Holding My Breath and Counting Down

Big News! The surgery is back on! I was reeeeally hoping to have had it and be recovered by now, but there were minor complications. Here's a breakdown of the whole ordeal to date (for anyone out o' the loop):

• We found out my dad had multiple myeloma and amyloids after he went to the doctor thinking he might have a kidney infection.
• Next there was much unpleasantness involving chemo, dialysis & a bone marrow transplant.
• We waited for his kidney functions to bounce back...they didn't.
• He had a fistula implanted in his arm and has continued dialysis 3 days a week for around 4 hours a pop.
• The doctors said, the kidneys aren't coming back but that the cancer was in remission and he could be a part of the kidney transplant program.
• Cheering all around.
• I decided to see if I was a match after realizing I'm the only immediate family member with the same blood type.
• I was.
• I researched to find out more about what a kidney donor could expect and I found out that while it's majory surgery, not without its risks, it is a lot less scary than I originally thought.
• I then realized I wanted my dad to live a better life and that I was willing to give a up a kidney to keep him around. (and feeling less ill)
• Testing was draaaaaaagged out until we finally got a new coordinator
• Holy cow surgery scheduled for next month! (This was in October)
• 1 week before surgery, "oh by the by, we found a brain tumor." 2 days before the surgery, "Sorry, no surgery."
• Tears, grumbles, and hissy fits all around (ok maybe I was the main hissy fitter)
• Brain surgery - the tumor is benign (oh yeah and it's been there awhile. Just some nice info to have)
• "One month of recovery and you can reschedule"
• One month later..."one more month and you can reschedule"
• A second month later...Come on!! How long does it take to get some friggin paperwork?!

I spoke with our coordinator last week and she mentioned she was able to get the paperwork they were waiting for. I asked her to find out how quickly we could reschedule. That brings us to Monday of this week when she said "Looks like we can get you in on the 9th". I'll give you a second to do the math..
...
...Pencils down please.

Yes! That is exactly 2 weeks. Holy whoa. We both really want to be functional by our birthdays (end of May) and this would be cutting it a liiiittle close. So I called him to see what he thought of that date. There was an unmistakable enthusiasm you would likely only notice if you knew him and recognized it's not his normal tone. It's a quiet, understated but powerful spark that touched my heart. You see, I'd been thinking that maybe we should wait until after birthday month so we can be sure we'll have enough oomph to celebrate. Duh Shannon. I haven't been doing dialysis and feeling miserable, depressed, and sick daily for roughly 2 and a half years now. That spark of hope in his words spoken without so much as a breath after I uttered the date, "Yeah! That will give me enough time to get coverage at work. Tell her that works"...I can't even relay it in type. I guess you had to be there. Point being, I remembered what it was all about. Sure it's been slower than thought and we've had our anticipation shattered once already. It's all been worth it to have the chance to get him well faster. The faster the better. I realize now it wouldn't matter if I had to walk a little slower or take it a little easier on my birthday. I'd have his life as my celebration and nothing beats that.