Dad got a heart!

I was so thrilled to be able to be with "Papa Matty" for his convalescence from his heart transplant back on September 19th. Dad had his first surgery in April 2013, and at that point the door was opened to a transplant. He had been living with the LVAD device since then, with its external power source and daily dressing changes for the driveline. Officially, he had been on the list since October 2013, I believe. Well, on Thursday night, September 18th, dad called to tell me that they were gassing up the car and heading to Froetdert Hospital. They got the call.

An old photo of mom & dad & Scout that brought me a source of love when I found out that Thursday night that mom & dad were on their way down to the hospital in Milwaukee

By 5 am on Friday, my Aunt Jan had sent me a text to say that dad was in surgery. I couldn't sit still. And my next step was to sit and wait patiently.... WAIT, I CAN'T WAIT PATIENTLY!!! Better book a flight...

At DIA waiting

I coordinated with Jake, and he picked me up at the Milwaukee airport with mom in the car. That night, we stopped by dad's hospital room so that we could lay our eyes on this man. He still had a ventilator tube in, and he had a dozen tubes and cords running from him, but he already looked so much better than I expected. We left that night to spend the night at my Aunt Michelle & Uncle Bob's house, and I already felt this calm: Dad was going to be all right.

On Saturday morning with the new transplant recipient

Some of the wonderful caregivers

It was interesting to run into some of the same nurses that were there for dad in April 2013. What a reaction! They all seemed so excited to see him with his new heart!

Me & Dad

You can kind of get a sense of how big these rooms are and how much equipment exists 

As I mentioned, we were staying with Bob & Michelle, and it was a great time. It sounds weird to say that I went to Wisconsin for my dad's heart transplant and had a great time, but I did. My Aunt & Uncle were the most amazing hosts, and it was so good to see my cousins. I really enjoyed their dogs, too!

Mariah & Jake messing with Aspen

Mom & Me & Auntie Michelle

It wasn't too long, and it was time to return. At the time, I didn't know exactly how things would shake out, but I knew that dad would be in good hands. In the meantime, Cory & the girls were hanging in there with the help of the amazing ladies who came to help out--Grandma Margie & Aunt Lacey. Knowing what I know now, I can say now that dad stayed in the CVICU for about 5 days, and he stayed in the hospital a little over 2 weeks. Since then, they've been back to Froetdert many times, and his progress is good. It's clear that this is a new chapter for dad--the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure essentially vanished when he got the new heart. While there are many issues to deal with as a result of the transplant, heart disease is not one of them. Oh, and a word about the heart--there are many feelings about this whole experience that are difficult to put into words, and certainly dad would be more apt to reflect on this experience than me (a mere observer), but the heart itself is something that brings me a great deal of awe. Organ donation is TRULY the gift of life. It's not lost on me that while we gasped with relief for the chance that dad was getting with this new heart, there was another family gasping with heartache. Here's what we know--Dad was 4th on the list, it's suspected that St. Luke's was the other hospital that passed on the heart, and Froetdert also passed on one of their other patients. This heart looked like a good fit for dad, though, and the heart came from a male age 53 (or was it 56? I can't remember.) Eventually, dad might have the chance to know more about the donor, and there is an organization that can act as a liaison to the donor's family when dad or any of us are ready to reach out. For now, they don't say too much, and it's for the protection of the donor's family. I love my dad, and I am so grateful that we'll get to have him around for another many years, but I know that this chance at life comes because someone else suffered a personal tragedy. To that family, I can only say that I am grateful that they chose to donate their loved one's organs. Likely, my dad is not the only person who now has a new life on account of this donor. Thank you. I love organ donation. What a gift!

Returning to CO--flying into MSP