Transplant Day!

It's transplant day!  We got a call from Boston Children's Hospital at 8:45 this morning.  They had a potential donor and wanted to be sure that Porter is healthy and ready to accept the liver.  I confirmed that he was and they said they'd call back with more details.  I hung up the phone and, shaking all over, told Katie that the doctors think they can do Porter's transplant today.  She was a little anxious.  She knows that she will be away from us for a few days and she also knows that the surgery is a big deal.  In spite of her anxiety she jumped to action packing all of her favorite toys, books, and snacks.  I got a hold of Chris at work (thank you, Sean for supervising 10th grade biology insect collecting so that he could come home) and set to work cleaning and packing.

Wednesdays are art therapy days for Katie and Betsy (the therapist) showed up at 10 which worked out great.  She was able to help Katie process what was going on while I tried to calmly canvas the house for essential items.  Poor Porter knew something was up and by the time both of our Moms arrived to help out he was wandering from person to person looking for hugs (and reassurance).

We hit the road at 11:15 and had a smooth ride.  Unfortunately, Porter tends to get a little car sick and he ended up vomiting his 2 o'clock food and medications; not once but twice.  We decided, after a quick stop in the grocery store parking lot to change his clothes and mop up the evidence from his carseat, not to re-dose him a third time.  We thought we were about an hour out from BCH and they told us the ammonul and other fluids would be waiting for us.

Well, of course, it IS Boston and we spent longer than we'd anticipated getting into the city.  We arrived at 4:15, and made it to 10-South (the surgical floor) by 4:30.  There was some confusion about whether or not all of his fluids could run together through his port. (We weren't confused but others were unsure) so the ammonul wasn't running until 6:45.  Guess what his ammonia was?  241. Expletives may have escaped these lips.  But, the good news is we won't have to worry about that anymore!

We handed Porter off to the anesthesiology crew at 7:45 this evening.  Some deep breaths helped me hold it together.  As my eyes filled with tears Chris said to me, "Well, we can't do it unless we do it."  How true.

We had an update shortly after 10 pm.  All of the lines they need are in; including an extra central line like his old Broviac.  They were just waiting for the new liver to arrive and were planning to "begin the procedure soon."  They said it can take anywhere between 6 and 14 hours but that 8 is the norm.  It's going to be a long night but we know how to do that.

A nurse who appeared to be on break in the otherwise empty waiting room kindly brought us some pillows and warm blankets.  Chris finished his sub plans a few minutes ago and we are now trying to rest.  If I could just figure out how to turn off the ridiculously bright light in here I might actually sleep for a minute.  Oh well.