While I expected that we’d be disappointed if our trip ended up a dry run, the overwhelming feeling was actually relief. This was like the dress rehearsal that forced us to come face to face with all the little details that we hadn’t yet attended to. It’s hard to be on a state of near permanent readiness. And with Alpha 1, the transplant folks keep reinforcing the wait can be a couple years.
While Shirley was first placed on the list about nine months ago, she’s had several months of suspended status due to a bout of pneumonia in December and other various illnesses that force you to be temporarily placed in an inactive state. So it was quite a surprise when Kathy called Sunday. It was a true wake-up call.
But aside from helping us focus on the remaining preparatory tasks, a really neat thing happened last night in the ER waiting room.
At the time Shirley walked up to the admitting desk and announced that she was there for a transplant. The ER admitting person looked up quizzically and said “in the ER”? She was apparently new, and the gal at the next station explained to both Shirley and the admitting clerk that she needed to go upstairs to surgical admitting.
There were four women sitting in the waiting room and upon hearing Shirley’s announcement, two got up and came over to us. The younger one offered to show Shirley where she needed to go. And her mother asked if Shirley had said she was there for a lung transplant. She then explained that she had received a lung transplant 15 years ago, and it had been one of the best things to ever happen to her. She told Shirley that was about to experience a very wonderful thing that would change her life for the better.
Her words were very reassuring. She gave Shirley a big hug and wished her the best.
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