It was 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, August 18th- 8/18/18. I was working and Dave was home with the kids. I was busy caring for my NICU babies and he was busy caring for our babies. We knew “the call” would come, but after almost 3 months of waiting for that call, we became kind of immune to the fact that soon “the call” was coming.
I had just finished up with my little NICU baby when I took a break to look at my phone. I had a text that said, “Call now. Emergency.” My heart dropped and I immediately called Dave. The first thing I thought was, “Uh oh. Something happened to one of the kids.” When Dave picked up he said, “They have a liver for Abby!” It took a second for that to register. “The call” had come.
From 3:30pm on, it was a crazy, emotional rollercoaster. I called my charge nurse and told her I needed coverage as soon as possible while Dave frantically packed things for myself, Abby and himself and found childcare for Andrew. Thankfully, I work at CHOP and that was exactly where Dave and Abby were headed. In a matter of minutes, our whole world was turned upside down.
By 5:30pm, we were all together up in Abby’s room where we were getting her prepped for surgery. The liver team met us in the room and told us the liver looked good on paper but they needed to go put eyes on it themselves before they said it was a go. So, we prepped Abby for the OR and waited. The team had to travel about 2 hours away and told us not to expect any news until about 8:30pm. And, there was always the chance that this liver would not work and we would be going back home. We prayed and waited. And during the wait, our friend and photographer, Meg Brock, was able to come and take photos to document our liver transplant journey. The following photos are thanks to her incredible work.
At 7:30pm, we went to pre-op and continued our wait. The nurses were so kind and so excited with us. Abby was not sure what was going on but was content to watch Daniel Tiger. Dave and I cried, prayed, chatted and prayed some more. Choosing to place your child in surgery knowing that the next few weeks ahead were going to be so painful but the resulting rest of her life was going to be amazing was so hard to do. Abby never ceases to amaze us and we knew she would do the same in this situation.
At 9:30pm, we got the call. The liver was a GO! This was Abby’s liver.
We were ecstatic and yet, the wave of emotions knowing that in our joy another family was suffering a heart wrenching loss was quite the emotional journey to navigate.
From that moment on, things moved quickly. At 10:20pm, we said our “See You Laters” and watched as they wheeled our precious baby girl back to surgery. We knew the risks. We knew the possibilities. But, we were trusting an All-Knowing God and Great Physician for the outcome. We knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that night, God was in the OR room with Abby and her nurses and doctors.
Sending your child to surgery has got to be one of the hardest things you do as a parent. This was our 4th time watching her be wheeled into surgery… and it never gets easier. Dave and I bunked in the OR waiting room for the night. We were the only ones in there. We ate some snacks. We watched some TV. We texted friends and family. And, since we had both been up since 4:30am, we tried to close our eyes. At 3:30am on Sunday, the surgeon walked into the room. “Surgery went beautifully,” she said. “Abby tolerated everything great. We were able to connect the liver up perfectly to all of Abby’s veins, arteries and bile duct. We were also able to take the breathing tube out after surgery. There really isn’t much to tell you. Surgery was pretty much textbook.” The wave of relief was overwhelming. Then it occurred to me. “Wait, the whole liver?” I asked. “Yes, Abby received a whole liver.” the surgeon said. The ramifications of that single word “whole” sent Dave and I into another realm of emotions. That night as we rejoiced in LIFE being given to our daughter, another family was mourning the loss of their child… a child in similar size to our Abby. Because of the selfless choice of another mother and father in a devastating situation, our daughter was given the gift of life.
As we waited another 45 minutes for Abigail to be transferred to the PICU, I couldn’t help but think about all the times in Abby’s life where we have seen the sacrifice of selfless love bring about an amazing opportunity for Abigail. Her birthparents, 2 1/2 years ago, selflessly choosing to place her for adoption knowing that her life depended on it. Dave and I choosing as her adoptive parents to selflessly raise her as our own regardless of the medical outcomes in her life. And now, another mother and father selflessly choosing to donate life from their own devastation so that other children, like our Abigail, could receive a new organ and continue to have LIFE.
