Trial Run

***Updated to say: I have just seen some of the blog posts that you all have put up about Eric's transplant. I am *SO* humbled. I know it doesn't make sense, but I am so embarressed that I got everybody so excited. I was telling Eric on the way out of the hospital, "It is like buying your tickets for adoption pickup and then being told you can't travel after all." Telling everybody that your not traveling after all is the worst feeling ever.***

Dear Friends and Family,

I am so humbled by your prayers and words of encouragement. This has been such a whirl-wind day. At 9am Eric was called by the Kidney Transplant team to say that he needed to be at the hospital for testing. There were two kidneys and he was 3rd on the list. By 9:45 (after piling 4 kids into the car as fast as I could!) we were all at the hospital. They did the blood testing that would determine if Eric was a match. We were told to go home and wait.

At around 2:30 we got the call that Eric was now "primary"--meaning that he was to get one of the two kidneys. We were to go to his kidney doctor's office for hospital orders and a final physical. We had done some preparation (packing for Eric's stay at the hospital) but it was still very harried as we sent the kids to our neighbor's to spend the night and packed up baby Ryder's things to go along with us.

While at the kidney doctor's office Eric's dialysis team cried happy tears with us. Without sounding conceited, I think we are sort of a favorite. After all, most people on dialysis are old. We come in for clinic every month with 3 or 4 (cute!) kids. LOL! Anyway, our ladies at clinic were so truly happy. We asked the doctor if this was really a go. He said it was. We wouldn't be there if it wasn't a go. Eric would get a kidney tonight.

From the doc's office we headed to the hospital, where there was a room waiting and Eric got checked in. The put in an IV, talked to us about surgery and such, did a bundle of last minute tests on Eric, and we waited. They told us it wasn't a total all clear yet because the kidney wasn't cleared from the cadaver. But that they were treating him as an "all go" because they believed that to be the case. We didn't really worry about it. But we kept waiting. And waiting.

Finally at around 7pm the transplant coordinator called Eric's room phone. While listening to her, he made this face. And I knew. We weren't getting the kidney.

The kidney was found to have been somewhat damaged (in some way) after it was taken from the cadaver. Our kidney surgeon is known to be a picky guy. He wasn't going to put a less than perfect kidney into Eric. About an hour later Eric was discharged from the hospital.

It has been such a long day. In fact, I really thought it was Wednesday. Two days in one! We are so extremely disappointed. But at the same time, there are blessings in this. Before today we didn't know if Eric was #3 or #30 on the list. Before today we probably wouldn't have thought much about taking a weekend trip to visit my parents. Before today we didn't have a clear picture of the process of "the day of transplant."

Now we know that the next kidney could very well be Eric's. We know not to leave Tulsa! And we know what it will be like next time. We regretted how quickly we shuffled the kids off to our neighbor's house. No family prayer. No sentimental goodbyes (just in case). Next time, that will be a priority.

This is going to happen. And we believe it will happen soon. I'll be surprised if Eric doesn't have his kidney before Kendi comes home. We're hoping she will come home on Labor Day Weekend.

Please pray for my hubby's heart. He's very brave and hasn't shed a tear. But I know he is weary of dialysis. I know he is disappointed that this wasn't THE day. We are so lucky to have him.