And one, and two, and three .....

I am very good at counting to ten and wiping things down with sanitzer.
We have had four sessions so far and we are getting used to the routine. We are seeing some familiar faces each time we go to the Physio department. Here he is starting off with three pound weights around his ankles. A little "dancer's back kick" what form! 

Monday evening we attended a Pre-transplant education session. The subject matter is just about as serious as you can get. We are talking life or dead situations after all. One of the Transplant coordinators was so entertaining. She gave us factual information interspersed with humorous stories. It is a lot easier to retain somewhat frightening information when your laughing. We appreciated the time they took to share all their experiences.

"R2D2" had a hissy

Lazy day today, yesterday was the first day in Physio and as it was Wednesday it was very busy. They are going to expand the department, more machines and more room to move around. I didn't participate very much as the Physios were establishing his program. I will have more to do tomorrow.

So nice to have met Carmen and Pam in the hall. Making contact with others who have been through the process is very encouraging.

The drive home was horrendous with lashing rain and fog. I was driving, not fun, and yes, I will get used to it. 

Billy came today to fill "R2D2" with liquid O2. About an hour after he left we discovered a hissy fit going on in the spare room. There was liquid O2 spiting out of the top and clouds of vapour rolling out from underneath the collar. Very Dr Who....lol

Carl called our supplier and they suggested throwing a towel over the top. The tank was rolled into the foyer, no carpet there, to await Billy's return.

My lovely beach towel was frozen as a rock.

I took a peek underneath, all we had was more snow and lots of vapour. Billy showed up a few minutes later, poured some hot water on the top and then took it out to the truck to thaw and brought us a new full tank. Science 101, don't let the tank get wet (it was raining when he took it down to the truck) when you go to fill it or the valve will freeze. 

Tomorrow we are back to Toronto for a Physio appointment only. It seems as if Monday and Wednesday of next week we will have additional appointments.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

We are listed. I have the pictures to prove it.  What a relief!
Our morning started with a visit with our Transplant Coordinator on the 12th floor and we went over pages of information. Carl will need a Hepatitis B injection, we had TwinRix several years ago but because of the  immunosuppressant drugs he will need it again. He has already had a flu shot and the pneumonia vaccine so that is no worries.
Then we went down to the 10th floor to visit with a Thoracic surgeon and sign the papers. I said, " I need a picture of this momentous occasion." He said, "That hasn't happened yet." I laughed and said,  "We waited long enough for this I have to have a picture." "Sign here Carl, if the photographer is ready." It was a giddy moment. Everyone who knows me, knows I got all teary. ..... lololol
Then back up to the 12th floor to deliver the file and the signed papers to June at the office. "Here you go, signed sealed and delivered," we said.
Then a stop off to refill the liquid oxygen tank, which froze to the tank...grrr.
Popped into the physio dept and booked our appointments starting this Wednesday.
Picture op at the elevator:

This damn thing keeps slipping off my shoulder.

Are you coming?

I was busy taking a picture of Princess Margaret Hospital across the street.

The original hospital is the little 6 storied building on the left.

"Sick Kids" is south of Toronto General Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital is beside Princess Margaret and Women's College Hospital is around the corner. It is an awe inspiring place to be. Miracles happen here every day!
We were one step ahead of rush hour flying down the Gardiner. Can't believe how the city has changed.

Rogers Centre, "Skydome" back in my day.

Royal York Hotel (where my parents spent their honeymoon) and Union Station getting a face lift

construction going on everywhere you look

wow

I want to know who can afford to live in these condos.

We will be back on Wednesday ♥

We are so excited .....

This morning Carl got a call from TGH. That appointment we were supposed to have in 2-3 weeks.....well it's THIS Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are euphoric. The papers will be signed, the meeting with the surgeon, the pager will be arranged and we will be official. Once the wheels started turning they were smoking. We are happy happy happy.
To celebrate Carl did 10 minutes in the work out room. Now we have to get him some running shoes. ♥

Approved!

WE HAVE BEEN LISTED! ANGELA, THE TRANSPLANT COORDINATOR, JUST CALLED FROM TGH. THEY MET LAST THURSDAY AND APPROVED CARL FOR TRANSPLANT. We will have an appointment within the next 2-3 weeks to meet with the surgeon, set up the pre transplant physio program, sign the papers and get the pager. I am weeping with relief. My optimism was beginning to take a beating.

As Carl puts it, "We are almost at the starting line."

Working It

So, we hit the workout room today. We had the whole room to ourselves. Ten minutes was the limit.
I can't help but feel that the last three weeks have been wasted. We don't know if we are doing anything right. How long should he workout, at what O2 level, how high should his heart rate go , how low can his O2 levels go, what should his O2 saturation level be???????? We are anxious to do something, anything that will feel like we are going forward. "Hurry up and wait" ... we are getting very good at that.

Counting the days

Here we are in April, at last and counting the days until the BIG meeting which will be Thursday April 4th. The suspense is wearing on us both. No matter how you count the days they still add up the same. We would like to think we might hear something on Friday but   we don't want to make it harder on ourselves so we are focusing on next Monday with expectation of hearing the results. What ever the results we will post as soon as we know.