After talking with the transplant coordinator today we confirmed what really happened with the call for Steve to receive a kidney. I had talked with our transplant coordinator last Wednesday afternoon about 2:30pm. The reason I had called was to make sure that Steve's last lab work had been faxed and received by them to show he was clear of the staph infection. She said she wanted to look over those test results before she reactivated him. At 6:30pm that same evening the on call coordinator called and I answered the phone. She told me that they had a kidney for Steve but she needed to talk with him. I am thinking did I hear her correctly. I told her he was outside and I would have to get him. She told me to take my time. I went out to the shed where Steve was working with my cell phone and said "it is KU, they want to talk to you" didn't tell him what they told me because I wanted to make sure I heard them correctly. She talked to Steve for about 15 minutes and said they would stay in contact with us through the night. We received another call around 9pm that we wouldn't need to come down until the next day. We waiting around the rest of the night (ever tried to sleep the night before a transplant) until we received another call at 9am on Thursday and they wanted us to go ahead and do our dialysis. We finished dialysis around 1pm and headed to Kansas City checking in by 4pm. We went to admissions to let them know that we were there and they said someone would be around in about 10 minutes to get us. There were 2 elderly couples sitting in admissions and had been there the biggest part of the day(4 to 5 hours) waiting for a room (felt bad for them). Patients had to be released before a room became available for them. Need less to say they were very unhappy people. One of the women looked at us and said "you have only been her 10 minutes and they are coming to get you and I have been waiting all day." Steve puffs up and looks at the woman and says, "I have been waiting 2 years,I am not trading with anybody," the woman never said another word. We were taken to our room and Steve was taken done to be prepped for surgery at 9pm and I left him at 10:15pm when they were taking him to the OR and the surgeon came out at 12:30a.m. to tell me he was done, everything went well, kidney pinked up right away when artery and vein was hooked up. He was in recovery for about 2 1/2 hours and then sent directly to his room.

I learned yesterday when talking to a gentleman in Radiology that he has worked hear at KU for 40 years. He was hear when the first transplant was done in 1969. Back then the patient was in the hospital for 1 month in isolation and now almost done as an out patient procedure, well not quite. The woman that received the first transplant has had her 40th anniversary. She has had her kidney for 40 years. Amazing! I hope Steve has his for 40 years! This is truly amazing and miraculous how this works and of course a lot of help from upstairs. We are so very fortunate and thankful.

Love the Schmitz's