WE GOT “THE CALL”!
CHARLIE GETS A NEW HEART!
Linda called the nurse to see if they were going to re-insert a chest tube that had come out and the nurse said that no, they thought they had a new heart for him and this was going to be a good day for Charlie! The doctor soon said, “Hey, who let the cat out of the bag? We’re supposed to make those good news phone calls!!” Linda called Jerry at the computer lab and then called back an hour later to confirm it was no “false alarm” and Jerry made some calls and got the earliest flight from Phoenix to LAX. (Thanks to our home teacher who donated frequent flyer miles for flight tickets. Jerry just changed the return flight date to today! NOW!) Linda got Jerry at the airport a VERY few minutes before Charlie was taken downstairs to surgery. Grandma Pat did her best to stall the doctors while we fought traffic to get from airport to hospital. Perfect timing! We had maybe 15 minutes then a few minutes down in the basement floor where the surgery would be. 7:15 pm they took Charlie. At 8:15 the nurse who promised updates called and told us they made the first incision while the donated heart was still enroute to the hospital! We got another call or two then finally about 3:30am they were pretty much done and it took them until 4:30 am or so to take him out and up to his recovery room where we could see him! After surgery, all you see is a sleeping boy’s head and wires and tubes but all went well. LOTS of people had their prayers answered today! There aren’t words to express the emotions! Charlie slept from Sunday through Monday and most of Tuesday. Grandma and Mom and Dad finally got a little. We didn’t sleep well in the hospital lobby, of course. Many calls and e-mails went out. So many folks know and love Charlie and us – it was…gratifying and almost overwhelming.
