The Call

Yesterday, Joe (my rock) got here early in the morning. We waited for rounds, which was another good report. The doctors started weaning more things and started new medications. I, of course, asked when they thought I could hold him. They thought in a couple of days!!! After rounds, Joe and I went to workout, Joe gave me a great routine. Boy, am I sore today! We then picked up auntie nurse Alex from the Ronald McDonald House. Alex had tons of mail to give me. She said the lady at the front desk has never seen a guest receive so much mail! The support is truly amazing! In the afternoon, Beckett amazed us by taking his pacifier again!!!!

 I cried because I was so proud of Beckett's return to sucking the pacifier! Once Joe left for work my mom, sister, and I hung out with Beckett all night watching him suck! Since my sister Alex slept in this morning before her morning run,  she decided to stay over with Beckett since he had a new night nurse. It has been incredible having her here and all the nurses and docs love having her here too! She is a Cardiac ICU nurse in Chicago at Lurie's Children Hospital. She has been such a HUGE help! She is great with Beckett and you can tell Beckett loves her. However, Alex didn't have any clothes with her, so my mom and her decided to drive to the Ronald McDonald house to get stuff, while I stayed with Beckett. Then they both would drive back to the hospital and Alex and I would swap. As soon as those two left my phone rings,  it was Kara, our transplant coordinator. I had a feeling it was "the call" when I saw Kara's name, because it was 10:38 PM. The convo went like this:

Kara: What cha doing?

Me: Hanging out in Beckett's room.

Kara: Well you might want to stay there because we think we found a heart!

Me: Bawling...Really?!?!? But they wanted to wait 2 weeks after the Berlin...

Kara: They are all for it!

This call changed our lives, but most importantly our son's life. A wave of emotions hit me from receiving "the call". Is this for real? OMG I'm so nervous...We barely waited. I called Joe at work and told him. I tried calling my mom and sister, but both of them had their ringers off. I finally got a hold of my mom and she want crazy and said "we are coming back!" Then I called my dad, who was in shock and my older sister Kristi was crying also. At this point I was shaking. I instantly thought of the donor family who has given us this gift of life. Just like I don't know why this happened to Beckett, I don't know why this family had to lose their child. However, I hope  the donor family finds peace knowing a part of their child lives on in my child. No one really slept last night. This morning all the nurses, doctors, and PA's were cheering when they heard the amazing news! They prepped Becket all morning for his BIG day. Joe and I walked down with Beckett around 10:40 am. Beckett screamed and cried the whole way down to the OR.  I hope that is the last time we will be doing that walk with our boy! We said our good byes to our sweet precious son. And now the waiting begins...

We got word at 1:57 that they opened his chest. Then at 2:20 Kara text me saying the heart visual looks great! They are taking the new heart and bringing it to Beckett! At 3:26 we were told that the heart should be here around 4-4:30. Kara also told us where we could go outside and see them bring the new heart in. At 4:03 Kara text that they were going to land in 15 minutes, then by ambulance the new heart will arrive 5-11 minutes after. At 4:17 they landed!!! So Joe, Alex, and I went outside to watch Beckett's new heart arrive. While outside the three transplant coordinators joined us to watch the arrival. We could hear the sirens get closer and closer. Then the ambulance arrived and out came the surgeon's assistant pulling a cooler that carried Beckett's new heart. It was priceless to see.

At 5:11 we got word that the heart was going in nicely, with no issues. At 6:19 I got a text it's beating!!!! I cannot explain what it was like reading these words. A generous donor and this amazing team here have saved my son's life.  Dr. Fricker came by to tell us that the heart looked great and the surgeon was determining to close the chest or leave it open. Finally, our hero, Dr. Bleiweis came up to talk to us about how surgery went. First he said, your son was born on my youngest son's birthday and now his heart day is on my other son's birthday. Then he preceded to say that he could not be happier how today went. He said this heart looked like it was made for Beckett. How amazing is this? They were able to close his chest. He says it truly could not have gone any better. I feel like we are in a dream! At first I could not believe my son was so severely sick with heart failure, now I cannot believe how quickly and perfectly he has been saved. We still have a road ahead of us, but coming home is so much closer than yesterday! I cannot thank God enough for Beckett's donor, his team here at Shands, all of his cheerleaders and prayer warriors! We cannot wait to see our rockstar!!! We also cannot wait for our beds. It has been quite the ongoing 24 hours! (hence how I look in the pic)

To my Sweet Beckett,

Happy Heart Day! I cannot wait until the day you are old enough to tell you of this tale of a true fighter. I cannot wait for you to meet the world! I cannot wait for you to live happily and comfortable now. I hope your new heart takes you on incredible journeys. I hope it gets filled with love, joy, and thankfulness. I hope you never take a day for granted. I hope you will know that I never left your side and that I never will. I hope you know through faith, love, hope, positivity, prayer and strength ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

We Love You More than Life Itself,

Daddy and Mommy

1-15-15