The Shands visit

We drove to Gainesville for my regular visit with the Shands transplant team yesterday. In one test, my FEV1 (the volume of air you can blow out in one second) registered as 4.46. The predicted number for a man my age and weight was 2.88. Yeah, that’s right. My FEV1 was 155% of predicted. The nurses and doctors were impressed. One of the nurses shook her head and said she didn’t see why I even needed a bronchoscopy. Naturally, the doctor smiled but didn’t agree. Happily, he was pleased after the bronch. No rejection, no infection, no problem.

So, everything went just fine. Until we were home. That’s when my hands started shaking uncontrollably and I got chills. They tell you that elevated temperature is one of the possible side effects of a bronch, but I’d had the procedure many times with no problems. I guess you know it’s easy to get scared, and I was when I took my temperature. It was 100.7. Anything over 100 is a “must call Shands” in my Transplant Book. It took several tries, but we finally reached a transplant coordinator. And she gave me some great advice: take two Tylenol and go to bed. Call us in the morning if you’re not better.

This morning I felt fine – and a trifle embarrassed. Ain’t it grand, this new life!

P.S. It rained all day and Bernie and I didn't get in a single walk. Guess I'll have to save today's thoughts for tomorrow.