dr. just told me to quit taking it and they would recheck it next time. He said my x-ray looked the same, if not a little better. So that is good. My blood pressure was pretty high though. But, I think that was mostly b/c my mom and I weren't having a "good" day together, so I had already been arguing and stressed when I went into clinic. So, all in all, they said I was doing great, so that was a relief.

The one bad thing that they told me was NOT to sleep with a fan on. WHAT? Are they insane? I don't think that I can go the rest of my life without feeling that relaxing sound in my ears and comfortable breeze against my face while I sleep. They just don't understand. I will have to revisit this topic with them on Friday and see if I can make them see it my way. Wish me luck. lol

This weekend has been pretty laid back. Friday I don't think I did anything but rest after rehab and clinic. Then on Saturday, family and Nate and Susie came into town for Bo's belated birthday dinner. We went to Carborro to Tyler's Tap Room. Good food, HORRIBLE SERVICE. DON'T EVER GO THERE. My cousin said he and his wife have been to the one in Durham several times and it is great. So MAYBE i'll try there one day. BUT NEVER will I step foot in the one in Carborro again. It took them and Hour and half to seat us. And we got there at 7pm. Then it took them another hour to bring our food. And they didn't even take my appetizer order. they completely skipped me. So, I had to order my appetizer with my dinner. PLUS, they completely neglected to bring my cousin Matt's food at all. He finally got his food when we all were finished eating and they were taking our plates and bringing Bo's cake out. And speaking of the cake...we brought our own. Which they promptly informed us was against the health code and that they would be charging us $1 per person to eat our own cake. RE-FRICKEN-DICULOUS!!!!! We were about to leave, but everyone had come from out of town and was already there, so we decided to stay. I offered to pay the $11 extra dollars for the cake fee. I'm so sweet. :) But luckily, I didn't have to pay it b/c they waived the fee since we they gave us such shitty service and we had to wait so long to feed our face holes. My cousin Matt really let the manager have it when we were finished. It was AWESOME. Muahahahahaha. Take that, Tyler's Tap room!

Plus it was hot as hell in there. I was sweating like a whore in church and I had let my cousin borrow my only hair twisty. But that's okay. I love my cousin even though she pinches and it hurts like hell. And my gut hole sprung a leak before dinner and I had to go to the bathroom and fix that disaster. But besides all the negative, we enjoyed seeing everyone and Bo had a good time. Maybe a little too much of a good time, since he promptly passed out when we got back to the house in Chapel Hill. :) Happy Birthday Bortle!

Today, Mom and I went shopping at Stein Mart. It was the first time I'd ever been to a Stein Mart, b/c we don't have one in our town. It was pretty cool. I spent $85 of my birthday money on a new bag, some socks, a pair of panties, some Burt's Beez lip stuff, and a couple pairs of earrings. I also discovered that they had Kathy Von Zeeland bags. It took every ounce of my lung transplanted ass not to buy one..or two. But at least I know where to go to find them for cheaper. But, the new junk I bought wasn't the good part of the day. The good part was that it was the first time I went really shopping in 17 years without o2 or without being in a wheelchair or having to sit down every 5 minutes and rest. And we were there for like close to 2 hours. YAY ME! But, I was super tired and sore when we were done. So we stopped and ate some dinner and then came back to the house.

I'm beat. I got rehab tomorrow morning at 11. And of course have to start my treck up the Pill-alayas at 9:00 am. So...I will bid you good night. Have a good week.

Peace and chicken grease.

G-tubes are evil and can go to Hell!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Hey Y'all.

I'm beat. Although today wasn't all that productive. I had rehab today of course. (It is Wed. isn't it) But, Mom and I gaged the time wrong and ended up getting there 10 min late. My appt. was at 1pm. We stopped to get lunch at Quizno's and Mom had to run in and get the food, then rush to P.T. Rich (the p.t.) was nice enough to let me eat and take my pills before I started working out. By the time I started it was like 1:30. I got on the treadmill and then 12 min. into it..the hole in my tummy from where they had the g-tube, sprung a leak from under the bandage. (sorry for graphic description, but hey, that's my life) So, I had to stop and change the bandage. By the time that was all done...It was time for my appt. to be over. He told me I was done for the day.

So, I took the walk of shame out of rehab with my head hanging low, after only accomplishing 12 min. worth of exercise. Thank goodness no one else was in there working out at the time. That would have been even more embarrassing!

