One Step & Victory At A Time

Hi Everyone,
Natalia continues to recover at a good and steady pace: all drainage tubes that were connected to her chest cavity have now been removed, continued bronchoscopies are doing their job, infection remains but is being effectively managed by new antibiotics, white blood cell count is down and in a better range, physiotherapy is progressing, she continues to gain strength and alertness and is, one step at a time, getting closer and closer to getting home.

She hasn't been able to start speaking quite yet, but that step is very close and very soon.

Exact date for her victorious return to baby Scarlett and the elated smiles of Martin and family is to be determined, but Operation Home For Christmas is still in the cards, and, as a fallback position, Operation Home in the Very Early New Year is a guarantee.

Martin & Natalia's mom Hanna are particularly busy getting things prepped on the home front, including Martin having the approx 50 foot fir tree on their front lawn covered with white Christmas lights to greet Nat on her return (professionally installed with assistance of a cherry picker, he's pulling out all the stops). Scarlett is busy getting chubbier and cuter for her Mom (now 4.5 months old, a whopping 20lbs, 3 months ahead of eating schedule & already eating solid food...look out Xmas cake...).

In recent days Natalia has been able to start getting online which is another great step forward. When she's a bit more ready, she'll be logging in to say hello to all of you - a particularly large and symbolic stride forward no doubt : )

Very Best To You All, and continued thanks for all of your support of Natalia, Martin & family's journey,
Myles

Slower & Steadier Wins The Race

Hi Everyone,
On behalf of Natalia, Martin and family, thank you for your continued support while Natalia continues to recover at Toronto General Hospital. Since the last update on Monday progress has been made for her on some fronts, less so on others, with the key theme being slower and steadier wins the race.

Natalia’s awareness and overall strength continues to improve which is key. After a few tries, she has been able to stand up and walk a short distance on several occassions with assistance. Intensive physiotherapy continues and is helping her body and movement improve.

She hasn’t been able to speak yet, but a new tracheostomy tube is going to be used tomorrow which should allow her to start talking and will be a large step forward (the trach itself likely won’t be required much longer).

Medical staff performed a bronchoscopy today (described in an earlier post: a bronchoscope is a flexible metal tube with a camera and suction that is inserted down into the lungs) and have detected quite a few secretions. Additionally, her white blood cell count has increased since the last update and is higher than ideal. This doesn’t suggest organ rejection as much as it strongly indicates an infection, so doctors will be putting her on a new course of antibiotics which will hopefully take care of it in short order.

Unfortunately, there are indications that Natalia may have to remain at TGH for all of December, but that hasn’t been completely determined yet. As you’ve likely detected over the course of following Natalia’s journey, variables change all the time which can be for the good and sometimes for the bad. The most important thing is she is on an upward trend of improvement...there are just a few bumps which, all things considered, were to be expected.

As you know, where Natalia has been battling back from is a place that hopefully none of us will ever have to experience and a place from which most people, quite frankly, wouldn’t have survived. Natalia has a spirit and will and determination to live and be a loving daughter, and sister, and friend, and aunt, and wife, and Mom to baby Scarlett that really does defy description. It’s inspiring. It’s motivating. And it puts everything we tend to complain about and take for granted into perspective. As much as I’ve tried to put recent weeks into words on her behalf...a lot of what she’s been through...and the totality of what she’s been through...well...there just aren’t.

The intention of this particular blog update isn’t to have a negative tone, but as mentioned in my first blog post, Natalia wants to provide candidness without any sugar coating.

This is still a hard time for her. A different kind of hard, because she is of course on the other side of the transplant now so it’s all about the pace at which she gets better, rather than before when it was all about the speed at which she was getting worse.

Progress will continue to be made. The course of events and the lifeline that became available when the call came with her new lungs just 12 days ago is astounding. But it is still a hard road.

The aforementioned “totality” and culmination of what she has been through takes a toll physically and psychologically. But, as we all know, Natagladiator is an Olympic fighter and be it for Christmas or just into the New Year, she will be home soon where her new chapter and lease on life awaits.

Myles