Today was my donor work-up day at UCSF. Remember I told you that Jason KO’ed after his work-up last week? Well, I know now why! After sleeping when I got home, I’m wide awake now.
Wednesday started out by waking up 4am to eat something. If my last appt was at 2 in the afternoon and I had to fast the whole day, you better know I’d wake up to put something in my stomach. Not that I get much sleep anyways – between monitoring Chris so that he doesn’t throw up at night from the night feeds to Evan wanting to cuddle to Nate waking up from his nightmares – I’ve mastered not sleeping. My coworker always jokes wih me that maybe it’s good that I’m Chris’ donor so that I can actually sleep after so long!
I did the lab work – 10 vials of blood last week as well as the drop-in chest x-ray and EKG test.
My first appointment today was the ultrasound test. As I was waiting, I overheard two adult transplant patients who had follow-up care and I thought to myself, that’d be Christopher! It amazed me to learn that the woman, who was diagnosed with liver cancer 15 years ago, kept all her eggs in God’s hand. By this, I mean that God would be the one to show her when it was time. And I guess God was not ready because she was transplanted in June without any symptoms of liver cancer. I don’t know how sick she was but she was only on the list for 6 months. When the surgeons went in, they discovered the cancer was dead. To make a long story short, she trusted that God would see her through it and He did.
Dan, the ultrasound technician, was the same tech who saw the twins when they were in utero. So, it was the same method but in this case, we looked at the liver, gall bladder, bladder, etc. Wish I took anatomy in HS instead of Physics – then I’d know what those internal organs did!
My second appointment was the with one of the physicians for a physical. We went over any questions I had and my labs. Labs look good so far. Phew!
A little light-headed from not eating, my CT scan was the last appointment in which they look at the volumetrics of the liver and the arteries and bile ducts and such. If you’ve never got a CT scan before like me, it’s a bit scary. The nurse put an IV in my arm (after missing the first time) and injected a contrast dye into my veins to help the machine locate the arteries. I told Jason that I almost panicked. They warned my that I’d get hot all over, get a metallic taste in my mouth, and that I’d have the urge to pee but man, it was overwhelming! After the first scan, they injected another contrast dye into my veins but at the same time, they gave me Benadryl to calm the body of any reactions. They scanned me and I was ready to go home drowsy and all.
12 hours of fasting, I met Jason at the Cafeteria and didn’t care about my diet because I had calories to spare anyways. I indulged in a cheeseburger, curly fries, and corn bread and it was the best meal ever! I know how Christopher felt when he had to fast the first time. Not a happy camper!
As of today, we are one step closer to Christopher’s transplant. I don’t want to expect too much and all I can do is pray that I’m a match for Christopher.
I wanted to thank Nate’s schoolmates at SAIC for the lovely get well cards for Christopher. It was a nice surprise when I got home today from a long day. Those kids are so sweet with their messages of love and prayer! SAIC is also throwing an ice cream social for Christopher next week and I’m touched that the community has our back.
So, even though God isn’t telling me directly, He reminds me that, through various avenues, He is guiding us through our transplant journey as well.
