Today was one of those days where I felt my heart explode many times. The highlight was when Brooks kissed me, told me he loved me, then as I walked away he sprinted across the room to give me the biggest bear hug.Tonight when we put him to bed, I squeezed him extra tight remembering that just 3 months ago was when I was squeezing him tight before handing him off to the OR team for his liver transplant.
Generally speaking 3 months is not much time, but it is a huge milestone for his recovery. While you’re never fully out of the woods when your body has a new organ, we know that typically signs of rejection show up within the first few months. So today we celebrate how blessed we have been by his progress and health and we pray every day that it continues.
While looking back on old pictures from the hospital is heartbreaking and honestly reminds me of a time I never want to go back to, November 13 is a day we experienced a true miracle! After a draining 24 hours of testing, my brother was a confirmed match and was immediately sent off to surgery to save Brooks’ life. The fact that we were able to have a donor so quickly is a miracle in itself. While at the time I knew the urgency of Brooks being classified as 1A on the transplant list, I guess I never let myself fully process what exactly that meant. I have recently learned that when a patient is listed as a Class 1A, they are deemed to have hours to days to live without a transplant. Talk about gut wrenching. But here we are, by the grace of God, celebrating THREE AMAZING MONTHS with his new liver!!
Grant comes home at the end of the month for his 3 month post-op visit at the Cleveland Clinic. We’ve missed him so much (thank goodness for FaceTime) and are so excited to have Brooksy reunited with his buddy. He’s recovered so well and I am so anxious to get confirmation that his liver is back to full size again!
Brooks has been weaned off a few of his meds, is still getting biweekly labs but now only has scheduled visits at the CC once a month! We’re so so grateful for THE BEST care from his doctors and pray we can keep moving right along.
As always, God is good and we are forever grateful for your prayers, love and support. Thank you for following our story.