Getting “The Call”
On August 15th I was at work having a slow day, when a 305 number rang my phone. In the rush to try and answer it, my phone froze up and disconnected the incoming call. I knew it had to be Miami Transplant Institute, so I quickly redialed the number and waited the agonizing several minutes it took to get through the automated system for MTI.
By this time I’d grabbed my keys and gone to sit in my car, putting on the air conditioning. Through the waiting, I’d come to realize this could be “the call”, and I my whole body began to vibrate from the inside. Would I get a call before Jeff, because I’m the donor? Is that how this works?
Someone picked up. I do not remember who it was; frankly I don’t think I even cared. “Hi, we’re calling to let you know we’re ready to schedule your surgery date, and our surgery days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Would you like September 19th, or the 28th?”
“September 19th!” I said, before even considering. “The sooner the better, obviously!”
We walked through some details about appointments we’d need to arrange leading up to that date. Covid testing, a final cross-match blood test, and a phone call with anesthesia a few days prior. I wrote everything down in Notes on my phone, lest I forget in my excitement. The final week leading up to the 19th would be jam packed, between myself and Jeff.
I hung up the phone and FaceTimed Jeff immediately. As soon as he picked up, I just blurted out “September 19th” with a grin frozen on my face. I wasn’t making any sense, of course, so I had to catch my breath and explain what just happened. We were both beyond words, but knew that we’d be spending the rest of our day communicating to family and making plans.
I’d also need to arrange my leave for work, so I hung up with Jeff and headed back inside to let my boss know the good news. She was so understanding and supportive through all of this! Days off, leaving early, coming in late, just to make sure I could be present for all the appointments that were needed up to this point, and she always had my back. I just made sure to communicate things to her in a timely manner, and she’d always check in to see that things were going okay with us. She only asked one thing, “just send me a picture when you wake up from surgery, so I know you made it!”
When I got home that day, I filled in everything I could on my calendar. I suggest using a day planner of some type; it became invaluable when Jeff and I didn’t want to double-book appointments or overlap with work and other planned activities. Sometimes I’d even write stuff down the day after, just so it was accessible as a reference later on. It proved quite useful.
Now we could officially start the countdown!
