Mom continued waiting for a heart, slowly moving up the list as her condition worsened. I was pregnant with my second child, my mom’s sixth grandchild, and were we anxiously awaiting his birth sometime in April of 2004. Mom set a goal to be around for that, with or without a new heart.
It was a scary time for all of us, and I was saddened because I knew that the longer she waited for a heart, the worse she got. The worse she got, the better of a chance I knew she could die. I was angry because I wanted my mom around to help me with our new baby, I needed her to be there. I couldn’t imagine having a child and not being able to at least pick up the phone to ask her something. Even though this was my second child, I knew that I would still need my mom!
Then, my husband and I received a call one morning at four thirty. It was the third week of March,2004. My parents had lost the man that had been their best friend for over 30 years early in the week. He battled cancer for a long time and finally lost his battle. My parents were heartbroken that week, my mom couldn’t go to the funeral as she was too ill to travel that long of a distance. During the time my dad was at the funeral, my mom mentioned to me that she and Ken (the man who had passed away) often did things at the same time, that it became somewhat of a joke for them. If Ken got sick, my mom managed to a week or so later. If Ken had to have a surgery, it always seemed my mom ended up in the hospital needing a heart procedure. They often joked how they always had something “big” happen to them regarding their health at similar times.
Was it a coincidence or was Ken in Heaven working some angel magic? We aren’t sure, but what we are sure of is this: Less than one week after Ken’s passing the phone rang at my parents house at three o’clock in the morning. The person on the other end said, “Get in the car and come to Mayo, we have a heart.” My parents quickly went into surgery mode and packed their bags and off they drove. It was then at four thirty that my mom called to wake us up and tell us the news, they had a heart for her. Those words may have been the sweetest words I had ever heard. I remember my husband telling me to sit down because I was shaking. I remember emailing everyone I knew asking for prayers that this heart would be a definite match. I remember that I couldn’t go back to sleep.
I was eight months pregnant and my mom insisted that I see my doctor that day for my weekly check-up before coming to the Mayo Clinic to be with my dad and my brother. The sad thing was, I had not been feeling well shortly before we got the call and when we went to the doctor’s appointment, I was told that I had bronchitis and would no way be allowed to travel to see my mom. It could potentially be too dangerous for me to bring my sick germs to a heart transplant. I was heart broken, I wasn’t allowed to travel to be with my mom for her transplant.
What happens next, does Mom get her heart? Read tomorrow for another blog entry in Mom’s heart transplant journey.