10th biopsy
Hey everyone!
Well I have been a little more active since my last update. Since the last update, I recovered from my bronchitis without having to visit the hospital, which is always good. I still have 1 day every 1-2 weeks on average that I feel nauseous/ill, but it usually isn't too bad. One of my friends from residency came up to interview for a pediatric cardiology fellowship position and I toured him around town. I also was able to go to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and visit all my attendings, fellows, nurses, and other friends. I brought them 4 dozen chewy chocolate cookies I had made too! It was very emotional seeing all of them. I really wish I could go back to work, but I am still not strong enough, too immunocompromised, and may never be able to practice because of the risk of infectious exposures. This has probably been the toughest challenge this month... What exactly am I supposed to do once I can work? I wish I could just go back and pick up where I left off, but I am having to face this is probably not a realistic option. I am currently spending some time seeing what possibilities are out there. Besides that down side, one of my best friends, Jenn, came up to Cincinnati to visit me. We went to Movin' Out as I love those broadway plays. We had a great time and she was able to meet a couple of my friends Kent and Melissa in Cincinnati. Chad's mother is also in town right now and then I will be off to Atlanta to celebrate my big 30th birthday and the new heart's 6 month old birthday. I also got back from Cleveland clinic lasst night where I had my 10th biopsy. The rejection level was good at 0(better than last month's 1A), so I will be going down a teeny-tiny bit on my steroids, but keep all the other medications the same. I hope after a year I can go down on my prograf b/c the tremor side effects are really bad sometimes. There is no way I would be able to put an IV in a baby! I even practiced bubbling in a circle b/f I had to re-register for the pediatric board exam to make sure I would be able to take it. I will get new labwork in 4 weeks which is the longest they have ever let me go, and will get another biopsy in 6 weeks. So all of that seems to be going pretty smoothly. As you know I also attended the Cleveland clinic CT surgery meeting where they were to show the footage they taped of me in Cincinnati. At the meeting though, the audio did not work so I had to speak AD LIB in front of about 400 people! Those of you that know me know how bad I am at public AD LIB talking, but I had many compliments afterword, so either everyone was super polite or it wasn't too bad. It was fun for me and good to be at the conference. So I will make my next big milestone on March 12th when I will make 6 months with my new heart. Survival rates at 3 years is 75%, and since I am a bettin' woman, I'll take those odds! until the next update...love, Jenn
Well I have been a little more active since my last update. Since the last update, I recovered from my bronchitis without having to visit the hospital, which is always good. I still have 1 day every 1-2 weeks on average that I feel nauseous/ill, but it usually isn't too bad. One of my friends from residency came up to interview for a pediatric cardiology fellowship position and I toured him around town. I also was able to go to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and visit all my attendings, fellows, nurses, and other friends. I brought them 4 dozen chewy chocolate cookies I had made too! It was very emotional seeing all of them. I really wish I could go back to work, but I am still not strong enough, too immunocompromised, and may never be able to practice because of the risk of infectious exposures. This has probably been the toughest challenge this month... What exactly am I supposed to do once I can work? I wish I could just go back and pick up where I left off, but I am having to face this is probably not a realistic option. I am currently spending some time seeing what possibilities are out there. Besides that down side, one of my best friends, Jenn, came up to Cincinnati to visit me. We went to Movin' Out as I love those broadway plays. We had a great time and she was able to meet a couple of my friends Kent and Melissa in Cincinnati. Chad's mother is also in town right now and then I will be off to Atlanta to celebrate my big 30th birthday and the new heart's 6 month old birthday. I also got back from Cleveland clinic lasst night where I had my 10th biopsy. The rejection level was good at 0(better than last month's 1A), so I will be going down a teeny-tiny bit on my steroids, but keep all the other medications the same. I hope after a year I can go down on my prograf b/c the tremor side effects are really bad sometimes. There is no way I would be able to put an IV in a baby! I even practiced bubbling in a circle b/f I had to re-register for the pediatric board exam to make sure I would be able to take it. I will get new labwork in 4 weeks which is the longest they have ever let me go, and will get another biopsy in 6 weeks. So all of that seems to be going pretty smoothly. As you know I also attended the Cleveland clinic CT surgery meeting where they were to show the footage they taped of me in Cincinnati. At the meeting though, the audio did not work so I had to speak AD LIB in front of about 400 people! Those of you that know me know how bad I am at public AD LIB talking, but I had many compliments afterword, so either everyone was super polite or it wasn't too bad. It was fun for me and good to be at the conference. So I will make my next big milestone on March 12th when I will make 6 months with my new heart. Survival rates at 3 years is 75%, and since I am a bettin' woman, I'll take those odds! until the next update...love, Jenn
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