UPDATE: Surgery went well and my dad is currently recovering in the ICU. We are relieved to get through the first major obstacles of heart transplant.
My Dad is truly lucky. In fact, our entire family is. He is currently in the operating room waiting for the hospital to approve the organ for his heart transplant. We will be in the waiting room for at least 5 hours once the heart is approved. Here are three possible scenarios:
Scenario 1. Dad goes into the O.R. and the heart can get refused by the surgeon. Dad would
Scenario 2. Dad is fully prepped for surgery and the heart is refused by the surgeon
Scenario 3. Dad goes under and the heart is approved by the surgeon and the surgery proceeds
We were scheduled for surgery at 11:30AM. It is currently 2:00PM. At this point, Scenario 1 is invalid because the nurse practitioner has advised my dad is already under anesthesia and we are still waiting for the heart to be approved. We can only hope for the best and not be disappointed if the organ is not right for my Dad.
Thank you to the donor, the family of the donor, the staff at Cedars Sinai, and our loved ones watching from above.
*I took this photo at 5:45AM today after spending the night in my Dad's hospital room. We had received a call from the hospital on Saturday evening around 7:00PM. After rushing to the hospital, we anticipated surgery that night but later learned the procedure would most likely happen the following morning at 11:30AM.