Tonight, my friend that I hadn't seen in years, Stephenie went out to eat dinner at Bailey's. The food was good. Mmmm teriyaki chicken. It was good to catch up with her. It was just like old times. We are supposed to go shopping tomorrow after she gets off work. She's in Durham for a month for work. Yay. We both need to get birthday presents for our brothers.

On another note...the lone part of my incision scab is seesawing right on the edge of coming off. YAY. Then I will start putting some Vitamen E on the scar and hopefully manipulating it into becoming less and less noticible as time goes by. :) *fingers crossed* Not that it bothers me that bad. It really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Dr. Haithcock did an amazing job. Thanks again Dr. Haithcock! Hopefully my g-tube wound will be all healed up and I can go swimming before the summer is over.

How else am I going to start my early training for the Tx Games next summer? :) Watch out all you games participants, THIS fish will be back in the water soon. Your medals will be MINE! Muahahahahahahahha! *cocky evil grin* Enjoy the pic below. It's an REAL oldie but a goody!

Luke is supposed to call me back, so I'm gonna get ready for bed while I'm waiting patiently. I'm off like my prom dress never came! (LOL)

Me circa 1980'something!

Out on the town!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:57:00 +0000

What's up Y'all!

Hope everyone is having a good Tues. It's good for me b/c it's one of my 2 days off during the week from Rehab. (Tues. and Thurs.) Yesterday was a busy day. I went to rehab and kicked the treadmill's ass. 40 minutes walking, without a break, sans 02. Then Mom and I went to Brueger's Bagels and got a cream cheese bagel. I'd never been there before. Man, those are some good bagels. After that we went to the grocery store. Stayed longer than I thought we would, so I didn't get home til around 4 pm and was exhausted.

But, alas, my day wasn't over. I rested for a little while, talked to my Luke for a few and then changed clothes. After putting on my makeup, Ann got over here to the house. We hung out for a little while and then left to go out to dinner. Just the two of us. It was awesome. My first night out on the town, sans O2, sans Mom. FREEEEEEEEDOM. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I got back home about 9:30. SO needless to say I was exhausted. Eventually when I got off the phone with my Babe again, I was ready to call it a night. But, couldn't sleep. So...I ended up staying up 'til 4 A.M. on the computer, organizing and editing ALL the photos on my computer.

I finally laid down and didn't sleep very well. Kept waking up. But, that was okay..b/c I knew I had the day off today. :) So today has been wonderful. All I've done is get up this morning, do all my morning transplant stuff, eat breakfast and then lay back down and nap. I got back up at 1pm and climbed the pillalayas once more and ate lunch. It's been a great, lazy day. I needed to rest.

Tonight, dinner is being cooked for the house in the dining room. We signed up to eat. BBQ Chicken. MMMM. It will be the first time i've left the comfort of our suite all day. :) But for food...it's worth it!

Below is a pic of Ann and I last night before we went out to eat. Enjoy!

Oxygen, Shmoxygen. Pshh!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:31:00 +0000

What's up my loyal followers! :)

I'm back! As you most of you know or have heard or read through various social networking sites that I can't drag myself away from, even in the hospital after major cardio-thoracic surgery - I officially have new lungs! WOO HOO! I got my transplant on June 21. (Father's Day - thanks Daddy!) I was in the hospital for a month. I got out on Mon, July 20. Three days before my 29th birthday. What a great birthday gift, huh? BREATH. LIFE. A FUTURE. It's all so surreal, still. Ha that rhymed. :)

I was in the hospital for so long b/c my new lungs had a reprofusion injury. (look it up lol) It's not uncommoon, in fact I think it may happen to most people, on varying degrees. But don't quote me on that. They weren't too concerned with it. It's been healing and looks better each x ray. So that's a good thing. And also the 2nd or 3rd week post tx, (tx stands for transplant if you didn't know already) after I was already on the regular floor, I developed a bit of acute rejection that they quickly treated with heavy duty I.V. steroids for 3 days. Wow those were some miserable days! lol I had a slight mental breakdown the last day or so. Prednisone is no joke, y'all! Already having anxiety disorder, this whole transplant experience has been a bit nervewrecking for me. Thank God, they had Ativan on hand when I needed it. I don't think I could have emotionally survived without it at times.

