Lindsay is doing great. Her chest is a little congested, but they have her on lasiks to drain the fluid from her lungs.
She was wheeled to step down unit today in a wheelchair! (I was wheeled in my bed, so you know lindsay is doing GREAT)
All her electrolytes are good. Magnesium, potassium and phosphate doing good.
She is enjoying popsicles and texting up a storm to me, I can barely keep up!
Her mom and sister were giving Lindsay's massages today since her legs are starting to cramp up a bit. Lucky Linds has a sister who's an RMT! Her dad has been calling Linds sister and mom (Lady Lindsay servants) Thank you goodness for you two! Thank you for taking such good care of our lindsay so she can bust outta there and start enjoying those new lungs!

She had some IV lines removed today, and two out of her four chest tubes out! celebration.

Enjoying her first meal of broth soup! Enjoy those popsicles linds! they don't have those on the ward. But it is one step closer to going home!!!!!!!!! EEEEEK!

Positive thoughts are working! Go L GO

-Hattie

Lindsay is still in ICU. This new doctor is desensitizing her correctly to move down to step down unit. It's a really specific process which is why it's taking a little longer.
Lindsay has finally learned how to cough! She feels a little congested no doubt from all the fluid which is inevitably around her new lungs. Her right lung is draining a lot she said (yes lindsay is now texting me, happy days!) Her vision is a little blurry, but again just all a balancing game of the meds.

She killed her walk today! aced it! two laps around the place. Her text messages sometimes read a little funny and she often says she's stoned on drugs, and that she doesn't see the point of self administering morphine during the night, when she is suppose to be sleeping to keep on top of the pain. She has cat naps throughout the night, and seems to be in good spirits. txting me jokes like "yoooooooooo!".
She was on 3 litres of oxygen yesterday while walking, and now is only on 1 litre. The new lungs are starting to kick in and inflate!

Keep sending Lindsay and her family positive thoughts. Her journey is not over yet!
GO Lindsay we love you!
-Hattie

Change of plans.
Lindsay is now fever free since 4pm! Linds is staying in ICU one more night, to get desensitized to some antibiotics. She unfortunately is allergic to A LOT of drugs. She always has to have her body tricked in to taking the IV antibiotics. So as a precaution she stays in ICU to be watched carefully incase she has a reaction. Tricky stuff, this desensitization. She is staying in ICU one more night, step down tomorrow. Personally, I begged them to not let me leave ICU...in ICU you get one nurse all to yourself! I was not a fan of the sharing nurses, guess it goes back to being impatient? So, Lindsay dear girl, enjoy your nurse solely to yourself tonight, tomorrow, you will have to share. Sleep tight!

you're gonna love this one. Lindsay's first walk with new lungs!
She did one lap, with only a couple stops.
Steph says she was also asking for her hair brush, A girl after my own heart, always the fashionista.
Go Lindsayyyyyy!

SO much love and positive vibes are coming at you from all angles over here.
You got the twitter and the facebook world all in a frenzy, it even kicked me out from overload this morning!

The drugs are starting to kick in now, and Lindsay feels really quite dopey and loopey.
After her walk, Lindsay is sitting up in the chair. Good to drain all the extra liquid in to her chest tubes, trying to take deep breaths and get those lungs working and inflated!
The drugs are making her very tired, so she's sleeping in the chair. Those are some powerful drugs they're pumpin' her full of, so she doesn't feel the pain from her incision site across her chest.

.... it is with a little smile on my face that I write this next thing, Lindsay has forgotten how to cough. When something becomes as natural as breathing (no pun intended ha) like coughing was for Lindsay the last 25 years "forgetting how to cough seems unfathomable"...for a girl who's been coughing up a lung (i'm full of puns today) for 25 years....your memory sure can go out the window when you don't NEED to cough anymore. It's not a reflex anymore. She has to re learn it. Just like yawning, and breathing the correct way, (cf'ers don't know how to breathe properly, due to our low lung function) Lindsay is starting from scratch. She's got to learn to do things and learn to be in this body with the new lungs she has. It's a long, steady process, but it starts...with a sip of juice.
Lindsay had her first sip of juice at 11:30am and cannot stop talking about it all day. Picture being in the desert for 2 days, and being hit in the chest by a land rover truck....then picture taking a sip of water. That's about how lindsay is feeling after her sip of juice. A little slice of bliss. Enjoy bliss Lindsay...it just gets better from here on out. Promise.

