Day 7

Another good day today. I've found that one of the keys is to consistently opt for stronger painkillers - that lets me eat and move around much more comfortably which brings other benefits in turn.

In the morning I went for another ultrasound, which was very successful and everyone was pleased with the results. Didn't manage much breakfast, but did better with lunch having a vaguely normal small-ish portion. A doctor came to see me and said he was happy with my progress and that I would probably have my drain tube out very soon to be replaced by a bag instead so that it could start healing up naturally.

The physio came to see me after lunch and we went for a relatively long walk - all the way out of the ward and part of the way along the corridor, then back again. I then had a visit from my aunt, cousin, and second-cousin which was great, then had a meeting with a few people to talk about my progress. Firstly there was the clinical trial team who came to assess whether I was still eligible to take part, and they were happy my test results were good enough. Next was the post-transplant coordinator who delivered a pack of information about what happens next and gave me a vague indication that Friday 20th could be a possible day to leave. Finally I talked to a researcher who is doing a PhD on mental and physical outcomes of liver transplant surgery and agreed to fill in four questionnaires for her over the next year.

Then my friend Robin came to visit, and we chatted for a while and I had some dinner, then he and I went for another walk. This time I got much further - all the way out of the ward to the main staircases/lifts, then back again.

Later in the evening I had my I-V drip removed and told I would probably not need it any more as I'm now drinking and peeing pretty much fine. There is still a little swelling in my thighs and hips but I think it's going down.

So another good day - lots of people telling me I was doing very well for what they confusingly call Day 6 (surgery day + 6 days). I celebrated by staying up a bit late watching the last film and a half of the lord of rings. I also chatted quite a long time to my night nurse who turned out to be a huge fan of strictly come dancing and loved my insider gossip :)