To say I’m pooped would be putting it mildly. But we are thrilled with the way things are going. Beth, Jason, my Bill and I went to see the Transplant House apartment they will be moving into tomorrow. It was quite nice. It was bigger than I thought after hearing the guy talk yesterday. They will be three miles from the hospital for the three or so months Bill has to go back and forth to the hospital. He will probably be in the hospital 10-14 days. They were putting in Bill’s epidural when we got back around three so we went down to the cafeteria and got something to eat. That was when Beth realized she left her purse in the apartment. Oops! At least she knew where it was once we finally figured it out.
At six this evening they took Cousin Bill off the drug that was keeping him completely sedated. They turned off the ventilator for a trial run of breathing on his own. After half an hour they checked his blood gases but said they were borderline so they didn’t want to remove the breathing tube. They did some suctioning which cleared his airways and redid the blood gases around seven. This time they were good so the doctor said they could remove the breathing tube. By then it was time for shift change so it had to wait. Jason came out at 6:45 and said the tube was out and Bill was talking. I went back to check it out.
I was going back and forth between the waiting room and Bill’s room to keep up with what was going on. Beth and Jason stayed with Bill and my Bill and I hung out in the waiting room. Two sisters of the woman who went ahead of Bill on Monday night were with us. When we left she was still intubated and they didn’t plan to remove the breathing tube until tomorrow morning even though she was 12 hours ahead of Bill in the scheme of things.
At 8:30 I went back and told them that we were going to take off. Since they were staying with Bill in ICU there wasn’t much point in us continuing to sit out in the waiting room. We stopped by QFC and found a yummy Italian paninni sandwich which we brought back to the room and split. Cousin Bill’s sister Rilene is due to arrive sometime tomorrow and then we can hit the road for home. It feels like we’ve been gone for a month!
I’m thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers on Cousin Bill’s behalf. They are much appreciated. Our God is an awesome God and this has been an awesome thing. There is a long road yet ahead but we pray for God’s continued grace in Bill’s life
Cousin Bill is now the recipient of a new set of healthy lungs. Someone else went ahead of him after we got here on Monday night. They took him down Tuesday about 10:30 for pre-op prep but we still didn't know if it was a "go" or another "dry run." Sometime between noon and one we got word he had made it to the operating room. Around three, I think it was, they called to say they were putting in the first lung. Then about five they called to say they were putting in the second lung. The doctor came out to see us at 5:45 to say it was done and that it went great. It was a perfect match. It was 7:30 before we were able to see him. Of course, he was totally knocked out and I've never seen so much equipment in a small ICU unit!
So that is the news for now. Praise the Lord for a "success." Now we just have to pray for the aftermath. And our thoughts and prayers go out for the family who lost their son so that Bill might keep his.
Looks now like we will go home Thursday as Bill's family will all be arriving on Friday. See you again whenever....
Hi Diane. Was finally able to get out cyberwalking again and wanted to check on you and see what you were up to ... 
Hi Carol, I get a "lump in my chest" reading your thoughts that you share .. thanks for reminding us how life is a 
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