Transplant!

On Tuesday, at around 11 pm, Maggie received her third and final call for lungs. I had just gone to bed and Maggie was downstairs finishing up her treatment. She came marching upstairs, yelling at me to get up. After a brief discussion and a moment of shock, she took a quick shower, we packed some bags and then drove to Stanford Hospital. The roads were empty that time of night and we arrived in what seemed like a very short amount of time. There was hardly any time to discuss what was happening, let alone how we were feeling, and before we knew it we were at the hospital.

She was admitted to a regular hospital room, where an assortment of tests were done. We were told to expect surgery around 7 am the next morning, so we had a long wait ahead of us. However, time passed extremely quickly, and our friend Anna Modlin was kind enough to sit with us. She has had a lung transplant of her own and so was a great source of advice and comfort as we prepared for what lay ahead of us. We didn't know whether the surgery would go ahead at this point, the donor team had to travel to the donor's location, check if the organs were suitable and then harvest them. We were keeping our expectations in check in case it turned out to be a "dry run". Around 4 am, orders were received to take Maggie up to the operating room and prepare her for surgery. There was suddenly a sense of urgency and we were hurried out of the room. I said goodbye to Maggie and she was taken off into the operating room. For the next hour or so, she was given light sedation and we waited to receive news from the donor team as to whether the surgery would go ahead. They don't put someone fully to sleep until they are absolutely sure the surgery will go ahead. Finally, around 6 am, the hospital heard from the donor team and they started to put Maggie to sleep and prepare her body for surgery. This was going to happen!

The surgery lasted around 7 hours and I sat anxiously in the waiting room. Anna left as surgery started, but her mother Robin very kindly came and sat with me. The nurses were great at keeping me updated and came out a few times to tell me how it was going. Maggie's parents and brother arrived on a flight from Chicago and made it to the hospital before surgery was over. Finally, the surgeon, Doctor Jack Boyd, came out to find us. The surgery had been a success, everything went according to plan, the new lungs were installed!

Maggie was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where she is currently. Just a few hours after surgery last night, she was taken off the ventilator and her breathing tube was removed. This is excellent news, as it means she is already able to breathe for herself with her new lungs. She is in some discomfort and last night seemed anxious and still a little out of it from all the anesthetic she received. The doctors say her numbers look excellent, basically as good as could be hoped for at this stage. There is a long road ahead of us of course and we will be taking each day as it comes. I have been making posts on Facebook but realize not everybody uses it, so thought a blog update was in order. We spent last night at home, getting some much needed rest, and letting Maggie have some much needed rest from the ordeal she has been through. I just called the ICU for an update, and was told the night was uneventful, everything is going well for Maggie. We will be going to see her shortly.

The plan over the next few days is to take her off all the machines, get her up and walking, and for her to start using her wonderful new lungs. It is hard to say how long she will be in hospital, everyone is different, but I know the objective is to get her home as soon as possible. There will be a long rehabilitation and recovery ahead of us as Maggie gets used to her new lungs.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes, we are not out of the woods yet so please keep thinking good thoughts. I am so grateful that Maggie has finally received new lungs and that things are going so well for her. I am extremely thankful to the donor and the donor's family for giving her this opportunity. We don't know anything about the donor, and we may never find out details, but a family somewhere has suffered a tragic loss and we should be mindful of that. To give your self for the benefit of others is surely one of the greatest gifts possible and for that I am so thankful.