My first call!

I got The Call at 7:36pm on May 29th just as I was looking forward to watching Game of Thrones! The nurse coordinator ran through a few screening questions. She let me know where to go and what I'd need to bring (O2 and maybe a change of clothes if I went home the next day). I was also informed I would spend the night and should hear more around 9 or 10am whether or not I would receive lungs. It was possible the lungs would not be good for transplant. Or, maybe only one lung would be available which would rule me out and they'd go to someone else who was also called. So....after waiting a year and 3 months...it was really happening! I was lucky to get the call when Stacy was home with me: no ambulance ride! Our bags were ready. Stacy and I quickly packed the last minute things and off we went.

We left home around 8, arrived at the UW at 11pm, then made our way through the Emergency area to my room. There was no waiting because all of the logistics had been taken care of before we came on the scene. Nice! Gabe joined us as I settled in. They prepped me for surgery from 11-4am: gown, vital stats, ekg, labs, xray, IV, wet wipes, and measurement for compression socks. The downside was my tiny veins gave folks a really hard time establishing that IV.

The picture shows the phlebotomist successfully drawing labs on her second try while the fella is searching for a usable vein with an ultrasound device so he could insert an IV line. He was the second nurse to fail. The third person they called was a code blue nurse and she got it on her second try. Yea!!!

There were some good things along the way to lighten the long night. When they wheeled me to xray I saw a man sitting in the Radiology hallway all wrapped up in warm blankets like I was ;) I realized he was probably the other person who was called for the same donor lungs. When I asked the nurse if that was the case so I could say "hi" and give him my best wishes she couldn't tell me because of privacy laws. Bummer. That was pretty cool though. Another good thing was Stacy reading posts by so many people sending prayers and good wishes. That was tremendous and helped keep me stable and to focus through the hours. Gabe and Stacy were good company with conversation and stories. Around 2am they left for home and hotel to get a few hours sleep. I felt unexpectedly calm. My thoughts were with the donor family. I knew I would have the transplant when it was right for me.

Around 6am we were all back together waiting for word about the donor lungs. I watched the kids drink their Starbucks and wondered when I would have one again. At some point the anesthesiologist came to talk. I finally fell asleep for a little while and was woken by someone on the surgical team around 1pm. It was a "no go" for me. He explained one of the donor lungs had suffered trauma and wouldn't reinflate. So, it was all clear for the floor nurse to process my discharge as I need both lungs.

There it is. My first time getting The Call ended up as a "dry run". We're told that's very common and can happen a few times. My thoughts are with the donor's family. I wonder if there were other people in surgery that day for different organs from this donor. My best wishes went to them and their families too. On Tuesday night I found out the fella I saw down in Radiology did receive the one lung transplant he needed. I'm so happy for him!