My brother is getting a new liver today! I got the call around 9:00 this morning! I am beyond words. He will be headed into surgery at 10. My heart is pounding & has been since I heard the news.I am at work fidgeting & freaking out...
This is what everyone has been waiting for. He was admitted earlier in the week & has just not been at his best. The doctors informed Katelyn that this liver is from a young donor & is in excellent condition, he even said he would put in in his own sister. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!
All of this makes me think about the family of that young donor. We don't know the details of his/her life & death... I do know this - that person was a hero. They had the superpower to give life. Our family is now forever in debt to that family.
Mr. C & I got up to the hospital around 5:00 & he got out around 12:00am. During the 12hr surgery... he used 100+ units of blood. We had a few updates throughout letting us know his status. Once he was admitted to SICU, we were able to go see him. I was expecting to see the same person I saw after the first 2 transplants: a bloated, awake, terrified man. This time it was different. He wasn't bloated, he wasn't awake & he wasn't terrified. He was at peace. Obviously, it was still hard to see him like that but he looked peaceful.
His stomach was unevenly packed with towels that were soaking up blood and then covered in a blood and iodine soaked second skin. He looked pregnant but with an off-centered bump! It brought tears to my eyes. He was temporarily sutured so that they could take him in for a follow-up surgery on Friday morning & another one sometime later in the weekend. His transplant still wasn't completely finished, some things still needed to be connected. The surgeons seemed positive and were hopeful that the liver was taking & while this wasn't the end of his battle, it was a good start.
How strange that his abdomen was just kinda closed up. Doesn't that seem like something you would want to be sealed completely?! Not to mention the fact that you have some tea towels just jammed in there. So hard to wrap my mind around.
Anyways.... flash forward to Friday at 6:04am. Aaron coded. I wasn't there but heard that the chaos in that room was insane. They brought him back fairly quickly & had him stabilized and ready for his 2nd surgery by 7:00! Once I got up to the hospital, he was in recovery and I went to say hi. He looked aMAZing {see what I did there?} His skin was healthy, is face looked full & again, he was peaceful. It was a relief. We chatted for a bit... well, he listened and I talked mostly. Comas tend to do that to a person.
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| siblings ♥ |
The doctors intended for him to start dialysis as a procaution to keep his kidneys working but after a reaction, they decided against it. He was showing signs of improvement & the doctor I to spoke was reassuring that he was on the up. His liver seemed to be adjusting well. After coming home on Friday I got word that they were going to stop the paralytic drugs and bring him out of the coma. He was moving his feet & eyes. He was showing response cues to his children over FaceTime and people's voices.
So as of today... Aaron is scheduled to rest all day. His 3rd {and hopefully last} surgery will probably be tomorrow. He just needs a break from the intrusive surgeries and stress on his body.
I don't use the word lightly... it is nothing short of a miracle. These last 48hrs have been a combination of tears of joy & tears of I'm scared out of my mind. I'm sure it's nothing compared to what's going on in his mind. I have never been more proud of him. I am so amazed by his fight. The amount I love I have for him is immeasurable.
Third time is a charm... it seems to be the theme so far this year!
*Lu
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