Unprecedented Progress

Hi Everyone,
You’ll be happy to hear that Natalia is now fully defying all expectations and doctors have started to express astonishment at how well and quickly she’s recovering given the severity of her circumstances up until 3.5 weeks ago when she received her double lung transplant at the absolute 11th hour.

As of Monday she has now ‘semi-graduated’ via the next stage of Step Down where she's now on the 7th floor of Toronto General Hospital vs. the 10th - no more multiple hook-ups to monitor her vitals, tracheostomy tube has been completely removed so she’s breathing on her own and able to speak consistently, all of her staples from surgery have now been removed, her drainage tubes are long gone, she is walking around the wing of the hospital an entire lap at a time, her burning desire to start eating food again should be satiated in the next day or two when the green light to eat is given and the feeding tube is removed, and recent results from chest Xrays were described by one doctor as “beautiful”...they are completely clear and her new lungs are working superbly.

All of the good being said, in the last few days Nat has been in more post-operative pain than usual, around her ribcage and along her sides in particular (for the operation doctors had to literally cut her chest open, move her ribs apart, and then join them back together afterwards with titanium) which has required additional pain medication, and the immunosuppressive drugs that she’s on (and will be on for the rest of her life) are causing her hands to shake a lot right now as doctors adjust dosages to find the right combination that works most effectively for her. She has also had quite a bit of abdominal/stomach pain. But Natalia keeps these factors in context and sees them as small inconveniences when compared to the bigger picture of how far she's come and where she's working on going...: home.

As those of you who have been following Natalia’s journey over the last month or so in particular already well know, her will to recover and be home for baby Scarlett is an undeniable and unstoppable force. You’ll be happy to hear that as her strength continues to grow, so too does her will and resolve and determination to get better even faster. Her thoughts are on Scarlett always. A small example to illustrate her mindset: when a doctor was visiting with her on Monday and exclaimed that Natalia is now recovering faster than most double lung transplant patients under the best of circumstances, her innate and natural reaction was to express surprise because she’s of the opinion that she’s just not healing fast enough. Typical Natalia fashion.

With all this talk of progress, many of you are likely beginning to wonder when Natalia will return to writing in her blog. Rest assured that it will be quite soon. There are several reasons why she hasn’t been able to just yet, first and foremost because her hands are shaking from her anti-rejection medications she has limited ability to type short messages via her BlackBerry and typing with a computer keyboard is proving particularly challenging. She’s also on heavy doses of pain medication (probably enough to knock out an elephant - Natalia is of course quite unphased but the meds do prevent clarity of thought at times). And lastly, there’s a bit more emotional healing that needs to take place for her. When she learns and thinks about what she's been through (fortunately she doesn't remember anything since her last day at St.Michael's Hospital just before being intubated and transferred to TGH) let alone what she is going to write about and where to start, it all becomes a bit overwhelming for her as I’m sure you understand and can appreciate. But she will be reaching out soon. A particularly meaningful and symbolic further step forward that will be indeed.

So. Lots of positives! And unprecedented progress. Feedback from doctors in the last few days about how far Natalia has truly come from how far gone she really was has further confirmed to us that not only has Natalia defied all the odds that had quickly stacked against her, she has pretty much transcended them. All of them. Every single one. She continues to amaze...and will be home with Martin and Scarlett and family soon.

Myles
ps: the photo below is Casa du Ritchie - with Christmas and Welcome-Home-Natalia Tree - Martin has it primed and raring to go...