Transplant Part 1

     At 2:16pm on April 29, 2019, I was taking a nap and missed a call. I’m guessing only a few minutes later Kevin came running into the bedroom calling my name to get up, that I got the call for a liver. My first call. A lot of people on the transplant list get more than one call for an organ before it is a good organ for them. 

     So I straight up did not think I was going to get the liver. So I took my time. I got in the shower to wash my hair and Kevin was telling me we didn’t have time for that. I called my mom and she immediately flipped out, and I warned her that I may not get this liver. I calmly got my go bags out of my closet and the snack bag I packed for family for the waiting room and a few little gift bags I packed. We loaded the car, called our super family to come pick up Toby if they could, and headed to UAMS and got there by 4 (the time we were asked to be there). It took a while to get us up in a room and then the waiting started. My mama got there by 8pm, and we had some more waiting. In that waiting period I went through several blood tests and scans just to be safe in case I got the organ.

     Finally a doctor came in and explained to us how the selection process works. Words may fail me here, so I apologize if this doesn’t make sense. So please leave a comment if I need to explain something better. When a liver becomes available the top 3 candidates in the region are called in. Then those 3 candidates and that liver are examined to see who would be the best candidate for that liver. This is the part that I’m a little fuzzy on how it works, but somehow a candidate is picked to be the best candidate and match for that particular liver. The liver is then transferred to where that patient is, and the surgeon looks at the liver to make sure it is up to his standard and to make sure he thinks it is good for the patient. And THAT is when you find out the organ is yours. However, it happened a little differently for me. 

     It felt like we waited forever in between any bits of news. My nurse told me I needed to rest, but there was no way I could sleep. I hadn’t eaten anything in over 12 hours and I was hangry, and my nurse told me I could eat until 10pm, and it was 9:40pm. I was panicked and Kevin ran downstairs and called me to tell me what they had at the cafe. Mama still laughs at how quickly I scarfed down that chicken, bacon, ranch wrap. I kept telling Mom and Kevin that I probably wouldn’t get this liver and if I didn’t we would just go to Red Lobster instead. For some reason, all I wanted was seafood and in the moment I was kind of okay with not getting the liver and getting seafood instead. I was a little scared of actually getting this liver. We played Yahtzee for a while in the early hours of the morning still not knowing anything. 

     Around 2 in the morning an anesthesiologist came in and basically told us that the procurement was being done at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the liver would be on it’s way to UAMS. He then explained that after the surgeon looked at it, if he thought the liver looked like a good match for me and was happy with it at that point the liver would be mine. My mama who has always been my voice when it comes to these scenarios asked about my surgeon, Dr. Giorgakis. The anesthesiologist raved about him, even saying “it’s crazy when you get to watch someone who is doing what they were born to do. It comes so natural to him that when an issue comes up it’s like he is able to assess it quicker because his hands already know what to do. I’ve done rotations all over the country and if I had to have a transplant I would want him to do mine. You are in the best hands possible.” When he said these things we relaxed a lot because when you ask this question to others the answer you get most of the time is a short ‘oh they are good. You’ll be fine’. But when a coworker of theirs who has been in the operating room with them has that many good things to say, it says quite a bit about that doctor. He left us with the potential surgery time of 5am, and there was terrified, nervous excitement in the room when he left. 

     Even with the reassurance that Dr. Giorgakis was excellent, this is the point where I started feeling the nerves. This was the first time I let myself think that I may actually get this liver, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Someone was going to die and either them or their family made a decision that would allow for me to have a new life. So in a break from Yahtzee I wrote a few paragraphs to my donor’s family about how I was feeling with the possibility that I may receive their loved one’s liver in the next few hours. 

     It was around 3:30am and we were so anxious about whether or not the liver would end up being mine, so Kevin went out and asked my nurse if she had heard anything, and if the surgery was still a go. She replied that they would come get me if it was. I wrote a potential post for the Chopped Liver social media, just in case, and we waited. Oddly, out of all this I am so thankful that before all the craziness started I got this picture of my Mama’s and Kevin’s hands holding mine with my Hospital bracelets on and my hospital gown in the background. It’s my most favorite picture that’s ever been taken, because those two people are my pillars and my foundation that kept me sane and here throughout all of this crazy mess. 

     Around 4 am exactly Transport came in with a bed and said they were going to take me down stairs. I had to hurriedly say goodbye to Kevin and my mama, all of us still not knowing if surgery was a go or not and thinking that would be the last time we would see each other until after surgery. They wheeled me down to PACU where a nurse took my vitals and got me all situated for surgery. At this point I still have no idea if I am even going to go through this transplant. The nurse knew nothing and I was a little aggravated because I was so scared at this point. I was on this bed in the PACU with no one there with me and again I was playing the waiting game. 

     All of the sudden Kevin, my mama, Devin (Kevin’s twin brother), and Emily (Devin’s wife) walked in to wait with me and I could have cried. I don’t even remember what was discussed or anything but I remember being just so thankful I didn’t have to wait by myself. I got to hold my Mama’s hand and Kevin’s hand and my world was so much calmer. Devin and Emily went out to the waiting room, and it was just my mama, Kevin and I. Then we finally got to meet Dr. Giorgakis. Who came in and told us he was going to go examine the liver then and if he thought it was perfect then I would be taken back for surgery. He did tell us that even if he thought the liver looked good, if he got in the operating room and opened me up and something made him question he would stop the surgery. That made me nervous, but I remember him putting his hand on my shoulder and saying ‘I say this because we only want the best, isn’t that right? It’s got to be perfect.’ That made me feel WORLDS better. 

     After a little more waiting, and getting that extra time with Kevin and my Mama they finally came in and said that Dr. Giorgakis said the liver looked good. At that point I remember having this weird calm, and not being scared or nervous at all. The last thing I remember is my Mama squeezing my hand before they wheeled me back.

Tune in for part 2 of my transplant journey soon! 
XOXO 
Ali