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Monday, September 14, 2009

Unpacking the last few days

Wow. I'm so thankful Calvin & I are home for a few days. The last few days have been utter chaos. Something that my poor husband does not thrive in. Our plans were constantly changing but thankfully the Lord provided for every need.

Wednesday was just a crazy day. We had an evening event at church and I was busy trying to get my aprons finished. After dinner at the church we had to run home to get cookies Calvin and I made earlier that day. Thankfully my phone was sitting right there and I noticed I had a message. My mom called to tell me that they were on the way to the hospital, there was a liver that was a match and they'd keep me posted on whether it was a go or not. (Often they will send you home if it's not a good match.)

So around 10:00 pm we found out that the liver was a good match and that surgery was scheduled for 4:30 a.m. So we rushed around packed a suitcase, ran to Dillons to get some food, washed Calvin's cloth diapers and we headed to KC around midnight. Calvin woke up around 1:30 am and stayed awake until 5:00 a.m. We were a tired bunch. Thankfully we were able to get maybe an hour of sleep before people started coming into the waiting room.

The surgery went well and my dad is doing about as good as you can do after such a major surgery. His new liver is functioning and so far shows no signs of rejection. Now it's just finding the right balance of anti rejection drugs. They basically suppress his immune system so that his body doesn't start rejecting this new organ.

Unfortunately since my dad is still in ICU Calvin can't go visit him, which makes for some shuffling and it's much easier to do with Marvin there. We came back home last night and I'll tell you it's so nice to sleep in our bed or not have to feel like a pack mule for the day. We'll head back after he is released from the hospital to help my mom with some of the care he'll need so she can return to work. Which means I have to work like a crazy woman this week.

I thought I'd share some ways God's hand has been seen in the midst of this crazy situation:
-My dad got the news when he was visiting his mom at the nursing home and shortly after he left my uncle came to visit my grandma and got to comfort her during a scary time.
-We were able to see my dad before they took him to surgery. Thankfully they were behind schedule by 30 minutes.
-My dad got to see Calvin briefly when they wheeled him down the hall to the elevators.
-God provided a place for us to rest our heads, even for 30 minutes in a smaller private waiting room.
-Calvin didn't melt down at the hospital. He really enjoyed the attention from everyone and loved having someone play with him at all times.
-My dad was very nervous before they took him into surgery, but he said once he was taken back he felt very peacefully.
-The surgery was a success! There were others at the hospital who did not have the same story.
-My brother, who recently moved to Houston, already had plane tickets to come back to Kansas for a wedding. He was able to see my dad a day after the surgery.
-We are borrowing my parent's truck for the time being which gives us some flexibility if Calvin and I need to head to Kansas City.
-For a sweet friend who met us at a park one afternoon. Thank you so much Marie, Calvin really enjoyed it and it was such a blessing to give him some time outside, not to mention catch up with you.

God is certainly Good. We are thankful how he has provided recently.

2 comments:

Sherry said...

so glad to hear it went well, sorry I missed you last night, I'll give you a call back soon. Love you!

Marie said...

It was wonderful to see you Erica. I really mean it when I say please let me know what I can do to help you guys out. It is not an empty gesture, I promise!