More For Mo

07/09/2026

https://capesandrollerskates.com/2026/09/07/20-days-later/

Twenty days later… It’s been 20 days since the wildest 24 hours of my life. Twenty days ago, at 10:04 p.m., the nurse coordinator on duty started calling with a heart offer—and I continued to sleep…

02/09/2026

Hello Friends;

Here we are in Monica’s terrarium. It’s hot and stuffy, smells faintly like pickles and she can’t leave without an es**rt. Let’s start with how we got here…

The early days were heady, new heart, breathing on her own, just knocking down benchmarks hour after hour. We thought “ Monica is winning at heart transplant 🙌 and she will be out of here in no time. “

Then reality settled in. First it was stuff didn’t taste good, then signs of early rejection, then water retention and a hard push of diuretics, light headedness and finally bed jail. She can’t leave bed without staff assistance.

This is alllll normal, very normal. But doesn’t feel like winning as much as before. Monica likely won’t leave the hospital until maybe, just maybe next week.

Things are going well, just slow but normal. Settle in for the long game. ❣️

30/08/2026

Update from Team Mo-

All is well here. The days are running together a bit, and the decor has a lot to be desired, but there’s no way through but through.

This last week saw some great progress- solo walk around the nurses’ station, practicing some stairs, and a LOT of patient education.

That said, there have been plenty of reminders that healing isn’t exactly linear. Our bodies, ideally, live in a state of equilibrium. Since transplant, Mo’s team has been working to find that equilibrium with Mo. That has meant some pretty heavy diuretics, steroids, and many other liquids that this writer (Aimee) doesn’t even know the names of hung on a pole and drip-drip-dripping into Mo.

Today she had a minor setback that meant that YAY- the diuretics are working! But BOO- her blood pressure is too low. That doesn’t feel good. That’s kind of been how it’s been going- lots of tweaking to get things into balance.

So, this update is to say that things are progressing, but healing and progress are not linear which is annoying to all of us that enjoy things like check boxes and plans.

26/08/2026

Well, steroids = team no sleep tonight. But sleep is not the only form of rest so I have been closing my eyes to think, dream, and meditate on the days. I hope my sister is asleep on the terrible cot that is somehow 300 times better than the terrible chair.

Soon X-ray will come. My nightly dose of relief from this bed. I will not miss this bed. It is hot, the pumps are trying to be helpful but are also dumb. X-ray is two minutes of laying on a firm cool surface which is what my back begs for.

Goodnight from Clarkson 8868. Going to rest. Gotta get whale 🐳 soon.

24/08/2026

Today is one week, seven days post transplant. Monica continues to heal, she is pretty steady on her feet and can get out of bed on her own. She does tire quickly but her new heart is fast and strong. 💪
She had her first heart cath and biopsy. This will be done weekly to check for rejection.
💫Did you know her heart has all the plumbing hooked up but no nerves? 🫀They can’t reconnect those. It just takes time for them to regrow. 🧠So the new heart doesn’t respond normally to activity or sleep. 🛌It just keeps beating at about 120 bpm day or night. 💗

Thank you for all the support ❣️

23/08/2026

Day 5? post op. Regular floor. Lots of rest and planning. Making friends wherever I go (my room they come to my room) annnnd my sister who does not cook not only went and grocery shopped but made me just about the best sweet potato I have ever had. Real food! Tomorrow I get to have my hair washed!

21/08/2026

Two things from your very sleepy friend Mo.

1. I don't remember who got me these nods podds but you're saving any chance I had at sleep.

2. Did you know skin can have a pigment other than Casper white? Guys think I might have a whisper of melanin.

21/08/2026

Whew! Such a busy day today!! Monica is regularly going for short walks, making the respiratory team happy, making the nurses laugh and generally showing how it's done.

Today was a lot of stepping down of various therapies/meds to see how things went and with that has come some increased pain and discomfort. It's to be expected but isn't fun for anyone. Monica handles it with grace. I don't know how.

She still, I don't think, hasn't been able to sleep more than 2 or so hours without having someone come by to poke or prod. The nursing staff is going to try to be more protective of that sleep this evening now that things have settled some.

She's resting now, but wanted me to update to let everyone know she's continuing to do well, and is hard at work doing so very many hard things every time they're asked of her.

19/08/2026

Y'all. I don't know what you were up to from 6-10 AM today but Monica was out here *working.*

They had her do breathing treatments, get out of bed into a chair and then they took a walk! A walk- out of the chair, out of the room, and into the dang hallway.

She's fiiiinally sleeping now (hospitals are the worst about this) but had a very very busy morning.

I got to listen in while the (so many!) doctors and staff rounded this morning and while an NP rattled off numbers, one of the docs raised a finger and said "teaching moment here folks- this is what a transplant SHOULD look like." Darn right.

They love the pressures, they love something called blood gas, they love so many things with so many acronyms.

Goals today include 2 more walks and working on respiratory therapy. Hoping to lose more and more pieces of equipment as the day goes by- could lose 2 chest tubes and her a catheter by the end of the day. Wild.

Love to you all from bedside-
A

18/08/2026

Look at this absolute rockstar. They were wheeling her back 24 hours ago. She says hi.