today it looked like a grey shell had peeled away from greg. he looks fresh and new, somehow.

i didn’t mention my potential visit to greg before i went, just to be safe, and to not jinx it. but i was very lucky tonight and got to visit greg in the ICU!

greg looks GREAT! his face has a rosy, healthy glow and he was talkative and all smiles. i visited for about 25-30 minutes (the sign says stay only 10) while greg had dinner… mac and cheese… the first ‘solid’ (but actually classified as ‘soft’) food he’s had since going in.

he’s connected to only a few visible tubes and lines, but he’s got this great high tech console looming behind him that bleeps and blips and sighs at regular enough intervals that greg seemed unphased by the sounds.

he looked so much like himself that it took me a few minutes to realize… he had no oxygen tube in his nose! he grinned when i noticed and said he’d been on “room air” all day. that is so freakin’ cool.

he says he has no memory of wednesday through sunday (makes sense) and the first thing he remembers after the surgery is one of the nurses talking to him. he has some memory of the lines going in and the anesthesiologist (who he said was very nice), but nothing else from the operation.

he’s hoping to move to the step-down unit tomorrow, but there may not be a bed available for him, so cross your fingers. i’m not sure if he will be allowed visitors in that unit or not, but i’ll let you know. he says he’s ready for visitors. 😀

he’s already been scheming how to get himself back online. the hospital does not have wifi and he may have to resort to dial-up when the time comes. the horror!

i printed out all of your comments for greg to enjoy and saw that he had already received a few cards at the hospital. i also took an anime catalog for him to flip through.

i may be able to go see him tomorrow night, too. yippee!

greg is walking today. when his parents visited, he made a loop around the ICU for the second time. of course, he’s tiring quickly so the nurses aren’t pushing him too hard!

he’s been allowed juice and jello to introduce food back to his system.

for those of you asking, he’s not yet allowed visitors who are not his family. i will keep you posted though.

🙂 emily

hi everybody, here’s the latest on greg from his mom… it’s all really good news!

they continue to remove tubes and lines from him and have cut down on the number of times a day they’re doing bloodwork, etc. he’s not using a lot of oxygen and is breathing pretty much on his own.

the big news of the day is that greg stood up today with the assistance of cool hospital technology! the bed he’s in becomes chair-shaped. once they got him into this position, they lowered the bed so his feet touched the floor. then, all he had to do was stand up against another support machine and he was able to lift his legs up and down and stand for about a minute. then, he sat back down… and conked out! 🙂

they’re hoping to start him on physical therapy tomorrow and may move him to the ‘step-down’ unit (not ICU but not general hospital rooms) by wednesday. great progress!

greg’s got his glasses back on and is much less overwhelmed than he was yesterday.

he is allowed receive cards in the mail. following is the address:

gregory blake

c/o brigham & women’s hospital

75 francis st
boston, ma 02115

🙂 emily

greg was fully awake by morning and was able to follow directions so the doctors did one more scope into the breathing tube with a camera. it looked fine, so they removed greg’s ventilator. greg is now breathing on his own!!

he had to wear an oxygen mask for a few hours, but now they only have him on the nose-tube thing.

when they saw greg through the window of his room, he waved to them from his bed. he is much more alert and understands why he has to hold still. they’re moving tubes, changing meds and monitoring his blood pressure, which has been a little high.

despite having a very sore throat from the ventilator, greg was able to say a few syllables this afternoon. he has a ‘healthy’ cough. he’s no longer restrained.

he hasn’t yet had additional hydration or nourishment since the organs are not yet ready for food (after all the anesthesia) and could make him sick. they do not want to risk getting liquid into his lungs.

his mom says he *could* be standing up tomorrow. c’mon greg!

🙂 emily

greg’s new (re)birth day is April 14, 1:00am, 2005! huzzah! that’s the official word from his mom… the surgeons who noted this as the time said it when the clamps were removed from the new lung in greg’s body. very cool.

today, greg is still on the ventilator. the doctors *were* hoping to remove it today AND are hoping to remove it tomorrow. greg is breathing more and more on his own. he’s starting to come out of the sedation. they need to wait until he’s a little further ‘to the surface’ before they remove it so that he doesn’t thrash about in disorientation and do any damage. they want to be sure greg comes out in a safe manner.

his mom also commented that they feel very lucky for the fantastic nursing care greg is receiving. they keep it light, they take time to explain and work very well with greg. the nurses are wonderful with him.

send your vibes/prayers/light/energy to greg as he comes back to the real world and also to his family for strengh and patience.

just heard from greg’s mom. the doctor says that greg is stable, and the new lung is working! they are not going to remove him from the ventilator today, they want to wait until tomorrow to be sure it’s safe to do so.

they have cut back on some of the blood pressure medication and such, but will keep him heavily sedated (and totally “out of it”) until they remove the ventilator. then they can start bringing him back into consciousness.

his parents have been able to spend time with him in the ICU, holding his hand and talking to him.

more to come… keep the good vibes rolling for gregory!

🙂 emily

via voicemail tonight…

greg’s parents spent the day at the hospital today, seeing greg a few times. he is *very* heavily sedated. not even conscious, but the nurses indicated they thought he knew his parents were there. he even opened his eyes once. if all goes well tonight, they will remove him from the ventilator tomorrow. he is stable. everything is going well.

yay! more tomorrow after she and i actually get to speak to eachother on the telephone.

🙂 emily

greg has a new lung! hiphip! hooray!!

his mom called and said they have taken him to intensive care and will keep him pretty heavily sedated for the next 24-48 hours since the lung was outside the donor for a while and they want to reduce any risk from swelling.

she said she and his dad were allowed to peek at him as they wheeled him into the ICU room and he still looks like greg! 🙂

the donor’s other lung was given to another patient at the hospital… a very interesting new connection for greg to another person.

fantastic news, really! i will post more on his progress as i hear it. yay for greg!!

greg’s mom just called to let me know that greg is currently in the operating room, getting ready to receive one lung from the donor. greg was still in the emergency room finishing up the tests when the OR called to say “come now.” the operation should take 6-7 hours.

she said greg was in good spirits and ready! everyone please send your prayers/light/positive energy to greg for a successful transplant and a speedy recovery.

i will post as soon as i hear any update.

🙂 emily