The Call

One year ago today I was sitting on my bed with Kayden. He was watching t.v and I had just put Koy down for a nap and we were getting Kayden ready for a nap. That is when the cell phone rang. It was Cecil calling to tell me that they had a possible donor for Kayden. She said that as soon as they heard they called due to the fact that there was a big storm that was suppose to come in and they wanted to know if we could drive up and wait up in Salt Lake. What happens is once they say everything is o.k. and that they can go ahead with the donation and the transplant then the recipient has to be up there within a certain amount of time. So we got things togather and headed up to Salt Lake. Me, Lexi, Kayden and Koy. Josh was already up there working. We stayed at his mom and dad's house that night and we had to be at the hospital the next morning at 6 a.m.

When I got that phone call I was excited, scared, and I could not believe that it was actually happening and that it was real. I often would think that it only happens to other people and that I couldn't believe that it would actually happen to us. I remember as I got Kayden ready for bed that night I sat there looking at him and thinking that everything will change in the morning. I got him is medications and his food ready for him. He had to have his food turned off during the night and not have any food or water after a certain time so that he could have the anesthesia and have the surgery which was suppose to happen at 6 a.m. the next morning. (Tomorrow you will learn why that was so significant and something that we joke about all the time now.) That night was the last night that Kayden received his growth hormone injections, it was the last night that he received his Epogen shots, it was the last night that he received some of his other medications because the next day he would have a new kidney and would no longer need those medications to help his kidneys work. I was the last night that his belly would not have a scar on it from the incision. It was the last night of being ill and the beginning of a new healthy life to come.

But the thing that is in the back on mind then and now is that today is the anniversary of a families loved ones death. Today is the day that their loved one died in a car accident. Today is the day that they had to make that horrible but yet blessed decision to donate their loved one's organs. Today is the last day that the parents of that teenager hugged and kissed their child alive. So please hug your loved ones and tell them you love them because you never know if you are going to have to make that decision to donate your childs organs today. I hope that Kayden will be able to live a full life with the wonderful gift that was given to us one year ago and I hope that the donors family will be blessed for the hard decision that they made one year ago.