I don't remember much of anything aobut the days I was in ICU b/c they had me so drugged and out of it. But, apparantly according to my Mom, I was pretty vocal. And stubborn. And a bit bitchy. And snappy. Especially when they got me up to walk. She said I yelled at them to all get out of my room and to leave me alone. I also apparantly cussed out one of the respitory therapists. And called a nurse Rhinocerous. But, in my defense..my MOm said some of the Dr.'s that saw me in ICU said some unncessary things to me, very unprofessional things. She had to go off on a few of them. My cantankernous became a bit of a known thing during those weeks in the hospital. They kept asking Kristin (My physical therapist - who I already knew pretty well) if I was "Normally like this." Tehehehehehe :) Also, my friend Lori told me I also kept trying to convince her that "they" were trying to kill me and not to let "them" near me. I must have been pretty out of it.

After the rejection was treated, things started moving along quicker and I was able to do more, etc, etc. But, because of the roadbumps, I was slow to get off my O2. So, I ended up leaving the hospital with it. I was using it for walking still and when I slept. But, now I can pretty much say that i'm officially FREE from the O2 and the choke hold it's leash had on my life. WOO HOO.

My surgeon, Dr. Haithcock is amazing. Very talented and obviously knows what he's doing. My incision is damn near as perfect as it can get. They DID have to cut my sternum though. So, I may hurt a little longer than those that don't have to get theirs cut. I've been on sternum precautions b/c of it. My PFT's (Pulmonary Funtion Tests) results have increased a lot! And they say that they should keep getting better and better. My weight has been up and down, back and forth, left and right, etc. And of course my face is getting fat from the prednisone. :-( Not happy about that. But, hey at least I can breathe. I got my chest tube stitches out on Friday (the 27th) so they feel a bit better and are healing up.

The hospital food was actually halfway decent. Well...it was pretty edible most of the time. There were those days that it looked like something I'd rather starve than eat. But, Luckily for me, Mom was there so on those days she just went to one of the in-house cafe eatery places and got me some real food. Yay for Mom's. Although, we have been together every day since June 21st. So, needless to say, it hasn't always been pretty. But, I couldn't have done it without her. My friends have been great also. Coming as far away as Lexington (hometown) just to visit me, repeatedly some of them. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. My brother has been up here most weekends which has been great.

As previously mentioned, my birthday was on July 23rd. Three days after I was released from medical prison. I wanted to have a big bash and celebrate since I had gotten the best early birthday gift EVER. We had the party on Sat. instead of on my birthday on Thurs. b/c then people were off work and could come. We all went out to eat at this place here in Chapel Hill called Bailey's Grill and Pub. One of the Physical therapists at the hospital suggested it. The food was awesome. And apparantly the beer and alcohol was too, cuz my party sure was guzzling it down. :) (those of you know who you are) HEHE. I wore a big tiara on my head, in typical queen fashion. B/c it was MY night to celebrate. :) It was the first time some of my friends had seen me without O2 in years and years. Some of them had NEVER seen me without O2. So it was definitely a night to remember. Although there were some people missing that couldn't come that I wish could have been there. But, all in all, it was wonderful to celebrate my birthday with so many friends and family.

I have rehab (physical therapy) every Mon. Wed. and Fri. and also for right now, I have to go to transplant clinic every Friday morning as well. They draw blood to check my medication levels, do a chest x-ray, PFT's and then I see the Pulmonologists and sometimes the surgeon and ALWAYS Ken, my coordinator. Unless he's off work or out of town. Then Becky (the other coordinator) sees me. Friday she gave me the go ahead to go home for the weekend. I didn't this weekend, but weekend after this coming weekend, I will probably go home for the night Sat. I can't wait to see my dog and really walk him for the first time.

That's all for now. I have finally posted. Now it's bedtime. Nighty Night. :)

Back and better than EVER!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:22:00 +0000

Just letting everyone know that I will be updating soon! Stay tuned for my first post with new "puffers"! :) Thanks to everyone for their support, well wishes and prayers!!! STAY TUNED!

TO BE CONTINUED...................................................

Vampire Lovin'

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:39:00 +0000

What's up Y'all.

