Many White Blood Cells

The home phone rang at 20.30  The voice on the phone was not the one I expected it was a voice that I knew and Could place immediately, hello Mark how are you? This is  one of the transplant coordinators at Harefields Hospital we have the offer of a possible set of lungs.
The words hung in my mind for a second or two ”I have to call my wife as she has gone to work” I said it will take a while for her to get home. She told me she would call me back in fifteen minutes.
I rang my wife on the phone no answer then rang again,” What!!” she said. We have had a call to go to Harefields.she told the ward night staff and started to drive home from the hospial she was at fifeteen miles away.

No matter how many times you go though this is still is a shock when it happens and I found myself shaking and having problems focusing my thoughts Then Liz got back and the kids ran to meet her for emotional support. The coordinator rang back to say that they were happy for me to come so we all sorted ourselves out with what we needed and got in the car for the now familiar journey to Harefields Hospital.soon we were pulling into the hospital ground to the sound of  Wish you were here by Pink Floyd.

The Nurse turned up and took my Temperature, Pulse, Blood pressure, and Oxygen saturation. The temperature was up to 37.6  slightly up from normal.
Unfortunately a question  had been raised by my temperature spike and this was to return with a vengeance upon the reporting of my white cell reading.
The surgeon who had been talking with us returned with a face that indicated he was not bearing good news sure enough the results were not good. I had a elevated white blood cell count that combined with the raise in temperature and upset stomach indicated there may be a problem developing and the decision had been reached that I was not fit enough to transplant that night.
Gradually I could feel myself sinking down to earth from the ceiling where I had been drifting while the process had been going on .

I put my head in my hand I asked him to confirm there would be no transplant as it wouldn't sink in I had taken the dangerous step of thinking that things were going to proceed which I shouldn't have and I was finding the way back to the land of the maybes hard.
By the next day my temperature and stomach were better

Called to Harefields Third time

The call came at 1.58am just as I was going to start to think about sleep
My wife had been on edge all week and it seems she was justified to be worried that we would get a call.
When the phone went my legs started to shake and breathing that minutes earlier was calm became shallow and laboured. After I had said that we were willing to come to the hospital for a possible set of lungs I started to have problems catching my breath and my thoughts, as they raced around in my head, and my lungs refused to fill. I sat there in a daze  for a few minutes before I was able to get on with the task of sorting out things to take in with us.

The kids were good helping out with things and adding reassurance that “It will be al right Dad” as they could see the shocked and frightened look on my face.
As we travelled along I added a update on Facebook on my phone to share my present status as I knew that my eldest daughter who was abroad again in France working at a ski resort would what to know if things went ahead.

Alas it was not to be, when we got there it was already becoming clear to the transplant team that the organs were not suitable.
Then the sobering thought that someone had died and offered their organs came into my mind and I said a prayer of thanks to God even if that time it didn't happen for me. someone else would benifit from the gift.
I hoped that there will be a next time?