War Wounds and Support

Before, during and after transplant I received so much support. I will never be able to thank everyone enough for helping me get through everything.
I'm extremely blessed to have family that have always been 100% behind me. I've always said that, what I lack in health has been made up for with the amazing people that I have in my life.

Mom and Dad visiting me in hospital. All visitors had to 'dress up' like this. 

My mom in particular deserves huge praise as she did absolutely everything humanly and unhumanly possible to make sure that I was ok. She slept in a lazy boy next to my bed in my normal ward and in ICU the entire time I was in hospital. This was frowned upon by certain hospital staff but we both knew that for me to get out of hospital she needed to be there double checking the nurses and just helping me with little things that only mothers can do.








One of the things I went through which didn't leave any war wounds was constant nausea. I was sick all day every day. Throwing up constantly was mentally and physically draining. The doctors had no idea why I was so sick, all my tests came back fine and they couldn't say what was causing it. My meds were changed, I was put onto anti-nausea tablets/drips, none of this helped at all. Eventually when my lungs healed I was sent home despite the crippling nausea. The day I left hospital was the day the nausea stopped, completely! This is a great example of how our body reacts to stress and how important it is to be in a good mental space!

Amount of hair loss EVERYDAY.

Another reaction my body had after transplant was major hair loss. Now as far as a DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT goes, hair loss is a very minor side affect. But as a girl, who's always had long healthy hair this was quite a big deal for me. I had to strategically tie my hair up to cover the bald patches on my head and try make it look like I had as much hair as possible. After about 6 months after transplant my hair slowly started growing back. My doctor and I were both very relieved and he concluded that the extreme hair loss was due to the trauma I went through.





I was left with lots of physical reminders of what I had gone through but as with most cases, the deepest scars are the ones not visible.

My scars have all healed and my body gets stronger and stronger by the day. Mentally I am happier than ever and slowly adjusting to normal life. It's difficult having lived my whole life as a 'sick person', now I no longer have that identity and have to find my way in a whole new world. It's like being restrained to the shallow end of a swimming pool with arm bands on. Watching friends and the world, frolic in the beautiful deep blue water whilst I'm stuck on the side lines. Then, suddenly, I am thrown into the deep end with them, no arm bands and no idea how to swim! It's scary but also what I have been looking forward to my whole life.

 Every day is an adventure for me as I do something I could never do before. My confidence grows daily as I get to know my new body more and more and learn what it is capable of.

Bruise from a line put into my groin.

If you haven't registered as an organ donor by now, I don't understand why. You probably won't be clicking HERE to register but then please at least leave a comment explaining your decision.


Thanks,

Fawn
xx