Operation New Lungs and Heart! Feb. 16-17

Here are the Sharlie's Angels facebook updates from the days of the surgeries.

The first update on Feb. 16 at 11:47 am
They've begun. The lungs/heart are a match. Now we pray and wait and pray.

Feb. 16, 2:41pm

UPDATE: The surgeons have successfully removed her old, well used, and well loved heart and lungs. This step was one of the significant hurdles given how compromised her chest cavity had become after her right lung collapsed back in high school. We're being told the new heart and lungs look beautiful. All is well.....all is well.

Feb. 16, 3:57pm

UPDATE: Shar's new organs are in place....her trachea and heart have been sewn in. Her lungs are next. Apparently they're on the large side.

We've learned the donor was an adult. We anxiously await meeting the donor's family to share our condolences and gratitude. We hope their pain can be lessened knowing their loved one gave life to another. I can't think of a more appreciative recipient.

Feb. 16, 4:34pm

UPDATE: All of her organs have been sewn in. Her lungs inflated "perfectly". Her bleeding is better than typical CF patients.....no transfusions yet. The procedure has been smoother than they believed it would. Our next update will come from the surgeon after it's over....believed to be a couple hours from now.

Feb. 16, 7:10pm

Success! The head surgeon just came out and gave us the great news. Her heart is functioning well. Her lungs are already up to 50%, a level she's never been at before. They believe her lung function will rise as she heals. We'll have a better idea about the health of her new lungs shortly. We were able to see her for a short moment when they wheeled her out....she looked so peaceful. We'll be able to see her soon. We're so thankful for your love and support.

Feb. 16, 9:27pm

Sharlie is resting comfortably in the ICU. They'll keep her on the ventilator till about 6am tomorrow at which time she'll breathe on her own for the first time. She'll be able to converse a bit and, I imagine, shed a tear. 

Feb. 17, 7:39 am

Sharlie started bleeding around 2am last night. She was given transfusions and then a med at 6:30am. The med helped slow the bleeding, but an X-ray showed a pool of blood on the right side of her chest cavity. This pool of blood means she needs further surgery. They are taking her back to the O.R. as I type this. 
I'm receiving tons of information, most of which is difficult to process because I don't have a frame of reference. I keep asking "How worried should I be?" and "How common is this?"
Her surgeon said we shouldn't be overly worried and that this is somewhat common, but this is a reminder that this will be a long road with potential setbacks. We're not completely out of the woods yet. Please continue to pray.

Feb. 17, 10:52am

The second surgery was a success. The source of bleeding had closed by the time they opened her up. The pooled blood was removed and they made sure there were no other sources of bleeding. The surgeons are very pleased with what they saw and how it went. They hope to wake her in a couple of hours to breathe on her own. Progress.

Feb. 17, 12:41pm

We just visited with one of Sharlie's surgeons at her bedside. He called her new heart and lungs "pristine". They had to turn down her oxygen while we were in there......she was providing more than they thought she would be:) She'll be extubated/awake in a couple hours and they'll have her sitting up before the end of the day.
“Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.”

Angels arrive to send Shar to the OR!

Until Shar is feeling up to updating her blog, we, her family are going to be helping her keep a record of this event. This is Ryan writing about the morning before Shar was wheeled into the OR. 


When we learned at 1:30 am that the OR that was needed to transplant Shar was being used and wouldn't be free until morning, it seemed like a little set back. Shar was ready and anxious to get started and when they told us to try and sleep a few hours we both gave a feeble laugh and knew it would be nearly impossible.

However, as we were able to get a little sleep and woke up the next morning we realized that because the surgery had been delayed, Shar would experience a sweet tender mercy. She would be able to be sent off to the OR by some of her most precious angels. Along with my parents, upon learning of "the call," Shar's brother Dax jumped in his truck and started driving through the night from San Diego.  Her two best friends, Suedy and Jess also started driving from San Diego and LA as soon as they heard from her.  Shar's sister left her house in Maryland at 4:00 in the morning to catch the first flight to San Francisco. We never expected that they would ALL make it just in time to hug Shar and see her wheeled away.

Here are a few pictures of that special morning.

Big Brother's here


Suedy's here


Jess, Shar and Suedy...friends for 25 years

 Shar's ever loving mom Collette. She's been our Rock.

A last minute visit from the post transplant team to wish Shar well in surgery.

Signing her life away

The last Sharlie's Angels update before they started Sharlie's surgery.

Feb. 16, 10:26 am:

Sharlie has been taken to the OR. They'll begin shortly. Prayers, tears and lots of hope.

The CALL came!

Here are the first reports of the news of Shar's Transplant Call from her Sharlie's Angels facebook page. 