Tonight is finally here!!!!! Ohhhhh it's so wonderful! It's the Season 2 premier of True Blood on HBO! Ohh happy day!!! I'm so excited I could pee myself. I can't wait to see more vampire lovin' and drama. How can anyone not like this show? Now Dexter just needs to come back on and all will be right with the world. But, alas..I have to wait until this fall to see the return of my favorite psychopathic, serial killing, criminalist! But, I digress.

Jonathan is my True Blood roaddog. I told him that he better be here by 9pm or ELSE. I know that we will have to watch it back in my room b/c my step dad has the den wired with booby traps anytime anyone tries to use the T.V. in there. And I don't feel like loosing any fingers or toes tonight when I try to pick up HIS motor controller. (I kid, I kid..but seriously, you'd think we were trying to steal his kidney or somethin'.) So this brings me to a slight dilema. My room. It looks like a crime scene. The afertmath of a tornado. An earthquake. I have to clean :-( I can't have anyone back there to watch t.v. in that mess. Gahhh! I hate cleaning more than anything. SO I guess that's what I'll be doing the rest of the afternoon.

Last night I watched the movie Gran Turino with Clint Eastwood. Normally I'm not a big Clint Eastwood movie fan. But, when I saw the previews for it, I immediately wanted to see it. So, last night when I saw it on movies on demand, I bought it. It was pretty good. I recommend it. I give it 4 out of 5 O2 tanks!

Okay. I'm off like Paris Hilton's panties!

Bipappin' it!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:02:00 +0000

Hello, my loyal followers!!

It's Friiiiidayyyyyyy, bitches! Not that I have overly exciting plans this weekend. But, you know. I can still get excited about Fridays. Even if I don't work or go to school during the week. So, bite me! :) I guess I will go down to the pool this weekend. I'm a bit worried though b/c the last thing I want is to get more sunburn. I'll have to put on a 70 SPF sunscreen or somethin'. Like mentioned in my last blog post, I'm STILL peeling from the sunburn that I got from the beach. Now my legs are peeling too, not just my arms.

So, today I went to the walk in bipap clinic at Lincare. I needed a new mask b/c mine is falling apart. When I was at my pulmo. appointment the other day, my Dr. told me to ask Lincare about possibly switching out my bipap machine. I told her that when I was in the hospital I didn't have any sleep episodes and that I was using the hospital's bipap machine. So, she suggested that maybe the reason why I'm still having them is because my machine is messed up. So, today I asked the respiratory therapist about it at Lincare. He checked my machine and said everything was working properly. THEN, he told me something that both excited and disgusted me at the same time.

He told me that there is a special bipap machine called an "auto bipap" and it basically does the same thing they do during a sleep study at the sleep clinic. I was FLOORED. He said that it, of course, doesn't monitor the brain stuff but it does monitor the changes in your breathing while you sleep. So, in other words, it SHOULD be able to show what the hell is happening to me when I have these sleep episodes! It was like music to my ears. I was so excited. But, then I got a bit annoyed. No, more than a BIT annoyed. I got very annoyed. EXTREMELY annoyed. I had asked more than once in Chapel Hill if there was not someway that we could monitor me in my sleep from home. The answer was always NO. That I HAD to drive all the way up there and stay the night in the sleep clinic hooked up to all that crap in order for them to see what was going on while I slept. Now I'm pissed that I had to go through 3 sleep studies to find out absolutely NOTHING. When I could have just stayed home in my own bed and slept more comfortably, which would have probably gotten better results. So, I emailed my doctor and told her about it and asked her to fax an order to Lincare so I can get the ball rolling with this home sleep study via autobipap. I pray that it works well enough to find out what the hell is going on with my breathing at night! Keep your fingers crossed!

Aside from that news, there is nothing else to report.

I hope you all have a lovely, exciting weekend. I'm off like a prom dress!

Shedding is for the snakes!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:04:00 +0000

Hey Y'all!

I hope everyone is well. It has been quite a while since I wrote. I just haven't really had the urge or been in the mood. Sorry to have left all of you hangin', waiting for a post. I'm sure you were all checking and rechecking the blog constantly, waiting impatiently for a new post to arrive. HEHE :) Just kidding! That's what I've told myself at least. :)

Nothing new is going on really. I do have a slight bit of good news to report. I have lost 1 lb. YAY! I'm on my way to shedding my lardassness. Speaking of shedding, I am looking like a snake shedding it's skin these days. After nearly becoming a 3rd degree burn victim at the beach, I've been peeling like hell. It started like two weeks ago and it hasn't stopped yet. It's driving me crazy. It makes me feel freakishly unnatractive. Like I could be an act in a circus freak show. "Behold the Amazing Shedding Woman!" It's ridiculous! When will it end???

