greg’s staying on course, but didn’t make any great improvements today. the nurses say he’s more comfortable though, which is good.

greg has made some small positive steps. they are definitely working against rejection, but they think greg can beat it.

they’re starting to remove some lines from him and are beginning to bring him out of the sedation. they’re taking it slow though as he has gotten agitated as they’ve tried bringing him to the surface.

keep the positive energy flowing!

greg is still sedated in the ICU. it is likely they will keep him this way for about a week so he can heal comfortably and won’t jeopardize the process by moving around. he’s making minor progress each day. once he is brought out of sedation it’s still likely he’ll be in the ICU for a few more weeks.

i think everyone should put on their favorite greg mixes tonight and dance around your living rooms (offices, bedrooms, whatever) picturing greg grinning and spinning for you.

there has been little change, but the doctors are with him all the time trying to figure out what’s going on. they currently have him heavily sedated in the ICU.

keep greg in your prayers. he need all possible positive energy focused his way.

sorry about the outage. not sure what happened. we speculated that the power went out at greg’s house in CT, so the house elves must have rebooted greg’s server.

the doctors are still watching greg carefully for signs of infection and/or rejection. he’s back in the ICU.

i’ll let you know more as soon as i can.

greg had a bit of a setback last night and the doctors are watching him for signs of infection and/or rejection. i don’t have more info now, but i will keep you posted as i hear more from his mom.

keep up your prayers for greg.

hi all,

greg continues to do very well. they did a scope on his lung today to see how everything was working. we don’t know the results yet, but greg was exhausted afterwards, so i’m not going to see him tonight.

his mom trekked back to connecticut today to get his computer and some comfy clothes. he’s plugged in, but not wired to the net yet… at least he has his music now.

he’s completely off intravenous pain meds and the epidural spout has been removed. it’s all oral pain meds from here.

his mom says they’re working him really hard to boost his strength and hopefully get him home soon. healing is hard work, so continue sending your love/light/prayers to gregory!

i’ll see him tomorrow and post more for you.

🙂 emily

greg has moved to the step down unit. in fact, he *walked* from the ICU to his new room! it is private, has a nice window view and is actually quite spacious. it even has a private restroom. fancy. 🙂

i was allowed to accompany greg and his nurse on his after dinner walk. one lap around the unit – 1/24 of a mile – and he did great. we even joked with another patient that greg could easily take him in a race. it would have been quite a sight! they were both piloting to these great walking carts with arm pads and suction tanks and hooks for all the crazy lines and bags and stuff. there are vertical handles with bike grips on them to help steer. greg naturally placed his thumbs on the tops of the posts as though on shooter buttons on a joystick.

solid food is old news now… when i arrived greg had just finished up a steak tips dinner. he’d had eggs and pancakes for breakfast, grill cheez and tuna salad for lunch. he says the food is not too bad. kinda like airplane food, luck of the draw.

yesterday i couldn’t get over his complexion, today it was his voice. suddenly his voice seems to be booming! go new lungs! project! project!

greg mentioned that he’s been having vivid dreams and flashes since the surgery. he’s been inspired to create images of them… on the computer, of course… soon!

they’re doing medication alchemy, taking him off the epidural pain meds and putting him onto oxy. they’re starting him on prednisolone (is that really how you spell it? should we tell the spammers there’s no Z in it?) tomorrow. they’ve already introduced an anti-rejection med (or maybe two).

i met one of the transplant doctors and a fellow, both young and very nice! the fellow said she was reading along… *waves* the doctor was guardedly enthusiastic about greg’s progress. he said there *will* be ups and downs. {his mom told me the other transplant recipient had a set back last night. “it’s all so tenuous.” she said.}

glad you’re all enjoying reading along. don’t thank me for writing this, thank GREG for being certain you all stayed up-to-date by asking me to do this (six years ago!)

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!