Shock and Awe (She got the call..)

**10.00 AM 10/03/2010**

Hey all

Its Pete blogging here on behalf of Rachy

Just an update (Huge understatement) and what could be the biggest update in the history of this blog :-D

Rachy just got her call !!

She is currently sitting in hospital, gown on and drugs down, waiting to hear if the assessement of her potential lungs from the donor are good and if they are, they can be sent her way !


All hinges on how the lungs of the donor are at the moment, so PLEASE keep everything crossed and I will update the second I get any more info at ALL (Il be updatin this post with edits so please bookmark this and keep checking back today!)

Heres a pic of our Rachy taken about an hour ago for you to enjoy !


*****UPDATE AT 17.00*****


She is on way to theatre now, its a go !


****UPDATE 18.30****

Rach is now in theatre, under anaesthic and its all systems go. Will be many hours, Probably tommorow before any more updates recieved so please keep her in your thoughts as she goes through it tonight :-)

Her mum has added, please try not to send any messages to her phone as it is full to bursting already ! Stick to FB etc, but keep in mind she will not be able to reply in any way and all updates will appear here. :-) . Well done Rach XxX


***** UPDATE 4AM *****

Pleased to say that Rachy is now out of Theatre, Docs are happy it went well and she is now in ITU. Her Mum says she did have a seizure before she went in, but id like to stress that they are pretty common for people going under so its nothing to worry about :-)

Now begins her recovery process of course, she still has a long way to go and it will in no way be plain sailing from here on in, but all things so far looking positive !

Well done Rachy, we are all with you while you recover, and look forward to hearing from you yourself soon !

**Photo Update 14.30 11/03**

No other news to report, but a photo from Rachys Mum was sent to me a while ago, so here it is (with her permission) Also Northwest News will be featuring the latest on Rachael at half 6 tonight :-)




****Update 12th March 2010****

Morning all. Todays update so far is Rach Opened her eyes for a little bit earlier, gave a thumbs up to her mum and went back to sleep again :-) along with the update is the below picture (As always, with Rachaels mums permission)




***UPDATE 12th March 2010 12.30***

Rach is now off Ventilator :-D Photo to follow later in the day :-D



**Message from Rachaels Mum**

She says thank you all so much for the messages, and she is happy for you to keep sending them, BUT, obviously because of the sheer volume she may not reply to them all :-) but thank you again from her :-)


For all those asking where to send Rachael cards etc ! Address is:

CTCCU
Wythenshaw hospital
Southmoor Road
Manchester
M23 9LT

:-)


****UPDATE 18.00 12th March 2010****

Rachy has had a few set backs in the last few hours. Her Oxygen SATS have dropped to 90 as her lungs arent co operating as much as they would like them too. She was taken off of the epidural because it was making her lungs *tired*, basically.

Since then, she has had to go back on the ventilator as they have found that her lungs are full of fluid and they need to decide what to do next.

Rachys mum says to let you all know she cant txt everyone with updates or txt back much at the moment.

Id like to point out that setbacks this close to a transplant are fairly common and it in no way means the worse (As I should have pointed out when I updated earlier)
Everyone has set backs, and Rach will pull through this one :-)

Rach does however, need Positive thoughts more so now than she did earlier today, so please send them that way, and il update as soon as I know more.


**Just a note from Kiz** 20.00 13th March 2010**

Just a note to say that Rach is currently sedated and still on her vent, and will probably stay that way over the weekend at least, so she can bond with and get to know her *New friends* Better.

During this time I wont be updating unless anything happens that you need to know about :-)

****No real updates at this time :-) 10.00am 17/3/2010****

Just to let everyone know, there's been no real changes in Rach. She is still on vent, Docs are still happy with her and she is stable. She opened her eyes for a few minutes on Monday, but other than that, all quiet. Id like to say, that if its not in this blog, then there will be no more news to be updated, and I promise you, it will go on this blog within hours of me being told, always :-)


Kiz

****LARGE Update 16.00 17th March****


Rach has been awake and communicating today, asking questions and managed a smile too ! First Proper day she has managed this since the Tx, so, yay !


