We Got The Call !!!!!!

At 9:48 p.m. (Wednesday-4/29) I received a call from Will from Stanford stating they have lungs for Lindsay and wanted to know if she was with me. I let him I know I wasn't so he said he will call her and call me back if he couldn't get a hold of her. He called me back when he got her voicemail and wanted me to try to get a hold of her. Well let me just express that was a hard task I was ever assigned! I called Lindsay about 10 times before I called others to see if she was with them. After my Dad, Brother, Susan, Sid I had no word of where she is. At this point I was heading over to her house to pick her up and take her to Stanford. When I get to her house I noticed her truck was there and I was a little more calm thinking she was there. Yeah right. No one answered the door, no one answered their phones. I started to panic, but Susan was helping me track down Lindsay.

About an hour later 10:49 p.m. I get a call from Lindsay herself asking what do I want. I let her know we got a call and she needed to get her butt home and then head off to Stanford. At this point there were tears, laughs, fears and relief. We headed to Stanford and arrived at 11:30 p.m. They placed her in a hospital room and ran some tests. With the rest of the gang arriving in her little room, we had to take over the waiting room because when you travel with Lindsay there is a large crowd.

We Finally got word that she will be taken to the O.R. about 3:00 a.m. but as soon as 3 rolled around we were still waiting. 3:30 a.m. or so we got the word we had to get Lindsay ready for transplant. Brie scrubbed her down and we were off. The gentleman rolling her to the O.R. said he has never seen this many people follow a patient to the O.R. (We broke a record!) I knew I couldn't do anything any further so I knew I had to leave it up to God to take over. (Boy did he have some plans.) We all said our 'farewells' and 'see you laters' and we shared some more tears and laughs.

At our surprise, the Dr. came out about 2 hours later to tell us that the right donor lung was perfect, but the left lower lobe was not working properly and he didn't want to go with the transplant. We were warned about 'dry runs' (showing up to the hospital and not going through with the transplant due to many reasons) so we were prepared for that in a way, but we were hoping for the transplant. We now have some practice on how to coordinate phone calls and what to bring. I just hope Lindsay answers her phone on the 1st try! ;) We still had to wait in the waiting room for Lindsay to come off her sedatives and that took another 2 hours. She was released around 7:30 a.m. (Thursday-4/30) and we were all on our way home to get some rest, or for some go to work.

Please keep her in your prayers!
And thank you to all who came and supported. Lindsay can't do this alone and she is thankful God has put you in her life! I loved the snacks in the lobby, they kept me going! Thank You!

Right Heart Catherization

There were many test I had to go through and this was the most gut wrenching one...my neck was stiff for hours after this one. This test was to see how well my heart is. Do I need a heart transplant or not? I got to doctors at 10am with Rebecca. They let her stay in with me while they performed this procedure. They laid me down on a bed and began...
The went through my jugular, I thought I was going to pass out. Mind you I was awake this whole time. They laid 3 layers of blankets/sheets over me. I was so hot and needed some air. They gave me a little peep hole and all I could see was Rebecca. I had to hold my neck in this postion for 3 hours. Rebecca told me there was a line of students that showed up while I was under the blankets. After, I felt like I was on an episode of Grey's. Then they began to run their tests. Blowing saline in and out of my heart. Well I have a great one and dont need a heart transplant :) Oh so thrilled.

"This Operation Is Not For Sissies"

As you have read, Lindsay and I went to our 1st transplant support group this week. The title (of this blog) was quoted from an older gentleman who has had a double lung transplant. It made me laugh, but has true meaning to it.
I just wanted to share with you who are interested in donating your organs after you expire. The only way for Lindsay to receive her transplant is if some body passes and the donor & their family have decided to donate their organs/tissue. I know after Lindsay receives her transplant we will be so grateful for the donor's decision, and it would be nice to give some one else life after we are gone. If interested, you need to be registered at the website below. Even if you have a pink dot on your driver's licence, it may not be recorded in the registry. (It wouldn't hurt to register on the website just in case.)

http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/

...Waiting...

Have you ever wanted to something right here and now and so bad? I have and I currently do. This process is going to be long and involved. Many things can and will happen during this time. I will learn a lot to by all the people I talk to. I went to a support group for the first time today. Yeah I felt as if I was in an AA meeting. “Hi I’m Lindsay, and I’m waiting for double lungs.” But then things got better. People began to speak about their transplants and people who are also waiting for one spoke. Each position takes a toll on you mentally and emotionally. That is what I have all of you for. Cause I’m going to need you! The one thing I am waiting for is my PFT’s to be a high number. My current PFT is 26%. Pulmonary function tests measure how well lungs take in and release air, and how well they move oxygen into the blood. Yours is well over 100%. I will get 75% or better of my lung function back… do you know what that means? I can do all things I haven’t been able to do in a while. I can fly in a plane without oxygen, walk up one flight of stairs, take dance classes again, I can go to10,000 feet, Snowboard again, I will be able to walk, skip, and maybe even run a mile and this is all I can’t wait to do. You may not have ever realized how restricted I have been. Once I am well and recovered I may not stop traveling and doing things I haven’t done in a while. I plan to save some money and go to New Zealand and snowboard, all are welcome and my girls better be saving their money!