Almost There

Tuesday was a big day.

The social worker phoned to ask what changed my mind about going forward for transplants. I explained it all.

She then asked about my mom. I told her that mom was now in an assisted living facility and that my brother would be staying at my house during the 6-week post transplant period to supervise her care and drive her to appointments. I do not believe they would have moved forward with my transplants if she was living independently and they felt I expected to continue to care for her during this period. She was happy that I had a plan in place.

The final problem was that we were to name another person as backup for Michael as a caregiver if he became ill or other issues that would leave me alone during the 6-week period. We had chosen our friend Rick, our neighbor down the street. Rick of Rick and Natalie. He is retired, Natalie is still working and they travel once a year. Perfect. The social worker was not happy that we had not asked him yet.

She then told me that the team was going to review my case and I would be notified if they approved me being listed that day or the next.

Oh my.

I quickly spoke with Michael and asked him to contact Rick immediately. Learning he agreed to being our backup, I phoned to thank him. We had a great chat. Hopefully, he won't be called up to service though he has to go through some training like how to spot when I am rejecting the new lungs. I phoned the social worker to leave Rick's name and contact information.

Within a couple of hours, my transplant coordinator phoned.

THEY APPROVED MY BEING LISTED BUT...

Why is there always a but? We already had an appointment to meet with the surgeon next week. They wanted to wait for his approval before the team assigned a number to me. Only then will I be officially listed for new lungs.