28 weeks... and my father got "the call"

28 weeks, 4 days

 

How far along: 28 weeks, 4 days

 

Size of Babies: Two large eggplants

 

Weight Gain: 35 lbs total

 

Baby Update: Babies can open and close their eyes, which now sport lashes. They continue to grow, grow, grow.

 

Symptoms: Nothing new to report this week

 

Movement: Sofia felt the babies move and said, "they are pushing my hands right off!" I feel the pitter patter of little feet on my bladder which makes me have to pee constantly.

 

Exercise: A lot of walking this week... and crying (more on that below).

 

Sleep: Restlessness

 

Food Cravings: Not much of an appetite this week- hence no weight gain.

 

28-week doctor appointment update: All is well! Babies are weighing in at approximately 3 lbs each. Baby Girl is now breech and Baby Boy is still horizontal- chances are a C-Section is in my future. Baby Girl's got some chubby cheeks and Baby Boy has some hair on his head. I'm measuring four weeks ahead of schedule (typical for a twin pregnancy) and my blood pressure is perfect.

 

Excited: My father has two beautiful NEW lungs... so, yes, I'm excited that God has answered our prayers and he has survived a major operation.

 

Details Below...(it's a bit lengthy... no way around it!)

 

This has been the most crazy/scary/emotional week of my life. My father, who has been battling Pulmonary Fibrosis for six years- and who has been on a lung transplant list at Mass General since May- received "the call" on Tuesday that they had lungs for him and to get to Boston ASAP. When my dad went on the transplant list this past May, he was ranked #12, after a short time, he was bumped to #7, and just last week, he moved up to #4 (his health was rapidly declining- hence the bump up the list). We were hopeful that this meant he would get "the call" any day now, but we were all still thinking that it was months away from becoming a reality.... how wrong we all were.

 

 I was all dressed for work on Tuesday morning when I saw that I had a missed call from my mom at 7:15 am. "Hmm... that's odd"... I thought to myself, and having a suspicious feeling, I called my mom right back and my dad answered and said "we got the call!" "You're joking!" were the first words out of my mouth. "I'm not joking," dad said..."we got the call!" "I'm coming with you," I said... and that was that. My dad, being "the horse to the stable," as many of you Chalmers relatives can relate, wanted to get right to the hospital ASAP- and taking a detour to pick me up at my house in Gray, was not settling with him and he tried to give me the heave-ho... well, you don't cross an extremely pregnant woman- as he soon realized! I told him I was coming with him and that I would meet him right on 302 and jump in his car, and that was that. There was no way, I was getting the heave-ho. He agreed. Thank God... they needed me there.

 

We were all nervous wrecks as we drove down to Boston, and when my dad started giving me work orders (as if he would not be returning to work) I started to really panic- internally (of course I was "strong" on the outside). We got to MGH, dad was admitted, and immediately they started prepping him for surgery (shaved him right down- chest and arms). We found out that the lungs were not in the building- the surgeon was on a flight (to Ohio- we found out later) to harvest the lungs from the donor and fly them back to Boston. There was still a slim chance that the lungs wouldn't be viable and that the surgery wouldn't happen- but they prepped him anyway.

 

I think the hardest part of the whole experience was 1. saying goodbye to my dad on his way into the Operating Room 2. the long 8-hr wait to find out how the surgery went. Many tears were shed by my mom and I as we had to say our goodbyes to my dad- we weren't expecting to leave him so soon as we knew the donor lungs were still not in the building- but the surgical team had more prepping to do and we couldn't go beyond the OR doors. Damn rules. We left our dad around 1:30 pm. We found out that he didn't go under anesthesia until 4 pm and that it would be a 7-8 hour surgery. The wait was pure torture. I'll never forget the inside of the Gray Surgical Family Waiting Area. It was packed full of families, all waiting for positive outcomes regarding their loved ones. Thank God Adam met me, to wait it out with my mom and I, as did my brother, Nick. My poor sister, Marney, was in India on a two-week work trip and was frantically trying to book a ticket home- it would take her two days.

