I left the story with us thinking Chelsea was facing a 6-7 hour operation. We kissed her good-bye at 5:30pm on Thursday night June 16 at the OR. We received an update around 10pm that Dr Soltys was on the way back with the organs and that they looked great. So we figured with that update that 6-7 hours was probably too optimistic since we were already 4 hours in and the organs were not here.
Bryan and I tried to rest but our bouts of crying kept getting in the way - we were both worried about how she was doing. We alternated waiting in the family waiting room and her hospital room since the Operating Room nurse had our cell phone numbers to call. The time between updates was getting very lengthy so Bryan called to the OR to have Erin (OR nurse) to go in and ask what was happening. Around 2am they said things were progressing but not all of the organs were placed yet. The surgeons were still working hard to finish the operation.
At 6:30 am (13 hours in), Dr. Sindhi, one of the surgeons, came out to tell us that a complication had cropped up after 2am; the new organs they placed had moved and constricted a vein. The whole surgical team was called back in. The surgeons solved the issue but it had been tricky. He was very positive that things were going well and that Dr. Soltys was closing out the operation in another hour or so.
We saw Dr Soltys around 8am and he was very optimistic on how the operation had gone. In fact he acted like it was just a normal day in his life, no big deal about the problem they had encountered when the organs moved. We were surprised how energetic he was, even though he must have been up all night working on our little angel.
We got to see Chelsea in ICU around 10am. They had prepared us that she was going to be under very deep sedation for several days. In fact she would be paralyzed by medication in order to keep her from moving so as not to disturb her new organs. Chelsea would also be intubated so that a machine could help her breathe during this time.
We were expecting the worse when we saw her - that she would look puffy, bloated and unlike herself. And although she was hooked up to what seemed like a million machines and tubes, she looked beautiful to us. She was not puffy in the least and looked just like Sleeping Beauty.
The ICU plan was that she would stay sedated until the transplant team was ready to do a follow-up procedure for complete closure. This could be several days away.
Bryan and I kept all of her family and friends updated of her situation and Chelsea was put on many prayer lists. We were all thankful to God for looking after her! And thankful to the donor and her family for their incredible sacrifice to help Chelsea. Whoever they are, they are amazing people and we are so sorry for their loss. It is too sad for words that in order for Chelsea to have a chance for a better life that someone else loses theirs.
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