Over the past month and a half life has gotten a little more than crazy. In May my dad got the flu and just couldn't quite get over it. After a couple of weeks and I'm sure many many calls to the doctor my Mom decided it was time to take Dad to Dallas where he could get the best medical care for his condition. For those who don't know the transplant process let me explain why they had to go to Dallas. Since Albuquerque doesn't have a transplant center my parents had to register at transplant facilities in other places. After a false start they ended up in Denver with a highly recommended doctor there. They were soon also listed in Salt Lake since that is close to most of the family. The transplant doctor in Denver moved to Dallas and my parents went with him. So every year my parents would make a trip to Dallas and a trip to Salt Lake to check in. For years and years my dad pushed past the illness. The doctors were always amazed at how much he worked and how much he could do. This time it was a little bit different.
The hospital visit in May was supposed to be an anticipated event. Not the exact moment of course, but eventually I knew that my dad would get sicker. I just didn't expect it so soon and so suddenly. One day I was talking about him having the flu and the next the doctor was telling us it was transplant or die. It was a surreal experience. My dad was admitted to the hospital and the hurry up and wait game began. As my dad was admitted and his liver counts rose, my siblings starting getting calls from the transplant hospitals to make sure that their contact info was still the same. The first few days seemed like forever. My siblings and I started to communicate about travel plans for all of us to go to Dallas. We decided that was too overwhelming for the moment and sent the nurse down to take control of the situation. I'm glad we sent her first. She was able to get more of a grip on the situation and we were able to make other plans. Other siblings made plans to go down in shifts so that Mom wouldn't be alone. Once that was settled we just had to wait for a liver.
With the scores so high my dad quickly climbed the transplant list, which is score based and not time based. While he was in the hospital we had two almost-transplant moments. Before any of us went down to Dallas, I was at Shelly's house when, at 11 o'clock, we get a call from Nikki wondering if we have heard from mom or know which hospital dad is in. The transplant team at a neighboring hospital in Fort Worth was calling around saying there was a liver available. For some reason we couldn't get a hold of Mom...it was a pretty scary moment. What if there was a liver and we couldn't get a hold of them in time?? Eventually, after much Google searching, phone calling, and texting, we got a hold of Mom and we learned that the organ wasn't viable...so our first false alarm. So we went back to waiting. Another day, as I was getting done with work, I get a call from my brother. There was a liver in Dallas....someone had come into my parents room and started asking questions. They soon found out there was a liver and we prepared ourselves. There were a million thoughts running through my mind. I can't imagine what it was like in the room. This liver turned out to be a false alarm as well. Apparently this is pretty common for transplant patients. People can't get as close and being surgically prepped and under anesthesia and the liver will get pulled for someone else. It's such an emotional roller coaster.
Speaking of emotional roller coasters....during this whole experience I was certainly on one. I was constantly on the edge of tears. I never knew what the next few hours would bring and if you know me at all you know that made me crazy. During this time, I felt the support of my siblings. They, especially Shelly, had to step in and be my parents for a minute (you know since my car was being special during this time as well and I would usually call my dad). I felt the support of my coworkers and friends. They were amazing during this time. I'm sure I was a bit crazy but they all managed to put up with me. I also felt the support of so many prayers offered on my and my families behalf. The power of prayer is so real! I felt it as I went to work and could focus on what was going on. I felt it when I would start to worry at night and something would tell me that everything would be okay. I realized that I had to get through and prayers helped me do that. My dad was released from the hospital around Memorial Day and was able to come home...I was so grateful. Luckily my turn to take care of the parents came while they were on the way home. When I saw my parents I just burst into tears. I knew the journey wasn't over, but I was able to at least gain a little sense of peace and quite honestly just hug my mommy and daddy.
Like I just said the journey isn't over. Just last week Dad was admitted back to the hospital in Dallas. Once again we wait. Not knowing exactly what to pray for I can only pray the Heavenly Father's will be done. I am grateful for the Gospel in my life. I don't know how you would go through this experience without the knowledge that families can be together forever. Knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan makes everything just a little bit easier. Until that plan is fulfilled we sit and wait and hope for a liver......
