It's for Real!

Eric and his kids on "Kidney Day" A prayer for our man, our surgeon, and the family who is right now mourning for the loss of their loved one even as we celebrate the new life that loved one will give to Eric.
What to do when you're stuck in a hospital room for 9 hours? Be very thankful when a cousin brings her portable DVD players!

Well, it's for real this time! Eric is really going to have his kidney transplant. It has been a whirlwind day. Eric woke up feeling really sick this morning. Sometimes, when you are on dialysis, you just feel sick. Sometimes you throw up even though you don't have a virus. Eric was in the middle of throwing up when his phone rang. By ring three he pulled himself together and answered with a raspy, "Hello?" As soon as I heard the female voice on the other end of the line I knew it was "the call!" I started calling for children to hurry up and get dressed because "It's Daddy's kidney!" That's all the needed to hear to go into rocket mode. "It's daddy's kidney?! REALLY?!" I called Eric's mom even as Eric was still on the phone, asking if she could come get the kids.

After Eric got off the phone he calmed us all down a bit. There was a kidney. It was a really good kidney. But first we had to go to the hospital to submit final bloodwork. After that we'd wait about 4 hours to get final word.

We did the blood work, then went to Eric's work so that he could get his work laptop (the one day he didn't bring it home). [He plans to work from home once he's well enough.] By the time we got home it was almost 2pm. We figured we'd get the final "good to go" by 5pm. Nope. At 2:30pm while we are packing madly for 4 kids to spend the week with grandma and 2 adults to spend the week at the hospital, Eric gets a call that we need to be at the hospital by 3pm. Crap!

I literally started throwing clothes in the suit case. Eric's blood sugar was very high when the blood work came back (400). His blood pressure was also high. They wanted us to come to the hospital immediately to get checked in so they could closely monitor his blood sugar. [What a joke. If you're a type I Diabetic who has ever spent time in a hospital you know it's the WORST place to try to do well with your sugar because nobody is there when they need to be, food is late/early, etc.] The bottom line was, if his sugar didn't get in control quickly, he could lose the kidney. Eric started running around (literally) and gave himself a healthy dose of insulin. [Exercise can lower blood sugar.]

We got to the hospital and got checked in. Lots of boring waiting. Hours. People coming in and out. No word on if we FOR SURE get the kidney. Finally Eric's doctor came in. He verified that his blood sugar was now fine (135) and blood pressure was good. He signed off. He assured is it was going to happen. "No way it's not going to happen this time." were his exact words. After the doc left we called to let the rest of the family know that it was a go and they could come to visit.

And visit they did! Tonight we've had 21 people here! Thankfully only 13 of us were in the room at one time. I'm telling you, that many people when 5 of them are kids is just TOO many people in a hospital room! Before the majority of Eric's family left we had a group prayer. It feels insensitive and weird to take a picture during a prayer, but IF...if something should happen I will want the visual reminder of how much Eric is loved. I plan to take pics of the entire journey, actually.

Eventually my mom and step-dad and aunt got here. My family are good folks. They mobilized the "take care of the Gillispie kids" effort in a matter of moments! They don't have a care that will fit all four kids, so they had to drive two cars down (3 hours). The kids will stay with their Grandma and Grandpa in Wichita until Eric gets out of the hospital. My parents work, but my sister isn't currently working. God send for us! My sis will watch the kids during the day, even working with the big kids on their school work. My sis is fighting the good fight (day 4!) to stop smoking. Hopefully my kids won't put her over the edge!!!!!

At 10:30 the kids left. Everybody left. Now it's just me and Eric and the minutes ticking away until surgery time. We've been told the surgery will be at 6am, but we don't know if that's when they will come and get him (?) or if it will be earlier (?) Or maybe they will be late!

I've got an internet connection in the hospital, so I should be pretty connected. Heck--I might get more work done this week than I have in the last six months [ with no kids, no homeschool, etc.]!

As I end this Eric's blood sugar is high again. It's so frustrating because we know what to do and they act like you will be sent to the electric chair if you give yourself your own medicine. Earlier tonight he went low (because they weren't going to let him eat or drink!). We won on that one and we got a meal, but they wouldn't let him take a shot with it. So...he's high! Guess what else is high? Blood pressure. Because they won't let him take his medication but won't bring him "their" medication. There are 7 minutes to go before Eris is NPO until surgery. At 11:58 he's popping some pills if they don't come back. At any rate, pray that nothing happens to Eric's body to stop this!!!!

Anita