-Hattie

...with a little help from her new friends (two healthy pink new lungs!)

Lindsay is off the respirator and breathing on her very own.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!

please note those AMAZING pink beautiful cheeks

she looks stunninnnngggg! girl is gorgeous.

oh linds wait till you can chew on those lovely ice cube chunks they give you...water in frozen form will never have tasted so good!

-Hattie

sleeping beauty decided it was time to wake up!

Lindsay is awake and writing notes. She's even being called a super star by the nurses. But we already knew that didn't we? She has a clip board where she is feverishly writing notes away, asking where her lungs came from? which province? telling her family that she had a long time to talk with the nurses before surgery. She is also OVER the moon that she doesn't have a nose tube (lucky duck! it is definitely weird having that tube up your nose, speaking from experience)

Today Lindsay will probably come off the respirator. Yes you can get up out of your work chair and do a happy dance, this calls for it.

Today is the first day of Lindsay's new life. 


I can't wait to hear her new voice on the phone. I can't wait to hear her voice without the crackles, without the mucus plugs, without the coughs, without the struggles of breath. I can't wait to hear her laugh and laugh and laugh without having to stop from a coughing fit. I can't wait to have the spunky, blonde haired, girl back full of life, energy and breathing!

I can't wait to hear about the first time she goes swimming. The first time she runs down the street and doesn't feel winded. The first time she climbs stairs and realizes..."woah people can climb stairs and not get headaches and not feel as if they ran a marathon? awesome." I can't wait for her to go skiing at her chalet and go all day long, not just a couple hills, because she gets too tired and out of breath, but the WHOLE day. I can't wait for my friend to stop living in limbo and start living life, the way it was suppose to be lived. I can't wait for Lindsay's old lungs to stop holding her back from doing everything she dreamed of.
I can't wait for all these things mainly because Lindsay cannot even imagine what it's like yet. She has no idea how beautiful the world is going to get. As easy as it is for someone reading this, to know how easy breathing is, for someone with CF,  when she struggles with breath every day, struggles getting up the street car steps to go home at night, when she totes around an oxygen container, it's hard to imagine how easy breathing is, how beautiful life is about to get. How the simple act of breathing gives you energy, and allows you to have the world at your finger tips.
The world couldn't have asked or gotten a better candidate and patient to appreciate and love the gift she has been given. Lindsay loves to laugh and she whole heartily loves life.

This really is the greatest gift.
Christmas came early this year.
Thank you donor family for giving us all the best christmas gift. We love our lindsay.

And for a special treat, here are some photos of linds. They made me very very happy as I can feel the energy and good vibes radiating off of our girl, but they are graphic, so if your squeamish don't scroll down.

Please keep sending out positive thoughts. Even though Lindsay made it through the surgery with flying colours, (she rocks) it's the recovery that is often difficult. Positive thoughts, vibes and love is what our girl needs right now, so keep 'em coming. Our jobs aren't over yet. 

Happy happy happy happy wednesday morning everyone.
Today is a good day. a fine day. a GREAT day.


-Hattie

she's probably thinking "thumbs up because I can breathe!"

the journalist, furiously writing away on her clip board, always such the professional ;)

...and so we wait for lindsay to wake up.
Her mom and pop went in to see her in ICU. They said she is looking well and nurses say she is very stable! 3 cheers for linds!

the doctors and surgeons said when they took out her old lungs out, they were badly scarred, diseased and incredibly infected especially her left lung. Dr. P said she probably had only a year left with these lungs. Thank you donor for being the perfect match for our linds! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Hattie

Lindsay is all finished getting her new lungs. So far no complications. She didn't need any blood transfusions. The lungs are THE perfect match for her. She is now in ICU.

There was a 20% chance of getting her lungs (so they were looking out for a match for her, hence why the lungs came out of province probably) that matched her unique antibodies and she got it.

Hoping she gets off the breathing tube tomorrow once she wakes up. GAH oh lindsay lindsay lindsay....you did great. I am so ecstatic all your antibodies are matching up with your lungs.
She was so worried about her new lungs rejecting as soon as they went in to her, so thank goodness the antibodies all match!

Sleep well sleeping beauty. Tomorrow starts the journey! 

-Hattie