 

We didn't get any updates at all (WTF, seriously?!) from the surgical team until AFTER the surgery- well, that wasn't until 11:30 pm. The surgeon found us and told us that the surgery was a success- the new lungs were taking- the old lungs were in very bad shape- and that it would still be another hour or so before we got to see our dad. Around 1 am, we finally got to see him in the ICU- of course he was still under anesthesia, but at least we got to see his face. The next 24-hours were critical. My mom gave the nurse strict instructions to call us as soon as he started to stir. We went to the hotel to get some sleep and at 6 am the nurse called to say he was responding to commands and that he gave the nurse the "thumbs up" sign. What relief! My mom rushed to the hospital- we followed shortly after- and my father used hand signals to say "I love you" to my mom. As soon as I saw my dad, I burst into tears. I couldn't keep it bottled in any more. It was a mix of relief, exhaustion, gratefulness, and raw emotion.... ok... pregnancy hormones too. My dad signed to me, "I love your bump..." and the tears kept streaming down my face...but they were happy tears. 

 

Seeing my dad in an ICU room, with a million tubes and hooked up on a ventilator, is quite a scary site... one that will forever be permeated in my brain... but he was alive... and that's all that mattered. God truly did answer our prayers and we are so lucky, grateful, and blessed.

 

The road to recovery will be a long one for my dad- but he's under great care at MGH- and he's making tremendous progress every day. He was taken off the ventilator after two days and moved out of ICU after three days. It's now five days post-op and he's breathing without any oxygen- amazing. I left my dad on Thursday, to return to Maine for my OB appointment on Friday, but returned on Saturday to Boston with Adam and Sofia. Marney arrived on Thursday morning and is staying with my mom all this week. Amongst the craziness- we had some time to do something fun with Sofia this weekend- we took her to the aquarium... although, her favorite part of the day was running through the fountains in the park in her diaper.

 

Mom: I know you are reading this post right now and I want to say to you- you are so strong and amazing. Dad's a lucky man and we are lucky children. Don't forget to take care of YOU... and I will do what I can to also be by your side as often as I can during these next few months as you reside in Boston with dad. Don't forget the hymn in church this morning, "God, when I called for you... you answered..."... he certainly did answer all of our prayers, and we are so lucky and blessed. I love you.

 

To my siblings and husband: I wouldn't want to go through this ordeal with any one else- as dad said in ICU- "when you're life is on the line... you don't think about your professional accomplishments, your last business transaction, or anything else... you think about your family- as that's what matters most."... I'm glad you're my family.

 

To my Cutter Family and extended family and friends: Thank you for all your love and support this week. You have no idea how much I have appreciated your phone calls, text messages, FB comments, etc. The outpouring from family, friends, and the community has been nothing short of amazing. I wont forget your kindness. Thank you, thank you, thank you- from the bottom of my heart.

 

Last but not least- to my dad, my hero: I am so relieved and grateful that you received your new lungs and are on the road to recovery... thank you for being so strong and for not giving up the fight. God knew that it wasn't your time to go.... and I hope these lungs give you many more years of life and good health... after all... you need to meet your new grandchildren and they need to meet their Papa. I love you.

 

xoxoxo,

Your Dorothy Marie...

 

And now... to lighten the mood... here are some photos from the week- just to prove that amidst the tears, there were some smiles this week....

 

Sofia at the "touch tank"
New England Aquarium, Boston

Sofia & Umptoo

 

Mustering up the courage to run through the fountains

 



Some arts and crafts with Sitto at her temporary Boston apartment

 

The hospital waiting room
(unfortunately, no kids allowed in transplant patient's rooms)



No fair! I swear Marney's sucking it in! :-)

My first shower gift- thank you Eric & Brooks Lough!
Totally adorable!



Came home from Boston today to find a bunch of post-it notes stuck to the front door
outlining surprises from my Cutter Family
i.e., Dinner in the fridge, cookies in the microwave, a clean car, AND new basement stairs!

Our new basement stairs!!
Thank you Michael, Paula, and Aaron!
What a great present to come home to!
 

 I promise that next week will be a shorter blog post.

Have a good night and God Bless!