Double Shot

The hospital stay went smoothly and I was able to come home last Friday.  I am so grateful I am able to do that because after a little while in there I am ready to get out.  If it wasn't for some of the respiratory therapists, the procedures that go along with them and the food, I wouldn't mind being there as much.  Even if everything was perfect in the hospital, it is still nice to be home.  I am able to sleep in my own bed and be able to actually do things.  I would do the whole thing at home except that first week I really am too sick to do it all by myself.  It is better to let my nurses set everything up with the port and allow them to nurse me back to health those first few days. 

The coughing that I did the first few days was rough.  I blacked out once for a few seconds while on the phone with Jason, so obviously safer for me to be there.  I can't go anywhere in that condition anyways.  It's the second week when I start to feel better

That Saturday I went with Jason and his family to celebrate his Uncle's birthday.  He picked the Golden Coral for his birthday dinner.  It was nice to go out, but it is one of those places I will never be going again.  My doctors told me I will not be able to eat at a buffet after my transplant.  I never cared for buffets to begin with so I was not upset by this.  They are so gross.  I would still go there sometimes because it is one of those things I would just put in the back of my mind if someone suggested it.  This time however my germ-dar was going off like crazy.  People all around me were coughing or sneezing.  They would then proceed to go over to the tables, grab the serving spoon that everyone else grabs and serve themselves.  I saw a few of the serving spoons fall into the food and for things like chicken wings, people would just place the tongs right on top with the handle touching the food.  Then I saw someone refilling one of the chicken wing trays and just dumping the new wings on top of the old ones.  How long have the ones on the bottom been out?  Do they just keep getting new stuff dumped on them?  Having food sitting out in those things are bad enough.  It is the perfect temp for bacteria, but with the added factor of sitting there for hours?  The few things I mentioned is just scratching the surface when talking about places like that.  So for anyone with low immune systems... STAY AWAY!  I didn’t care for the place, but I was still happy to be out with his family.  It was his mom, uncle, grandma and grandpa.  I hadn't seen them since before Christmas. 

Monday my dad took me out to the Melting Pot.  Neither one of us had ever been so it was a new experience.  He actually tried talking me out of it because he thought the restaurant was a romantic type place.  haha I told him no not necessarily and that is where I wanted to go.  He gave in.  I am so happy he did because we loved it.  We started with a cheese fondue to share that had spinach and artichokes in it.  For dippers we were given bread, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and apples.  I was surprised about the apples, but that was one of the best dippers!  We then got our own spinach salads with a red wine dressing.  Next was a vegetable bouillon base fondue and we got to pick our own meats.  He got fillet mignon, shrimp and sesame chicken and I got buffalo chicken, sesame tenderloin, BBQ pork, shrimp and fillet mignon.  For dessert we got a regular milk chocolate fondue.  For dippers we had marshmallows, rice krispies, strawberries, cheesecake, brownies and pound cake.  Our favorite was the rice krispies.  When our waitress brought out the dessert she brought out a plate that said "Happy Birthday" on it and there was a candle in the cheesecake.  I thought that added touch they did for me was awesome.  I love when places go out of their way to make it special.  This is a place I really want to go back to with Jay. 

Enough about me bragging about my outings, on a health note... Pittsburgh called me back and I have been approved to be double listed!  I am not listed there yet, because I have to go and meet with their team in person.  They had to get all my paperwork together and they will be calling me soon with an appointment.  I am excited about this because this could possibly increase my chances of getting called sooner.  Also if I am called in Pittsburgh it is much closer to home.  I don't know if I mentioned it before so I will again.  New York sent my information to Pittsburgh and UPenn, which is in Philadelphia, PA.  I am not going to follow up with UPenn because it is too far away, however I am thinking about Cleveland clinic.  I am going to talk with my transplant team once this one is set up.  I figure one at a time?  Or maybe I should be doing both at the same time to save time?  I don't know.  This is got me thinking now.  Maybe I will just call.  Again, I will let you know more as I do.