Pancreas

Gah I am EXHAUSTED! That isn't even the half of it....

So I got a call from my dad yesterday morning around 5 am telling me that he just got a call from Jewish hospital and it's time for his pancreas transplant. I thought he was joking. If you know my dad at all you know that pulling this kind of joke is not beyond him.

See he has only been on the list for a pancreas for three weeks. He had a kidney transplant in December 2007 and they mentioned a possible pancreas transplant in the future. For those that don't know, my dad is diabetic. And for lack of any medical knowledge, I will just say that means his pancreas doesn't do it's job. So we knew it was a possibility. A few months ago he started heading down that road....getting his gallblatter removed, different things working towards this transplant.Then they made him active just three weeks ago.

Anyways, we all get up to the hospital around 6:30. "All" meaning my dad, my mom, my sisters, me, Joe, my grandma, and my aunt Susan my dad's sister. So they tell us they are making sure the tissue on the pancreas matches, and they should know that by 9 oclock and start the surgery by ten. Well of course nothing started on time, but long morning short, they did match, and the surgery was underway around 12. We were initially told that it would take 5-7 hours, then my dad's surgeon said it would probably take between four and five. Well it took just under four hours and the whole thing was done.

And of course this whole time people are coming and going, and texting and calling, and commenting my mom, sisters, and me on Facebook (thanks to all for your prayers!) and then he is sent to ICU and in recovery. So different people get to go back and see him at different times, and my mom and I ended up spending the night at the hospital. And we were there all day today, minus a quick four hour break to rush back to Hardin County and take showers, change, eat, not look like death, etc.

Then we head on back up there and we find out that he's doing so well they are going to go ahead and move him from ICU down to the transplant floor. Normally he would have to spend at least two nights in ICU so this is good news, yay! So they move him down there around six (I am majorly guessing at times here) and more people come to visit. I head home with Angie and Bree around 8 and here I am, with Joe, staying at my parents' house with my sisters for the night, back to work in the morning!

Now after reading all that, maybe you feel like I do right now, like it FLEW by. A whirlwind of miracles, and prayers, and sleep depravation. Basically this is what I have to say at the end of these two crazy days:

Thank you Lord!

There are really no other words than that. It is completely insane to me to think that Monday night we all went to bed "without a care in the world" and here we are, 48 hours later and our lives are changed! Whether anyone realizes that change or not, we have been blessed with possibly many many more years with my dad. God has great plans for him! He has been diabetic since before I was born, I truly cannot describe to you how BIG OF A DEAL this is!

I just hope that by this example you will all realize the power of PRAYER in our lives. My God is mighty to save.