Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Al is looking good, considering what he’s been through. He came off the ventilator today and I got visit him twice today.

He wanted his glasses and iPod, so he’s feeling good enough to do more than just lie there. With the tubes out of his throat, he’s talking and in pretty good spirits. He says his breathing is feeling better already, but there is some soreness yet. I thought he looked really good.

I visited again tonight, even though there is no shuttle service. I found out it’s not too bad of a walk and walked down for an evening visit. While I was there, they moved him into a bigger room with a TV. Where he was before, he was right by the doors coming into the unit and it was always busy. He’s now in a more off-the path area, so he’ll be able to rest better.

I’ll be back in the morning. I hope he’ll be even better to report then.

I finally got word that Albert was out of surgery. He was done a bit after 2:00pm, so he was in there nearly eight hours. He was one of two lung transplant they performed that day at UPMC. I have a hard time imagining a surgeon working eight hours straight in such a delicate operation. Of course, that’s my laymans’ impression, fueled by what I see on TV. The reality must be that they do so many of these here, that it’s like an assembly line and many people do pieces of the work. The main guy in charge just gets the credit. Continue Reading…

Al is still in surgery. That’s according to schedule. I’m hanging out in a “Family Waiting Room” where I was told to stay so the surgeon could find me if needed. It’s nice. There are a few other people here that spent the night. There are pillows and blankets to help make the couches comfortable. It was a nearly full house this morning when I first got here.

I got a nap for a while, the went to the cafeteria. I called the Family Services to let them know I was going there, just in case they needed me. They seem to have a system to keep tabs on you here, so I went along with it and called. Continue Reading…

I’ve never talked about this here before, but I think this might be a good thing to do right now. I’m sitting in a waiting room at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) while my son Al is undergoing a double lung transplant.

He’s 32 years old and has had Cystic Fibrosis all his life. This was not unexpected, but it’s been something that’s been on the horizon for so long, it never felt like it was something that would actually ever happen. But here we are and it’s real.

Al was understandably nervous. He had been resolute in his decision to get the transplant since he decided to go ahead with it a few months ago. But, of course, when reality was in front of him and he was sitting on the gurney getting poked and prodded, it all sunk in. But he stuck with it and is going through with it. Continue Reading…