As a family, we are still completely astounded by yesterday's incredible turn of events. There are no words to describe the gratitude we have for our donor, her family, the doctors involved, and God. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We only got to see Mom for a few minutes following her surgery yesterday. There were almost two hours between her surgery ending and seeing her in the surgical ICU. We were told to expect Mom to be out of it for awhile. She would be on a respirator at least overnight (thus leaving her unable to speak), and would probably not remember what happened when she saw us--If she was conscious at all. We walked into the room and came to find out that, even though she looked like she was in pretty rough shape, she was very aware. If you are reading and personally know Mom, you know she is strong-willed and (as I like to call her) "sassy." I did not know it was possible to be sarcastic when you cannot even speak. Yesterday evening, she wanted to communicate. Because her voice has been so soft since her last intubation, it is not unusual for her to want to write to communicate. She raised her hand and "scribbled" the air. I told her, "No Mom. You just got out of major surgery. I am not giving you something to write with. You need to rest." And thus, she rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air to say "whatever." (Way to keep that sense of humor Mom). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got to see Mom again at about 10:00 this morning. The desk staff know my family well by now. They get caught in their scripts just like the rest of us do at work. The woman at the desk this morning was half way through a generic "how are you today" when she looked up and saw me. Her tone changed to a sympathetic one, and said, "Oh no, she's back huh?" I told her, "Today it's for something good. She got her liver transplant yesterday." This woman, whose name I do not even know, has followed our journey in her own way like many of you have. She rejoiced there with me this morning. I've talked about how Mom's doctors, nurses and aides have been an incredible part of our journey, but it is the hospital staff as a whole who have pulled us through. They keep tabs. They mourn. They celebrate each step of the way. We are truly blessed to be in a place where this holds true. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I walked in view of Mom's room this morning. If she was alert last night, it was tenfold this morning. I was down the hall from her room when she saw me. I saw her start shaking and crying happy tears. Her breathing tube was out as of 9AM. She had been very concerned that intubation would further damage her vocal cords, yet she was speaking just as well as speech therapy has enabled her to speak so far. I was thrilled to be able to converse with her so soon after surgery, but (of course) talking is one of the more exhausting things she could be doing. She still has nose tubes in (one to feed, and the other to remove stomach contents), but they may be removed in the next few days. She is getting blood transfusions, albumin, and morphine to tame her blood levels and pain. She showed me her "battle scar:" a series of incisions resembling the Mercedes logo across her abdomen. I told her she'll have a cool scar with a great story to match. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With speech being extra exhausting, Mom had a stack of papers on her lap with writing all over each of them. She had been using them to communicate all morning. When Rob and my grandparents arrived, Mom used the papers more to communicate with all of us...and eventually to ask us to take a few more pictures to share with each of you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How she looks now is how she looks, but we trust she will be looking better with each passing day. Doctors say that the new liver will act like a car engine that has not been run for awhile. It will stutter for a short time (seemingly "slow" improvement). Then, Mom's health will improve in leaps and bounds. Already, her ascites (stomach swelling) has gone down. The rest will follow. We are blessed for what has already taken place, and look so very forward to everything to come.
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