The gift of new lungs part two: from the call to the OR

But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Luke 18:27

Tuesday, January 22nd.  Monday was a holiday, so I was eager to see my colleague Dr. Cathy Ammerman and hear all about the mission trip.  I shed tears of joy and sadness as she painted vivid pictures with her words.  What a great time the mission trip team had last week!

After Cathy left my office, Dr. Brian Foster dropped by.  I always love catching up with him.  The rest of the anesthesia facutly was with their team in the Dominican Republic, so Brian was holding down the fort here.  We had barely begun talking when my phone rang.  I saw that it was a 615 area code (Nashville), and wondered what test I needed to do now.  I apologized to Brian and took the call.    It was around 10:30 am and the call went something like this:

Hello, this is Shelley and I have accepted lungs for you.

Me:  Wait, you must be mistaken.  I am the person with the 99% antibody level.

Shelley:  Yes, I know.  The virtual crossmatch shows a match.

Me:  Oh, Dr. Robbins said I would need a "real" crossmatch.

Shelley:  Ok.  I need for you to call me back at 2:00 and I will give you further instructions.  

I was in shock.  I had only been on the list for 11 days.  I was prepared to be listed for years.  This was unbelievable.  To find a match for size and blood type is challenging, but to match only 1% of that group is nearly impossible.  But you see, God is not limited by anything.  Statistics belong to him!  I was also overcome with sadness for the family of the donor, and I can tell you that feeling never goes away.  They are the real heroes.

The news quickly spread within the College of Nursing, and all of my colleagues were rejoicing.  I called my husband, girls, and my mother.  In the meantime, Shelley called me back and asked me to come on to Vanderbilt and check in so they could draw my blood for the "real" crossmatch.  She also wanted me to go ahead and eat. 

Brian graciously drove me home, followed by another good friend and colleague, Brad Creekmore.  I thought I could drive myself, but I am glad they stepped in. I got some things ready, and Michael and I were soon on our way.  We ate at our favorite gourmet restaurant on I40 once again.

Michael and I arrived at Vanderbilt and checked in around 3:30 pm.  Around 8 pm they had my room ready.  All of the lung transplant patients start out in CVICU because that is where they go after surgery.

Even though a patient only has a short window of time in which to get to the hospital, it can be a day or two before the surgery begins.  That is what happened with me.  The night of the 22 turned to the morning of the 23.  We were not really sure what the delay was, but the nurses and doctors did a great job informing us as they could.  Unfortunately all they knew was that no one was enroute to procure the lungs yet.  There was a bit of bad weather, but it is possible that several organs were procured, and scheduling the timing of teams coming in could be very challenging.  

Two of my dear friends, Tracey Holmes and Betsy Taylor, came by to see me.  They are so fun!

My good friend Carrie Kucera, who practices anesthesia at Vandy, came by to say hi.

During the waiting period, I had blood drawn, IVs started, and I had to take three different showers.  I was amazed at how calm I was during all of this waiting.  That was not me at all- God was holding my hand- and my anxiety- every step of the way!  My poor family was exhausted from trying to sleep in hard waiting room chairs. All of the staff- nurses, physicians, students- went over and above to make us comfortable.

I just could not get over the fact that I had only been on that list for 11 days.  There was no explanation for this other than a miracle.  I told everyone who came in my room about it.  Even the doctors were amazed at the 11 days and 99% antibody issues.  The likelihood of getting lungs at all was slim, yet here I was 11 days later, with an offer of not one, but two healthy lungs.  

The surgical team, led by the fellow, came in several times.  I had a chance to talk with them about my surgeon, Dr. Baccheta.  More than one person described him as a "machine."  Wow.  Laser focus.  Unwaivering.  Top notch skill.  They were impressed with him, so I was too! 

Sometime during this period of time we found out that the "real" crossmatch was perfect, so everything was on go.  Of course there was still the possibility that the lungs would be deemed unfit once the surgeons went to procure them.

Around 8 pm on the night of January 23, we were told that the surgery should happen around 9 pm.  I was still calm- until 9 pm arrived.  All of the sudden I was overcome with emotion and worried about my dog (don't judge).  I was not sure I wanted to do this after all.  I was nauseated, so the nurses brought me medication for the nausea, which also made me sleepy.  

At 10:15 pm on Wednesday January 23, the anesthesia providers came to the room and wisked me off to surgery after my family prayed over me.