The Phone Call.......

This morning around ten we got a phone call from the transplant coordinator.

"We may have a kidney that matches.  Is Babygirl okay?

I puzzle through that for a couple of seconds and realize she is asking about her immediate health.  She's fine, praise be - healthiest sick kid you ever saw!

"Well, then, please stay near the phone.  We are running crossmatching and it will take about 3 hours.  I'm not saying she'll get the kidney - there are people ahead of her on the list, but the match looks really good."

So. 

We decide to tell Babygirl nothing until we are prepared to stick her in a car.

Hubby cries.  I call the prayer chain.  We pack a suitcase.  I cry.  I shoot off a prayer for the family of the donor. And we do our very best to figure out what to do next.  I spent some time talking to the oldest daughter who is still at home.  I'd have to leave money to run the house, maybe a signed blank check or two to keep the construction going.  I chat with the contractor, who despite the fact that it is Saturday is working like a maniac in my house.  Thank God the new windows are all in already.

We sit down and do paperwork.  One set is for estate planning, wills, trusts and so on.  It's a tough conversation on a low stress day, and even more interesting on a high stress one.  How do we provide for Babygirl if God forbid something happens to both of us?  We made half a dozen phone calls confirming what we already know:  Family will happily step in and do whatever it takes.  All of my girls are willing to graciously give up a portion of their inheritance to their sister for a trust fund to help her with her medical issues. 

After the eternity that this paperwork takes us, we check the time. After all, three to four hours MUST be nearly over already!

Not.

We still had a couple hours to kill.  Hubby went to start dinner.  I continued with household papers.  I do laundry. I sew. I watch, and watch, and watch the clock.  When it is more than an hour past the time they said they'd call, I slump.  I literally feel my blood pressure drop, and my ears ring.

Half an hour later they called back.  "Babygirl was a perfect match to the donor, but so were the people ahead of her, sorry."  There were two kidneys, and three people ahead of our baby.  The good news, I suppose, is that there is now only one child of her blood type ahead of her in line, and kidneys usually come in pairs.  And I suppose I should really be happy not to be driving three and a half hours in this unbelievable freak snowstorm. And babygirl will get to go trick-or-treating with her friends in the Halloween costume I finished making while I waited for that phone call.

Oh, drop dead, Pollyanna!  I'm going have a good cry anyway.

DeeDee