Scared and Excited!

Visited dad yesterday (Wednesday) and today.

Wednesday, he was doing much better than on Mon/Tues. He was finally in his right mind. He admitted that he had a few pretty scary moments. One morning he woke up and couldn't remember anything. He was asking himself questions like, "What am I?", "Who am I?", "Do I belong to someone?". When he finally remembered Linda (his wife), he started to sob... he was relieved - but scared because he didn't know what was going on.

He said he didn't want to be left alone in the hospital for another night. "Its so scary here, son. I'm tellin ya - at night, they experiment on me." I was laughing out loud when he was telling me this. He had a grin as well because he knew it wasn't true - but its genuinely how he felt when he woke up. "Its like the freakin x-files!"

He also told me that on Tuesday afternoon, an instructor for a group of nursing students from Algonquin wanted to use dad as an example for changing a dressing for a chest tube. Dad said it was ok. He was with Becky at the time. Just as he saw the students about to enter, he asked Becky, "Becks, when they turn me over, should I fart as loud as I can?"

"Nooo no no no no no!" Becky insisted. They both had a pretty good laugh about it and were snickering during the procedure.

Just as they were finishing up the procedure, Dad yelled across the room, "How 'bout now, Becks?" They both laughed.

When I visited dad today, he was in his house coat, legs crossed, looking very comfortable. No IV, no catheter. Still has the chest tube, but its a smaller, more manageable tube then before. He can still walk around.

Chel and I brought him dinner - pineapple chicken stir fry on basmati rice. He loved it - thanks Chel!.

Man - its so great to see dad in a good mood. He has an energy in his voice that I haven't heard in months. It must be the blood transfusions he receives... they must really rejuvenate his system.

My dad was also thrilled when I told him that next Monday, December 15th is the official date for the transplant! Mom's ecstatic! She was really worried about dad. She's so glad to know everything is going to be alright!

Its so obvious that if this transplant doesn't happen soon, the next time he comes to ER might not end as well as this one. Every time he gets sick, he gets much more sick than the last.

So - here it is - this is the official posting. I'm 100% doing the transplant - its happening 99% on December 15th. It may happen earlier if dad gets worse. Or, if dad takes a miraculous turn for the better (very unlikely), we could postpone 'till January. But most likely, its going to be Dec 15th.

And I need to pass on this fantastic news. Thank you so much for all your prayers - they've really been answered! As some of you might have been able to tell from some of the posts last month, Chelsea and I were very sceptical about moving forward with the transplant. I'm telling you - we've both had a 180° turn. Chelsea and I both feel great about the decision to donate! I'm still a little nervous, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is going to be by my side every step of the way. And my wonderful wife will be there too!

Keep praying that God will guide the hands of the surgeons. Pray that Dad's body will fall in LOVE with my liver. Pray that my liver will be strong enough to fight off the HEP C virus that's been slowly killing him! Pray that we'll have a great Christmas in the Toronto General with the family.

~

I can't wait 'till this is all over! AHHH! I CAN'T WAIT to read back on this blog entry in particular with a massive, perfectly healed scar on my chest, half a liver and twice a dad and say, "Boooy... I am soooooooooo glad that's over!"