On a good note, the pool is now officially opened for the summer. Yay! So, now I can go swimming. I plan on doing some walking in the pool with Mom and Charm. Hopefully, that combined with the treadmill will help me to lose some of this weight. Mom and I attempted to start pilates also. It was insane. My knee wasn't right for DAYS afterwards. LOL. Oh, to be young again and limber. And to not have 7 pins and a plate in your knee and pin in your hip. Ohhhh..Memories! :)

I had an appointment with my pulmonologist in Chapel Hill last Wed. It went well. Thats how I found out that I lost a lb. That was the best news I've heard in a while. Everything else checked out good. She even complimented me and told me that I looked great with a little extra weight on me. She said that I looked sexy and voluptous, like a real woman! :) Well that's good, considering I'm almost 29! :) HEHE. After the appointment Mom and I stayed for support group, then went home.

Sunday, I went to the zoo with my friend Nate, his wife Susie and son Jonathan. It was fun. I took a lot of pics of the animals and spent a crapload of money on simple things like drinks and snacks. But, it was worth it. The only bad thing was that I got a little sunburnt again. Oh well. Shit happens.

Today I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I ROCK. Then I was so tired, I promptly laid down and fell asleep for an hour and half until dinner was ready. I've been so tired lately that I've been napping a whole lot.

Gotta go. Here's to me getting THE call soon! Later y'all! Enjoy the pics below!

My friend Lori and I and her son Keegan at the pool!!!

The polar bear at the zoo!

False alarm transplant call during the beach trip - Oops forgot to mention it!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Hey!

I can't believe that I forgot to mention the most exciting thing of all during my beach trip. I got my false alarm transplant call. We had only been there for 10 minutes. It was late, 1:30 in the morning on thursday, and Becky called me on my cell phone. She told me that the surgeons may be going to look at some lungs for me. But, that she was hesitant about the lungs b/c a lot of folks had already passed on the lungs and that the donor had a questionable history with smoking and other things. Long story short...They didn't go look at the lungs so I didn't have to turn around and make another hours long trip to Chapel Hill from the beach. Thank God! B/c I was sooo tired from the car ride there anyway. All I wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep. But it was very exciting to get the call. I asked her when she called if she felt like I would be getting THE call soon and she told me yes! Needless to say, I called everyone I am close to and told them all about my false alarm call. Maybe next time it will be the real thing! :) I can't believe I forgot to write that in my last post!

I'll write again soon!

Home from the beach!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Hey Y'all!

I'm back from the beach! And I'm as red as a lobster who's been boiling in a pot on the stove! I got sooooo sunburnt. I only went out on the beach 2 days b/c I was so burnt, I refused to step foot on the sand again! We didn't do much while we were there. Just hung out, hit the beach and went shopping a little bit. We ended up going out to eat a couple times for dinner. The first place was a seafood place (Uggh gross) so I ended up getting chicken fingers that were okay. The salad was good. The 2nd place was supposed to be really good. The motzarella sticks were decent, but my fries were cold as hell and the bread was a little hard on my sammich. Charm said her food was horrible. So we were all a bit disapointed with that place.

In order to get into the place we stayed in, there was like 2 sections of 8 stairs. So, needless to say, I definitely got my pulmonary rehab while I was there at the beach. The last time I walked up the stairs, my bad knee started screaming at me that this would be the LAST time she was climbing any stairs for a long time. Luckily, we were leaving the next day so I just didn't leave the house anymore until I walked down to go to the car to leave for home. :) Also, I had forgotten how difficult it could be to walk on sand! The neighbor had a golf cart, so he drove me to the beach entrance and dropped me off and picked me back up each time. That was super nice of him. Other wise my mom would have had to drive me across the street and find somewhere to park.

But, now we're home. My skin is still on fire slightly and now itching like crazy. I still look like a lobster. I hope this redness dies down and turns into a tan. The pool opens this weekend, so I'm super excited. I'm ready to go swimming. We noticed on our way into the neighborhood that they had already filled it full of water. Yay!

Well, I'm falling asleep, so I think I'm going to take a nap before dinner. Talk at ya later!

