After waiting all night long through several delays in the scheduled harvesting of the liver we thought was for Linda, we are now told at 2:00 a.m. Indianapolis time that the liver, while a good organ, does not match Linda in four of the six genetic tissue factors which determine likely success of a transplant, and the liver will go to another, more closely matching recipient lower down on the waiting list here.
So, we are back on the waiting list for a cadaver organ, and Linda is devastated by this new development. She's lying in bed hooked up to four different intravascular catheters for delivery of drugs, blood products and venous and arterial blood pressure measurement, a Foley catheter in her bladder, oxygen tubing on her face, and heart monitor leads pasted to her chest and legs, with nothing to look forward to except the prospect of more days of waiting and wondering, interrupted by long periods of not being allowed to eat or drink anything in the expectation of a transplant, which, like this one, may not happen at the end of the process. Her body is still strong, but her spirit has been broken so many times over the last few weeks that it seems the universe is intent on seeing just how many tears she can cry before her eyes run completely dry.
If you don't hear from me for a few days, it is because I have decided not to take all of you along on this rollercoaster ride any more, and I'll not be announcing further developments until such time as Linda has actually been taken into an operating room and anesthetized for her transplant surgery. There's no reason all of you need to be put through the emotional torture Linda is experiencing. I apologize for getting all your hopes up, only to have to deliver bad news at the last minute. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and I will let you all know once Linda has actually been transplanted.
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