A surreal day

Just about 24 hours ago Gail and I were driving into Durham. It's a 3.5 hour drive from our home and we had been up all day, knowing we had a long way to go before we'd finally get to sleep. But it was worth it. Our daughter in law Tricia, the love of our son's life and the mother of our first grandchild was beginning what would be a 9 hour surgerical ordeal that would hopefully save her life and add on precious years that cystic fibrosis had threaten to take away.

What a day these last 24 hours have been! Lots of emotion. Lots of prayers and hope. Miracles.

When you get real tired your body kicks into overdrive and adrenaline and the help of caffeine keep you going. But eventually your brain starts to fry from lack of rest. (Not that mine gets overworked too often, mind you.) You're kinda numb.

But to see Tricia sitting in a chair this evening that she walked to from her bed, conscious, smiling, and able to communicate after what her body has been through was mind blowing. She's breathing without a ventilator for the first time since January 8. She's experiencing new sensations as well as a lot of pain. Think about what has to happen in a double lung transplant. The impact on the body is compared to being in a major car crash. We just spent a few minutes with her because you could see in her eyes that she was exhausted. She just said, "I'm tired".

There are lots of things the medical staff will be watching for, not the least of which is infection and rejection of her new lungs. Just because she has new lungs doesn't mean she's healed or cured of CF. It's still there. But she's a fighter.

I'm looking forward to everyone getting a good night's rest and tomorrow being a new day.