He's done!!!

1:25pm

Dr. Rogers just called to say that Anthony was finished! He was all closed up and doing great. The kidney is making lots of urine and is working perfectly. He said they're getting ready to wake him up and extibate him. In about an hour he should be settled into ICU so we can see him!

Urine!!!

1:00 pm

Success!!! Just got the call that his new kidney is in!! Nurse said that its doing great and is already making urine!!!

God is sooooo good!! 

Preacher

12:30

So sweet!! Rick Hudson, the pastor who married us, stopped by just now to say hello and check on Anthony. 

He lives near Winston and I'm so glad he was thinking of us!

Branching

11:00 am

Just got another call from the OR. They successfully removed Amy's kidney and are branching it. That means they're cleaning up the arteries and veins to prepare them for Anthony. He's doing well. The nurse even commented it was a really good sized kidney. 

They have already begun stitching Amy up and have come to talk to her family. They will get to see her in about an hour. 

More updates as they come. 

Incision

I got a call at 9:10 am that they had officially made the first incision on Anthony. We're sitting in the HUGE surgical waiting room with tons of other people who are waiting patiently for news of their loved one. 

I am surrounded by love and prayers. My company: Anna, Mom, Anthony's parents: Carroll & Toni, one of our pastors: Gray Williams. 

I kissed him goodbye from the anesthesia holding room at about 8:00. I requested they give him the "loopy" medicine so I could make fun of him before he left....it didn't work out that way. :)

They said the entire process should take until about 1 or 2 pm. That sure is a long time to wait. 

The hardest part is not having a "home." There's nowhere for us to leave our stuff or Anthony's stuff. We have to just keep it here with us. Thankfully we're all here together and can take turns going to the restroom or grabbing food. 

The OR will call us again around 10:30 to give another update. They make an announcement on a loud speaker for Anthony Vance's family and all we have to do is pick up a phone to talk to them. I think that's really awesome. They called Amy's family up at the same time they called us at 9:10 to say they were about to remove her kidney for him. 

What an amazing act of kindness. 

Almost K-Day

Well here we are...we checked into the hospital this morning. We reported to Baptist Hospital around 9 this morning and Anthony was admitted to the day hospital for a full body work up. 

Pretty much as soon as we got here the vampires came to visit! Beth & Jackie took 17 vials of blood this morning...at least they were lots of fun to hang out with! 

About an hour later he had a EKG to check on his heart. Gotta make sure it's kicking strong!

Shortly after that he had a chest X-Ray. I guess to make sure there was no infection or anything.

I really think that part of Anthony's reason for having a kidney transplant was revealed to me today. He is touching everyone he comes in contact with. In a positive way. No one comes into our room or takes him somewhere for testing that he doesn't make smile. He truly has a personality that everyone loves and he makes a point to talk to everyone and treat them well. Everyone who helped us today kept telling us they wanted to come back and check on us, to make sure he was doing OK. They said they would miss him if they didn't see him tomorrow. I know there are tons of patients who aren't very easy to be around but Anthony is not one of them. He's so charming and such a blessing in everyone's lives. You can truly see God's love through him as he reaches out to everyone.

We also met with his surgical team today. Dr. Rogers is his name and we really like him. He just has a likable personality and he's really easy to talk to. He's saying that Anthony should have a super easy surgery and a relatively quick and easy recovery. He's feeding Anthony's unhealthy desire to leave the hospital early. He's already asking when he can leave...and when he can ride his bike. Ugh. Dr. Rogers said it's not unusual for healthy people to leave the hospital within 3-4 days. We shall see. I won't let him leave until I know I can take care of him at home...and his pain meds are working well!

We talked to anesthesiology today too. He signed several waivers...the usual stuff. 

Anna came over to say hi at lunch and hung out with us for a while. She just left, actually. Thankfully we have a friendly face nearby who knows her way around here so she can show us where we need to go. She's coming back tomorrow morning to be with us, too.

I checked in at the Holiday Inn that's literally across the street from the hospital so I have a comfy place to stay. My mom is coming in tonight so she doesn't have to be here super early. 

Tomorrow's plan is early. They are going to take Amy down for surgery prep at 7 am. Anthony will follow shortly after that around 7:45 or 8. They're hooking him up with some great meds in the morning so hopefully some funny videos will be captured! :)

The whole surgical process will take roughly 6-7 hours. The surgery itself only lasts about 3-4 of those hours. The rest of the time accounts for anesthesiology, putting in a central line, a catheter, and all the closing up and waking up process. I'll be sure to post updates as it goes. 

I love knowing they're going to be in side-by-side operating rooms..Amy in 12 and An

thony in 13. Dr. Rogers said they will actually take it out of Amy, walk through the door and hand it off to him to insert into Anthony. 13 is Anthony's favorite number so it's only fitting! They're taking Amy's left kidney and putting it in Anthony's left side. It will be inserted "backwards" or facing the opposite way from usual so it will be more protected from any impacts or falls. They both have marks written on them to show the side where the kidney will be removed or inserted. 

We met Amy today. I cried. How do I say thank you to someone for willingly donating a part of her body to save my husband? To save my family? To keep us together forever? To let Anthony walk Aspen down the aisle? To be there when our children graduate college...or when our grandchildren are born?

Amazing. God is so good. We are so blessed. 

Am I Pregnant?!

I'm crazy emotional..I mean crying at the drop of a hat here.

I'm nesting...like have a sudden unexplained desire to clean my fridge.

I feel anxious...like something's coming...something big.

Oh, wait. I'm not pregnant. My husband's about to get a kidney. HUGE deal. GIANT! I'm trying to wrap my head around it and I just can't seem to. I have to stay away from the Hallmark channel right now because even commercials are making me cry! Every time someone asks me how I'm doing or if I need anything I cry. If I can't get something done that I thought should be done already, I cry.

I know someone else will be at my house and sleeping in my bed so I feel the need to clean my shower, change my sheets, vacuum, do the laundry. I want to stockpile diapers, medicine, food, milk, etc, since I won't be here to buy it for them.

I still haven't packed my hospital bag..I can't even decide what I want to take. Selling Thirty-One does not help in this instance since I have just about everything in the catalog. Super...now how do I choose?! And what do I want to take to the hotel v/s the hospital? I want to take my computer to do some photo editing while I'm there. I'll also want to have Facebook and the internet for updates. So that's a no-brainer. But what else? My Kindle Fire for reading. A real book I'm not finished with yet. (I'm rereading Catching Fire since the movie's about to come out!) Snacks? Drinks? My phone of course. Which camera do I take? The little one that's easy to handle and carry, or the big one that takes better pictures. We do blog...I record everything. I plan on over-sharing. Get ready.

I have organized my medical files and papers. I got a Timeless Beauty Bag and embroidered it with "Life Saver." I'm going to keep up with all our mileage, meals, hotel receipts, thank yous and everything. Hopefully I'll actually keep up with it all. We'll get reimbursed for my hotel stay and my food while we're in the hospital. What a welcome relief and burden lifted.

I'm so overwhelmed with things I feel like I need to do right now that it's crazy. I'm a big ball of nerves. Anthony is as cool as a cucumber. Figures.