Life's a beach...or it will be soon!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Hey y'all!

Today has been pretty slow and boring. Nothing interesting going on to report. I've just been sitting around bored as hell, playing on myspace and facebook. Ughh. I have no life. I wish I'd get my call soon! I'm getting so impatient!

We've been working on getting packed for the beach and all that. Mom is driving me crazy about the o2 plans. I've been on the phone 1000 times with the o2 people so far b/c she won't get off my back about it. Grrr! She can be so frustrating to deal with sometimes! She is making me not even want to go anymore. :-(

Luke was able to sneak and call me last night so that made my day, or should I say, night :) I swear, lung disease or no lung disease, I never would have been able to survive being in the ARMY. Sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag in 40 degree weather? I Don't think so. People yelling at you and telling you what to do all the time? I think not. Not this chick! I enjoy the finer things in life...like clean toilets and showers, piping hot extra cheese pizza whenever I want, privacy and cable t.v. I really don't know how he's endured all these years as a soldier.

Anywho's...I gotta go set the table for dinner. Mac & Cheese and pigs in a blanket...MMMM! "Get in my bellyyyyy!"

P.S. I added a few more pics to the slide show. Enjoy.

Bikins and Moo-Moos oh my!

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Hello my loyal followers!

I hope every one is having a good Monday. (Booooo Mondays!) I began my Monday off with the gift of a sleep episode, courtesy of the Sleep Episode Monster. Woo hoo! Nothing like a sleep episode to start off your week. Actually, I had one yesterday as well. Which couldn't have come at a worse time b/c I had promised my Mom that I would go with her to church. I forced myself to get out of bed even though I could barely stay awake and slowly got dressed. By the time we got there, I thought I had a pretty good chance of being able to make it through church but I was mistaken. I couldn't stay awake for anything! So half way through church I asked Mom if she could take me home b/c I was just embarrasing myself falling asleep in the pew. Luke says that I must have been possessed by a sleep demon to have not been able to stay awake in church. I guess that demon can join the rest of the ones possessing my mind and body. haha :)

After church yesterday Mom took me shopping, yay! Since we're going to the beach late Wed. night she said that I needed some more pairs of shorts since only two of mine still fit me. And she said she'd get me a swimsuit also. I was afraid that I might not fit in my bikini's since I've become such a lardass. I had planned on getting a cute one piece, like maybe a monokini, but unfortunately Lexington blows when it comes to having a lot of choices when you are shopping for ANYTHING. So all the one pieces that we could find were made for 40 year olds and above. And although I'm not proud of my weight gain as of late, I'm no where near ready for one of those moo moo's! :) SO, I ended up buying a bikini instead. Which I really didn't want to do but it was either that or a moo-moo suit. Oh well. It will only be for a few days. I have all summer to get a cute one piece.

Mom also bought me a pair of shorts, some capris, a skirt and about 3 or 4 tops. :) I'm super psyched! AND...I bought myself 4 new pairs of shoes. Don't fret, they were all on sale. :) So now, I'm all ready for the beach. I just wish the weather was going to be better than the forecast predicts. Oh well. Such is life.

Victoria and I made a pact that we will both walk on the treadmill every day. I will walk for 10 minutes a day and she will walk for 12 minutes. It has taken every ounce of self discipline that I can muster to actually follow through with this hellacious pact. But, with help from Luke's verbal kick in the ass to get me going, I've actualy done it! I've walked on the treadmill 3 days in a row and my legs are rebelling. Hopefully the more I keep doing it, the less pain I will feel.

I'm going to be so bored the next few days until I go to the beach b/c Luke has been kidnapped by the Army and forced into some sort of field training. I'm not sure what kind of training, but I'm relatively sure that it involves shooting guns and/or blowing shit up. But, now I won't be able to talk to him until he gets back. :-( BOOOOOO! So, I may end up blogging more the next few days. We'll see.

