GO UMC TRANSPLANT TEAM! THANK YOU GOD!!!!

Hi - it's 11:23 and I just got home - mom called me about one o'clock today saying that they had recieved another phone call and that the transplant team had requested that they report to the hospital within the hour - I readied my lesson plans for next week - went and got Richard, took him to his daddy at work and headed to the hospital - when I got there daddy was already back in the "holding area" as they did some testing to see if he and the donor kidney were "friendly to each other" - by this time they did have a room that they were letting mom stay in while daddy was in this holding pattern - at around 5 the nurse in the OR called to say that the next call would be to tell us that they had made the first incision or that the procedure had been cancelled - about 5:20 the phone rang with the good news that everything was "a go" and daddy was indeed in surgery and would be for an hour to two hours - mom and I went downstairs and grabbed a bite to eat and quickly headed back up to the room to make phone calls to friends and relatives to say this was REALLY going to happen unlike four weeks ago - by 7:25 Dr. Blandeau was peeping through the door with this HUGE grin ear to ear - he said that all went well and that daddy was in recovery but hopefully would be back upstairs to CCU about 8:30 or 9 at the latest - it took a bit longer than that because daddy was cold and in a lot of pain - mom assured me she was fine and so was daddy but I was NOT budging till I had seen daddy and given him a kiss!!! At about 9:45 I was out at the nursing station asking for an update when I heard a sleepy but strong for just coming through transplant surgery - "there's my baby" - once a daddy's girl ALWAYS a daddy's girl!! My brother and his family arrived safely in town and are staying at mom and dad's tonight before heading back home tomorrow - my brother is a music minister and is at his new church for the first Sunday this weekend.

The next few hours and days are REALLY crucial - I covet your continued prayers for daddy especially (Jerry Spires), but also the staff taking care of him and our family as we each help daddy through this recovery. Daddy will be in the CCU for about five days.
I am so grateful to live in Jackson MS tonight where GREAT things are going on in the TRANSPLANT department!!


**This is the email I sent out to my coworkers, excuse me if the wording is choppy - I am exhausted and headed to be for a few hours.