Transplant Part 2

 I was relieved when the chief surgeon stopped into my room and said, "Let's get this done!"  I was tired of wondering if I would be ok.  I was ready.  The second surgery went better than the first, in that I didn't have heart failure.  My liver transplant was officially completed. The doctor said that my body couldn't stand much so they had to hurry.  There was so much swelling that they closed my skin but left the muscle tissue and fascia open underneath.  We would talk about options when I recovered my strength.  

I was so grateful to be alive.  The first thing that went through my mind when I came to was that I could now celebrate and tell everyone that I made it.  I went live on Facebook somehow - I could barely hold my phone - and told everyone that I was a live.  I couldn't physically show much exuberance, but I was shouting with joy inside.

I thanked the surgeon for keeping me alive.  I'll never forget his words.  "Thank you, but it wasn't just me.  Yes, I and my team did a great job, but without your fight and God's help you wouldn't be here, girl."  I'll probably never know exactly what happened in that operating room in those surgeries, but I know it was more than surgery.  God was there with me, looking out for me, and keeping me safe while I was helpless.  

Now it was up to me to fight my way back.  And boy was it a fight!  My hubby once made the mistake of commenting that I bounced back from transplant.  I DID NOT bounce - there was no bounce in what came next.  I describe it like this:  I dug my way out of the grave one handful of dirt at a time and drug myself to the edge of the graveyard.   

I felt awful the day after that second surgery.  I did joke around a bit, but I wasn't as compliant as usual.  I recall a cheerful nurse saying they were going to get me out of bed that day.  I just looked at her and said, "Do you think you're Jesus, and you can say take up your bed and walk?  You'd better have your twelve disciples to help, because I am not getting out of this bed today."  I was joking, but dead serious.  I did not get up that day.