Anyways, time for me to eat my pizza. Jealous? HAHA. :)

As the O2 Tank Turns.....

meggymegos@hotmail.com (Meghann "Former Queen of the O2 People") — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:00:00 +0000

What's up Y'all. *sigh*

I'm finally home from "The Thrill" (Chapel Hill - transplant clinic) and I am so freakin' tired!!!!!! I had to get up at 7 A.M. so we could leave by 8:00 and I couldn't sleep very well all night. I kept tossing and turning. So, I was already tired when I started my day. It took me like 45 mins. to find something to wear. Okay - maybe I spent 15-20 of those mins. talking to Luke {my new man} but, hey - who's keeping tabs? I know I'm not! Anywho's, everything I put on had some reason why I couldn't wear it. Being either too warm or too short or too revealing (thanks Boob Fairy!) or too thin, making my bra too noticible. Getting dressed turned into a war in itself. Finally we left the house at 10 past 8:00.

Because we were running a little late, we were rushing to get there in time. Well, everything was going fine until Mom decided she wanted to waste a chunk of cash by getting a speeding ticket. I was like, "gahhhhh mom!" The cop was a total jackass. Mommy tried explaining that she was just trying to get me to the hospital (pan over to the poor helpless oxygen girl in the passenger seat). I even gave him my best "AHh! My lungs!!!" pained face but it STILL didn't affect him. He still wrote my Mom a speeding ticket. It was turning out to be such a wonderful start to the day!

As Mom steered me wrecklessly into transplant clinic via the World's Most Uncomfortable Wheelchair, I was immediately intercepted by Kristen. (transplant team Physical therapist) She informed me that she was taking me (by force if necessary) to do a 6 min. walk. I pouted but to no avail. She was out for blood and wouldn't take no for an answer.

After my 6 min. walk was completed, I finally was taken to a room where my vitals were taken. My blood pressure was high (140/90) but the nurse said it was probably because I just finished the 6 min. walk. I hope she's right! Damn these cold hearted lungs!!!!

Then............I stepped on the scales. When the numbers had finally ceased their flashing and I saw the end result....I went blind with rage. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! WHY ME!!!" I had gained MORE weight!!! Now, instead of the 115 lbs from my previous weigh in, I was 117. I was so pissed off, I wanted to set fire to the scales. The only thing that probably stopped me was that I don't own a lighter and that I probably would have caught on fire myself.

After that depressing display of my lardassness, I was taken to my room to be stabbed in the arm and drained of my blood. At least it was only 3 vials worth this time, as opposed to the 10 or more they took the last time I was there. By this time it was like 1 pm or so. I hadn't eaten since I inhaled a honey bun in the car on the way up there this morning and I was hungry. After the blood letting, I was once again whisked away to the Torture Room, otherwise known as the PFT room. My FEV1 has gone up 1 point from 18 to 19. So, I guess that is good? Even though 19 isn't anything to write home to Momma about.

After I settled back into my room, I spent about 45 minutes talking to and texting Luke while waiting for the Dr. She eventually came in and everything went smoothly from there. Everything checked out okay and I don't need to get my oil changed again for another 3 months. :) Although, she did tell me that my white count was slightly elevated which could indicate the beginnings of an infection. So, she gave me a prescription for an oral antibiotic (Cipro) just to be cautious and went on her merry little way.

Before we left, we saw Becky, the other coordinator (My coordinator, Ken, wasn't there) and she shared some interesting information with me. What is this info you ask? Stay tuned and you will find out in the next episode of As the O2 Tank Turns!

..................................SIKE!!!!!!!! Just kidding! I had you fooled!! Admit it!!! You were pouting, weren't you!!? :)...................................

Becky told me that they are having 3 to 4 offers of lungs for ME per week now. Cool, huh? :) She said that felt like I would be getting my transplant soon. Which, on one hand is super exciting..but on the other hand, I don't want to get too excited or put too much stock in her prediction b/c they have told me that before months ago. Plus, I waited over 3 years the first time, before going off the list. So, who knows! But it is definitely nice to know that I'm on the radar!

Also, I'm happy b/c she told me that I can go over to see Vickie's house and hang out, as long as I don't go when I'm feeling sick and that I don't get all in his face or hug up to him. :) YAY!!!!!!! I'm not banned anymore!!! WOO HOO!!! Mom and I were supposed to have lunch with Garran and Vickie today after clinic. Garran had clinic this morning also. But, we ended up not getting to do lunch. :-( But at least I got to see them at clinic in passing. G-man looked great and so full of energy. He even proudly showed me where he had his G-tube removed. YAY for Garran!!!

Okay, thats all I have to report about my clinic visit. I'm tired as hell so I'm going to stop here before I ramble on for another hour. I have more texting to do. :)

I'm off like a prom dress!!!!