****Update 19th March 2010 19.00*****

Another good day for our beautiful Rachy ! Docs are VERY happy with her indeed.
She is still on Vent and Trach but vent has been turned down (Which means she is less dependant on it now than she was) which is fan-TASTIC :-D hehe !
She also managed a brief Twitter update saying :

"Has the most amazing friends, support and doctors, recovering well from my double lung transplant"

Which is the first tweet since 10th March from her :-D

Heres a picture of her holding a card from Sarah Brown of No.10 , with her trademark smile of course !!

**Sat 20th March 2010**

No real Update, she has slept most of the day and gifts are starting to trickle in (along with alot of cards obviously !) Please remember not to send flowers if you are thinking of sending a gift of any kind as they can pose a risk to Lung patients because of the bugs the soil can contain :-)

Thats about it !

**Good Update, Sunday 21st March 2010**

Rachy managed half an hour breathing on her own today, which is clearly fan-TASTIC ! Also Managed to eat an Ice lolly, and even managed a txt to me! Still a long way to go, but she is clearly getting there, so well done Rach ! Litrally could not be happier for her :-D

Rachy with her first Post Transplant Meal !



***Update 23rd march 2010***

Rachy managed 90 minutes today breathing un aided (other than 02) and, I quote, she *Found it a breeze!* hehe ! Even did some marching on the spot today, *YAY lungs* she says ! Needed a bit of physio too but thats nothing really is it ! Heres a pic of her, finnaly in her OWN nighty which she is very pleased about ! Enjoy !



**Small update 24/3/2010**

Rach Managed 2hours on just 02 and her Trach yesterday. Doing SO amazingly well, everyone is pleased with her ! Not much else to update other than she seems happy at the moment, and loves all the cards and balloons you have all been sending (she does LOVE balloons hehe!)

And a photo of her first walk since Tx !



**Photo update 26/3/2010**

Another Pic of Rach, looking AMAZING ! You can also see the top of her brand new scar here :-D



And another pic here...






**Small update 29th March**

Not much to report, but people are asking so here we go !

Rach is still slowly improving, and Doctors are still happy with her. She is still getting tired a fair bit but thats completely expected, she has after all got brand new lungs :-D

Really not much more to say, will update when she starts showing more improvement, as for now she just needs a bit of rest, its been a busy 2 weeks !!!

**Update 30th March 2010**

Just a note to say Rach is doing well, has had a fairly good day today. Fingers crossed that they will keep reducing the need for the trach and vent (which they have been doing today) and hopefully by the end of the week (maybe) they can change the valce in the trach so she can SPEAK again. Can u imagine that, Rach not speaking for nearly 3 weeks?! She is gonna have alot to say.....Love ya Rachy XxX


**HUGE update 2nd April 2010**

This is a message from Rachaels mum which she posted on FaceBook 20 minutes ago. She says it best so May as well go with it!

"What a fantastic easter friday, Rach came off the ventilator today and is breathing on her own, with just a little bit of oxygen, WOW, still on the trachy but that should soon be out in a couple of days. She just wants to talk now but can't at the mo, shes still on intensive care, YAY xx"

She also managed her first full meal today, Sausage and spaghetti *Dances*

I think that says it all really !! Im SOO Looking forward to a voice mail from the lovely lady herself when she gets her voice back..best thing ever.

(And a photo for you here !)



And one more...




*** No news is good news 5 April 2010***

Hey guys. Just to tell you that no news is good news lately. Rach is feeling good and getting on with things needed to strengthen her lungs which is fantastic :-D But no major updates to report yet ! She MAY Get her trach out this week if she is lucky, finnally enabling her to talk (She hasnt managed that bit yet)

She did have one minor mishap today and managed to inhale a drink...But apart from that she is doing well !!

Updates may become less frequent now as she has hit a few HUGE milestones, but of course I'll update you with everything I can until Rach is able to do it herself and take back over !


***Update. 8th April***

Again Not a huge deal to report, she is doing well, and slowly making good progress! She was in the manchester evening news today if you want to try and find that article! And thts about it!


KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS ON RACHY HERE IN A NEW BLOG POST. THANKS x