It has been the worst of days and the best of days! A month ago today, Jeff woke feeling worse than normal. He was filled with too much fluid that was literally drowning him. We headed to Ithaca hospital (which might have been a mistake) with hopes of no wait time in the ED. As it were, his blood pressure was critically low and the some action finally began. We spent the most part of the day in the ED where they put in a central line to get BP meds directly to his heart. Finally the decision was made to transport him to the closest large hospital with an ICU bed... Upstate here we come.. They transported him via ambulance and a nurse. Once in the ICU, he was evaluated and it was confirmed that his liver and kidneys were failing. NOT a good prognosis. The nurses and most of the Docs were exceptional. One Dr. in particular obviously failed Bedside Manner 101 and will forever be on our "Shit List!" Finally, after a few days of pleading with them to call Strong, where we had been doctoring for 6 months, a young resident took the initiative and called Rochester. Another wait for an open ICU bed there and "we" were on our way, once again via ambulance and a nurse, to U of R/Strong Memorial Hospital. Our highest hopes included addition to the transplant list...ASAP.... time was running out. Sunday, the transplant surgeon said a liver had been located....and a few hours later, "an even better liver was secured!!" Upon reflection, I marveled at the fact that an organization that covers the entire United States had not only found a liver but found a second one even better suited to Jeff. They never stopped looking for something better.......AMAZING.
This team of amazing men and women gave up their Memorial Day to save the life of a man they only knew by statistics and charts. They stood for 12.5 hours to painstakingly disassemble the torso of a human and replace the largest organ (albeit the skin) that virtually runs your system. Words escape me....(I know ;-)
The next couple of days were very scary. Intubated and tubes from every orifice were frightening for not only Jeff but Lee and me. Nobody ever wants to see their child in a life and death situation unable to communicate. By Wednesday, the vent was removed and those big, beautiful eyes opened clearly...and were WHITE. Each day progressed a little more.... We waited for the kidneys to "wake up" and they did. We waited for the fluid to go back where it belonged and it slowly did. We waited for a full, regular diet and we got it... An oddity of the first few weeks was his taste buds had changed and everything that used to taste good...was pretty yucky. Of course, with hospital food, identification was even tricky. Finally a move from the ICU to the Organ Transplant floor. Yep, a whole wing dedicated to organ transplants. PT began, heading to bathroom, moving from chair to bed etc. all started to materialize. Then......."you can go home this afternoon." 18 days of hell and a new liver and we were headed to EIEIO. Hallelujah!
We had the support and prayers of one hell of a group of friends and family. I never would have survived this 3 week journey if it weren't for so many concerned friends who were family and family who were friends! Jacki and Ally Brown literally lowered my stress level by merely existing. They took Bailee under their wings during the last few weeks of school, they took her to job interviews, covid vaccines and everything in between. A safer more nurturing harbor has never existed. They even all journeyed to Rochester to spend the toughest week-end ever with me. NO words will ever be written well enough to express my gratitude and love. I mean seriously, who finds a liver cookie cutter and makes perfectly delicious pink smooth, non wrinkly cookies to share.. That's you Ally B♥ I would not have made it through the intricacies of modern medicine and lab results if it weren't for my family Docs, Dr. Dyer and Dr. Sweet and my in-house nurses and NP, Mary B. and Kelly P. You two rocked my uneducated world. Then there were my prayer warriors. I have never been as blessed as I was (am) with everyone's outstretched hands and warm hearts. If I ever thought my 69 years of "Our Father, who art in heaven" was whispered to deaf ears, I was mistaken. As Bailee calls him, Sky Daddy heard us loud and clear!
We are home in our happy place surrounded by food, good wishes, phone calls, visits and friends and family. Life is good and we'll count our blessings day and night for that wonderful organization that searched the country for a liver, the team of surgeons and nurses who saved Jeff and nursed him back to life, the amazing family that rallied and never gave up hope and to Sky Daddy himself (or herself) that reunited Jeff and Jett for the best Father's Day ever!
Life is short....LIVE it!!!!!!!
