Flying Standby

We have now discovered a new way of doing this - standby. Flying standby means you go to the airport and wait for a seat on a particular flight, hoping someone won't show. Standby for Duke Medical means staying home by the phone until they call. That's where we were from 8am until 5:30pm Tuesday. And that's after being at Duke all night Sunday night. They called to tell us they had a possibility of a donor in Tennessee and in state hospitals there had first choice for the organs. Of course we jumped every time the phone rang & for some reason it rang alot yesterday. After waiting for their decisions all day, Duke called us back to say they didn't accept the organs after the Tennessee hospitals turned them down. At least we did this from home this time since they weren't going to work anyway. No complaints from us no matter how they handle it. And please pray for families losing loved ones this time of year especially.

Until next time.....

Barbara

Round "3"

I'm writing this from Durham as we were called to Duke at midnight, arrived about 2:30 and were "dismissed" about 5:00am. Seems they not only crossmatch blood type but also numerous markers in the bodies such as antibodies. One of these little rascals clashed with the donor's typing & could have resulted in failure almost as quickly as they hooked it up.

We did make it to the pre-op area this time (we're getting a slow guided tour of this huge hospital) and this time a valet took our car as we entered ER (ooh!) & picked us up at the front door as they kicked us out. So we entered through the back & left at the front. Moving on up!!! Everything was a go until the crossmatches & the donor was even near by this time!! But God knows best & is training us well. Hopefully, we are not too tired to get here when the time is right. Again we returned to our hotel to get some sleep. I was out like a lightbulb but Aaron said he didn't sleep (or very restless sleep) so he's snoring big time as I write. We will again head westward toward home unless they turn us around & back to the hospital again before we leave. Don't laugh, they told us of several cases in which the patient was paged going out the door as another possibility had arisen suddenly. We again pray for the families of those losing loved ones during this time of year. That has been very much on our minds. We love you all.

Until.......

Barbara

To The Edge of the Cliff

That's where we were about 2:30am Tuesday morning when another transplant try failed. On Monday afternoon Duke called us to Durham with a very "promising" chance for transplant. We arrived about 8pm and were told the team had already flown out of state to get the organs. Aaron was tested, prodded, questioned and probed by 3 or 4 doctors. Everything seemed to be just a waiting game until the organs arrived but early Tuesday morning the coordinator called the room to tell us the kidney had failed. The pancreas has been the organ the transplant team worries the most about but both of Aaron's tries have ended with a failed donor kidney. Imagine that!!!

Once again we both had to stop and think about the family who was losing a loved one and pray for them in the midst of our excitement.

As our balloon deflated once again we returned to the hotel and tried to get some much needed sleep. There wasn't much until about 7am other than dosing due to the adrenaline high we both reached. Tuesday afternoon was dreary & cold as we returned home, then much bad weather with a tornado watch in our area much of the night. Today has been a much better day as we caught our breath for the next run. Until then.....

Barbara

Roller Coaster

Tonight has been an up & down experience to say the least. About 6pm the transplant coordinator called to say there was a potential kidney/pancreas donor going to surgery about 10pm. At that time they would check the pancreas since it is the more sensitive organ but we should head toward Durham ASAP. We took a deep breath, loaded the car & headed on our merry way for the long trip & possibly long night only to get a call as we neared Hickory (yes, 15 miles from home). We were told the donors kidneys had failed therefore we are now back at home trying to process all the emotions of the last 3 hours. Actually, I was glad that we only got to Hickory since it didn't work out. As we returned home we reflected on the fact that a family somewhere was losing a loved one and said a prayer for that family. Today was our daughter-in-law, Samantha's birthday & would also have been my grandmother's birthday. We had spoken with & received the sweetest supportive text from Sam & also talked with Dana who also was supportive & disappointed when we called with the cancellation. We are blessed with a wonderful supportive family & some of our grandkids were already planning to hopefully feed Aaron cookies for Christmas. We know it will happen & have had a "dry" run as they call it. Hopefully, there won't be many of those. Goodnight to all as we try to relax now. I think we'll keep the car packed!!! Hope to write soon with good news!!!

Still Waiting (Patiently?)

As the weeks roll by we find ourselves still awaiting that phone call that will take us to Durham and Duke Hospital. We spoke with the transplant coordinator recently who said they had not done a kidney/pancreas in about four months & the team wasn't sure why this was the case. So we wait....and try to live as normally as possible. God's time will be right so we will continue to "try" to be as patient as possible. Thank you all for the prayers offered for Aaron during this time.

July 22, 2010

Aaron received news from Duke Medical and insurance that he had been placed at top of kidney/pancreas transplant list with all time spent on the kidney only list transferring. He is presently near the top of the list and we both feel like we are in an airport holding pattern. Bags are packed, arrangements made and now the wait. I will post again when he goes for surgery. A huge thank you and love to our granddaughter, Gracen, for setting up this blog to help us communicate better with our loved ones & friends.