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Transplant Assessment Day 1

Today's the day!

Just wanted to update you on my trip to Wythenshawe for my heart transplant assessment!

So the transplant assessment is exactly what it says on the tin, I'm in for three days to have loads of tests done and on Monday I'll meet the big man (the surgeon) and he'll tell me whether I'm going on the list and will go through my results with me. I hope I go on the list to be honest, I think I'll be waiting a while but it'd be nice to just get a definite answer rather than having to come back to be assessed again! I'm starting to get really worried that I won't be able to have a transplant, turns out not everyone can, if the antibodies in your blood are too high your body would just reject one. But I suppose there's no point in worrying until I get the result!

So ahead of my admission I had a dietary form to fill out which I mentioned in my previous post, and I had my MRSA swabs done (although they did it when I got here as well which was annoying), dyed my eyebrows and bought a new suitcase and new PJs and then I was all ready to go!



Wednesday

Today I was up at the crack of dawn. It's unnatural for me to be awake when it's dark outside, but I have to be at Wythenshawe for 8 am, so I was up at 5:30 to wash my hair, feed the rabbits and finish my packing. I had to starve from 10 pm Tuesday so that I could have fasting bloods done this morning, they said there'd be a lot of bottles of blood... They weren't kidding! The nurse took 20 tubes of blood from me, the most I've had before is 4! That was at 8:15 when the bloods lady came in, then I was taken to the ward but there was no bed for me yet. The people that had assessments Monday to Wednesday were discharged today so I obviously had to wait for them to have some brekkie and then I had a bed by 11.


So I waited in the day room and I had a nap on the chair in there (the nurses thought that was funny, I thought everyone would be like that here!), and a couple of people came in while I was in there. I met the social worker who is lovely, she asked me about home life and about the people who support me. She also told me about a charity called Willow Foundation which is basically Make a Wish Foundation but for 16-40 year olds, so I can contact them when I'm ready and have a day out of my choice which I thought was really sweet! I also met a dietitian who took my measurements to work out my BMI etc, and I don't need to go on a diet! (always good news) She asked me what I eat in a day and I don't like seeing dietitians because they just say "where do you get your protein from" and they don't accept vegetables as an answer, even though veg is full of protein. So I'll probably see her colleague tomorrow and she'll probably tell me I need more protein and my eyes will glaze over haha! Diet is very important for transplant, not only because you have to be a certain BMI to be suitable for the surgery but also because afterwards you're at a high risk of coronary artery disease so you have to watch your saturated fats. Speaking of being vegan, they have every menu you could possibly imagine here except for vegan! So I'm glad I brought my own dinner just in case and hopefully they'll be able to get something sorted for me, but if I have to live off pringles then so be it.

Oh I'll just put this photo here of the window in the day room because I find it hilarious! 



So I was admitted onto the ward, there's just 4 beds in here of ladies (but there's only 2 of us in) and the nursing staff are lovely, they've spent the day putting up homemade Christmas decorations! But sadly I was too tired to help. The girl next to me went into heart failure after her third pregnancy (Peripartum Cardiomyopathy) and she has an LVAD (a device inserted in your heart that pumps it for you) keeping her alive, she was actually doing really well until she got an infection on holiday and she's been here now since August. And she told me that if you have antibodies you can't have a transplant which is scary! 

Test wise, I had my bloods done, I had a lung function test where you blow into the tube in the different ways they ask you to, I had a chest X Ray and an X Ray of my teeth and I had vascular studies. I've not had the test done before that they did at vascular studies, it was basically the same ultra sound machine that they use for an echo cardiogram but they scanned my arteries in my neck and in my legs.

So I'm done for tests for today, I'm looking forward to just having some dinner, getting in my PJs and watching a movie! The TV is free at the side of my bed which is really cool because when my Grandad was at Wythenshawe the TV cost a fortune, it's funded by the New Start charity. I was going to just write one blog post for the three days but I think it'd end up being really long so I'll fill you in each day! 

Thanks again for reading and please ask me any questions you may have!




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