Below are the updates posted during Julie's hospital stay via Twitter:
8:08 AM - 29 Apr 13:
Leaving for the hospital
8:54 AM - 29 Apr 13:
Amy is in surgery now
9:41 AM - 29 Apr 13:
Sitting in pre-op
11:31 AM - 29 Apr 13:
Amy is near the end of surgery and everything has gone well! Julie will start soon.
We're still on target for a transplant surgery this Monday, April 29th! We've been counting down the days for a couple of weeks now. The questions we've gotten the most often are 1) "Are you excited?" 2) "Are you nervous?" and 3) "Do you need anything/how can I help?" The answer is a soft "yes" to the first two, and I'll answer the third in a little bit.
It’s happening. In 17 days. I got a call today that all of Amy’s testing went well and we can move forward with the transplant! They have yet to decide which kidney to take out, but we are set to go for surgery on the 29th. This means only 17 more days of dialysis, 17 more restless nights (for me and Chase), and only about 200 more Tums* during meals. I have to say that I think I’m most looking forward to a full night of sleep and something delicious and chocolate (not followed by Tums!)
I’m so thankful to finally know for sure, to finally have an answer. And I’m so thankful to everyone who has helped us get to this point. There are people who have stored our things in Nicaragua, people who have let us stay in their home in the States, let us use their cars, provided phones for us to use, helped raise funds for our medical costs, taken care of me after surgery, taken me to dialysis appointments, treated us to meals, and hundreds, maybe even thousands of people who have prayed for us over the last 2+ years. It humbles us every time we think about how greatly people have loved and cared for us and how little we have done to deserve it all. And if all those things weren’t more than enough, now God has provided someone to step forward and give me one of their organs!! What an incredible picture of what Christ has done for us through his death and resurrection – mercy and grace for the undeserved.
So in a little over two weeks, I will be getting a third kidney! That’s right, neither of mine will be removed since there is no need to remove them and it would add additional risk, but the surgeons will add a third one in, probably near my right hip.
Yesterday, I heard from my potential donor that we are a match! We both had lab work done last Thursday and the results were negative (no reaction - a good thing) so she can continue with more in-depth testing now! She also said that there was an opening in the surgery schedule for April 29th, so if they can get her testing done before then and if everything looks good, we can do the transplant that day. They’ve penciled us in already! We are so excited to receive this news and so thankful to God for answering our prayers thus far. Please continue to pray for the testing – that all would go smoothly and we would be able to move forward with the transplant at the end of April!
You may be wondering who this “she” is, so I’ll be happy to tell you! Her name is Amy Whyatt and she attends our church in Norman, Oklahoma – Wildwood Community Church. Actually, I think I will let her tell you the story. Here is an e-mail I received from her on February 13th.
