The Countdown Begins

Last night, my wife Jill and I drove up to our hotel a few blocks from the hospital. We had to have a change of plans about our accommodations. Because of concerns around allergies at my in-laws’ house, it was recommended that I not stay there before or after the surgery. So now, we’re staying in a hotel until the surgery tomorrow. I will be in the hospital for a couple of days then go to the hospital’s “transplant house”, inexpensive accommodations made available to donors and recipients after transplant surgeries. That means that my in-laws will no longer be my post-surgery caretakers, but my wife will be staying with me in the transplant house acting as my caretaker while she works remotely. We are very grateful to her office for approving that.

This morning, I had one last round of blood tests at the children’s hospital. They wanted to do another tissue cross-match, so it was just a couple of vials. All in all, we were there for about 15 minutes. It took longer to get there than it did to do the blood draw.

Now, the countdown has begun. At 3PM today, I start my bowel prep, which is like preparing for a colonoscopy: I take a laxative and don’t wander too far from a bathroom. After I start I can only drink clear liquids (coffee and tea without creamer are OK) and I can’t eat or drink anything after midnight. So, it should be a fun night. Tomorrow morning I need to report to the hospital at 7AM for the surgery. If I’m feeling well enough after surgery tomorrow, I’ll update here with how I’m feeling.

As of right now, though, I’m feeling kind of zen. I’m still nervous, but I’m still pretty calm. Like I mentioned before, things don’t really hit me until they’re happening, so I’m not likely to get too nervous until sometime tomorrow morning. It’s just pretty crazy, months of preparation leading up to tomorrow morning

Wish me luck on my bowel prep tonight, and with my surgery tomorrow!