Thursday, June 13 was just like any other morning. Eva and I were getting her ready for the day ahead and Evan was downstairs packing lunches and tending to the morning routine of watering plants and feeding Samson. Most mornings, Eva gets ahold of my phone and takes pictures. At one point, I managed to convince her to return the phone to me by taking a selfie together. That was 7:22 am. 2 minutes later, I received the phone call that would change my life forever. I looked at the incoming caller ID. This wasn’t an existing contact but the area code said it all. 434. Instantly, I knew this was it. This was the call telling me that it was time.
“We got lungs!” My pre-transplant nurse coordinator told me.
“You mean, it’s time? I have lungs?”
“Yes, it’s time!”
All at once I shifted my energy from “morning routine” chaotic flow to “we have 3 hours to get to Charlottesville.” I called for Evan downstairs letting him know we got the call. He didn’t hear me, cause when he met me at the stairs, he appeared pretty normal. “We got lungs!” I told Evan. He too switched gears and we were now making moves to get to Charlottesville. Next, I called my Dad, who I felt shift gears as well. My parents wanted to follow us up to Charlottesville. Then, I called my sister, Louise, and reassured her that everything was OK and that this was a good thing. Then I called my mother-in-law letting her know the news, too. They were going to pick up Eva and take her to school.
I packed some clothes, chargers, journal, and a box full of pictures, cards and words of encouragement from loved ones. Throughout it all, I felt peace and an inner knowing that all was unfolding as it was intended to. I didn’t feel much fear at that point. I was focused on what was in front of me and fully present. It was time to leave.
Picture of Eva and me minutes before receiving "THE CALL" from my UVA pre-transplant NP.