Transplant Week - The Call
Transplant Week - The Call
A Dry Run Six Years Ago Today
Welcome to my favorite week of the year! This week is the anniversary of my second heart transplant, and so much more! Stay with me as I re-live and savor the wonderful memories of that week with you.
Six years ago today, October 1, 2018, at 1:08 in the morning, I got the call that a heart was available for transplant. I had been living in an apartment near Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee for two months while I waited on the heart transplant list.
The first Sunday in August, Jay drove me and my little terrier mix, Gidget McFidget from Michigan to Nashville where I rented a small apartment for us to live during the wait and the following recovery period. I had no idea if my plan would work, but it was my best chance at continuing to live.
Jay flew back to Michigan, leaving the two of us alone in an unknown city. We quickly developed a routine. Gidget made sure I got out of the apartment every day because she had to go outside to do her business.
September 30 was not a good day for me. I had been sick with a tummy bug all weekend and had not been able to keep down food or water, or even my medications. I planned to call the transplant clinic when they opened at 8:00 in the morning, but they called me at 1:08.
Once I received that call, I put the plan into motion. I called Jay so he could get a flight to Nashville. I called my father so he and his wife could come to stay at my apartment with Gidget until Jay arrived. And I drove myself to the hospital for the transplant.
Shakespeare had something to say about best-laid plans, and all my planning was for nought. The heart was no good and the surgery was called off. We all went back to my apartment in a glum mood.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Stay tuned as I fill in the details during the coming week.