I really wanted to post good news. I've been so looking forward to posting good news and celebrating with you all. I've posted so much bad news and negative emotions this past month that I'm starting to feel like I'm trying to get more attention through bad news. I really wanted good news. We needed good news. But today is not that day.
Thursday, we had our appointment with the lung transplant team in Edmonton. It was a lot of the same questions we've had all along and no real news. They were still waiting for a decision from their liver team. Well, we heard from them today and it was not the news we were expecting. After talking to liver specialists here, it seemed almost certain that we would just be looking at a lung transplant. Edmonton has decided otherwise. They are not comfortable doing just a lung transplant on Daniel and would recommend looking at a combined liver-lung transplant. However, Edmonton has never done a liver-lung transplant before, only Toronto has, so we're now being referred to Toronto. Another kink, Toronto does not have the same connection with our lung transplant team as Edmonton does. At the very least, we'll be looking at a visit out there to get him approved and on the list. But it's very likely that they'll need us to be nearby while we wait for the transplant and for the recovery afterwards. That means we're probably looking at a move to Ontario if they decide to go forward with the liver-lung transplant.
It's been a long day. A long month. A long year. We had to have a serious conversation today about whether we still want to pursue this, or if we try to make Daniel as comfortable as possible for however long we have left. But for now, we're choosing to fight. I'm mad that we have to make this choice. Mad that we're 26 years old, married for two years and not even out of school and our life together is threatening to end prematurely. So we'll fight for another day together.
So, now what? We'll meet with our transplant team in Winnipeg again on Friday. Hopefully they'll have heard something from Toronto and we'll have a game plan for the next few days, weeks and months. It's also time for me to talk to work. This last month has been more than I can handle. It's time for me to focus on Daniel and look at an extended leave. If Ontario is next for us, it'll be hard to leave our community here in Winnipeg. You've done so much for us in the last two months and we appreciate all of it. But we have family and friends in Ontario. Somehow, we'll make it work. We have to.
Laura
PS. Special thanks to Melissa from Sugar and Soul Photography for taking some really meaningful pictures of us at HSC and for hosting such a great fundraiser for us! Love you Mel!
