December 30, 2007
2:33am - We got "The Call" that there was a possible liver for Alan.
3:30am - Drove away from home, waving goodbye to family. Would not return until Valentine's Day.
6:00am - Arrived at hospital. Went through the admission process just like it was any other admission.
Alan outfitted with an IV and began receiving fluids pre-op medications.
Family began to arrive. Alan received more pre-op meds:
8:20am - Alan was tired. And hungry. And we could have hours yet to wait. Kristin took a turn entertaining a cranky baby amongst a pensive crowd.
8:35am - Greg got Alan to go to sleep. He always could work magic with Alan on his shoulder.
9:00am - We were escorted to a pre-op room to continue waiting.
9:38 am - Once good and awake from his short nap, Alan was extremely happy and active. Hard to believe the baby playing with everything he could reach and flirting with everyone in sight would soon be headed off to surgery.
10:34am - Still waiting. In a tiny room. The nurses from the recovery room next door brought in a stuffed horse for Alan. They had been saving it for a special occasion, and decided transplant day for such a cutie pie was just the occasion they'd been waiting for.
11:24am - Still waiting. Time for another nap. Gramps' lap this time.
11:30am - Another nap interrupted. This time for the big event. A nurse carried Alan away down the hall, and into the operating room. We watched them until we couldn't see them anymore. By nothing more than answered prayer, Alan didn't cry to be carried away by a stranger, to a strange place. She talked to him the whole way, pointing out pictures on the walls. We have always been grateful such a difficult transition went so smoothly.
11:42am - All set up for more waiting.
2:14pm - More waiting...
and waiting.
3:17 pm - Alan's old yucky liver was brought out for us to see and feel. It was big. And hard.
4:19pm - Still waiting. Things were sounding pretty good for Alan, although there were still a few hours left to go before surgery would be over. We gathered all the wonderful family and friends that had come to support us for a group picture.
8:21pm - Finally able to see our baby boy.
The longest day of our lives? Probably.
The worst day of our lives? Most definitely not.
The best? That's hard to say.
December 30, 2007 was a beginning.
The beginning of a new life for Alan. Of a long journey for all of us.
We are forever grateful to God for the blessings he has shown Alan and our family. And to the family that said, 'yes' when it mattered most. And we can honestly say that we treasure each day with the ones we love, including the one whose life was spared on December 30, 2007.
