Day Ten - Thursday

The catheter is gone so I'm finally tube free! Only the PICC in my arm left.

Oh the novelty of going to the toilet without tubes!! Haha!!

My Aunty Meg is in Melbourne and stayed at my house last night with Mum and Dianne.

Meg drops Mum at the hospital -  - not long after mum arrives, the physio takes me to the gym to do a 6 min walk. This is to measure how far I can walk in 6 minutes, to get a base idea on where my fitness is at for the following gym sessions starting tomorrow! I also have to give a rating of exertion, and on puff factor. My oxygen saturations remain above 90 so that is a good sign. Anything below 90 is a sign of concern.

I have to do the test twice, and go further the second time.  I do find it difficult to walk - I'm breathing ok but I'm still uncomfortable with all this flem and blood still in the middle. I'm really loud breathing in and out. Fortunately I don't need to stop.

On the way back, he also gets me to climb a flight of stairs!!

One of the "teams" come on their round, and Glenn Westall said I can probably leave hospital on Monday...we all picked ourselves up off the floor...Mum's face was priceless!!

I'm finishing IV antibiotics today and starting oral antis, monitored over the weekend as in the past they have made me feel nauseated. Pain relief is oral.  I have known other LTers to have had a lot of problems with nausea and vomiting due to the medications, so I'm very grateful to have not had that problem. In ICU I chucked once, and for a few days had mild nausea.

If it goes ahead to go home, it will be Physio/gym Monday morning, home to my house, gym at hospital Wednesday, bronchoscopy at hosp Thursday, gym at hospital Friday. And so on for about three months.  Mum is to be my carer during these three months, as well as help from all the siblings! :)

Mum goes to get lunch - so I have a rest. By the time the ladies come back I'm still asleep, so they leave me to it.

I'm anticipating what it will be like to sleep tonight with fewer interruptions.