The first news was recorded on Feb. 15 at 8:39 pm:
We have received the call from Stanford. We'll be heading to the hospital shortly to see if these lungs and heart are a perfect match. The doctors believe they are a match. Sharlie feels at peace and is ready. Please keep Sharlie, the doctors, and the donor's family in your prayers. I'll be updating frequently. - Ryan


Feb. 15, 9:46 pm:

On our way to the hospital

Feb. 16, 12:27 am:

‎"This is not a 'dry run'...this is the real thing." Looks like we're a go. We'll likely start in a few hours.

Feb 16, 1:24 am:

There's another transplant happening in the OR right now. It doesn't look like she'll be transplanted till morning. Everything is fine. Sharlie is as peaceful/calm as I've ever seen her.

Feb. 16, 6:35 am:

We were able to get a few hours of sleep.....the nurse came in at 6am saying the Doctors would be coming to the room sometime between 6-7am to begin prepping for the OR. Both of us can't stop thinking about the family who likely had a much longer night than we did.

Cue Adele...

It was a sad drive home from the airport yesterday. Pulling away from the curb in pouring rain after squeezing my girls goodbye and yelling "I love you's" over and over as they walked through the sliding glass doors left me very melancholy. This office scene was very similar to the scene in my car on the drive home...




It has been so much fun to be surrounded by my favorite girls these past few weekends! Although I've been battling a little bug, these visitors were the best medicine and I think I'm actually going to be able to avoid the hospital!

Here's the Instagram story:

Ali and Maddie

Getting our cuddle on while watching Downton Abby (we hooked Ali!)

Working it at Zara!

Yumm!

 Stanford

A parting gift from my angel Maddie...perfect!

Suedy and Jess

What could be better than wedding dress shopping with your best friends?

Personal Shoppers....Suedy looked amazing in EVERYTHING!

A Persian lunch was a must!

Harrison was so happy to be with his Aunties!

Year in Review...Photo Journal Style!

Here is my annual New Year's post that is way too long with way too many pictures! One of the things I love doing at the beginning of a New Year is reflecting on the past year.  I like to think about the lessons I learned, the relationships that were created or strengthened, the successes and setbacks, the moments of strength and inspiration and all the ways my family and I were blessed. This year reflecting on those blessings was overwhelming...we were so blessed in 2011 and have so much to be thankful for.

It is especially fun for me to go through my pictures and remember some of my favorite moments.
Here are some of our favorite 2011 memories:

January -- Harrison started a new school and a new Pee Wee sports class with his best friend Thomas! Also, one of my favorite days of January was spent at La Jolla Cove watching Harrison ride around on his new scooter! It was one of those perfect San Diego Days. Ryan also started his MBA program this month!!

February --  We  celebrated Harrison's 4th birthday with a rally race at the park! He was thrilled with his new "Ken Block" clothes. Also, Ryan traveled with all of his classmates to be on Price is Right, it was so fun to watch them on T.V.! I also spent time in the hospital this month and was on home I.V.'s for several weeks. Ryan, as always was my rock... just look at how good he is at changing my PICC dressing!

 

 

March -- Harrison finished his Pee Wee sports class and got his first trophy...it was kinda a big deal : )

April -- What a fun month! Harrison and I went to visited Palm Springs with my mom. It was a perfect week of playing in the pool and relaxing! Ryan also surprised me with Brandon Flowers tickets and we saw him at the House of Blues in San Diego. We saw him in L.A. too but the House of Blues is such a cool, intimate venue and it was an awesome show! At the end of April my mom and I road tripped it to Utah for my cousin's wedding. It was so special to be there!

 

 

 

May -- Another super fun month. Harrison and I spent another week with Grandma Coco in Las Vegas and she treated us to the BEATLES LOVE show! Harrison loves the Beatles and he was absolutely mesmerized! I finished the month off with the funnest girls night out ever... it was a SLEEPOVER! Several of my high school girl friends met up in L.A. and spent the night at Suedy's new home. Just like in high school, we stayed up pretty much all night talking and laughing!

June -- June was a tough month. I was in the hospital most of the month. Chelsea flew out to be with me and I will never forget how wonderful it was to have her there with me. She was a huge support to me and a huge help with Harrison. Linda was also amazing and was pretty much Harrison's second mom for the month! Here we are cuddled on my hospital bed, I love these boys so much!!

July -- July was recovery month and my darling cousins came to help me with Harrison! They were so fun to have in our home and such a gigantic help! It was definitely hard to let them go! We were also able to squeeze in swimming lessons for Harrison and travel to L.A. to see Ken Block and his new rally car!!! Harrison was in heaven!

 

August -- August was kind of a roller coaster month that started with my Double Lung transplant evaluation at Stanford. My mom was with me through the whole thing and I could never have done it without her.  We came home to meet Cam and Chels and their family and they filled August with joy and laughter!! We made some amazing family memories, including Drexel's blessing!

September -- After being accepted by Stanford for a Heart and Double Lung transplant, our family made the move to Los Altos. We needed to be near Stanford hospital to become active on the list. My mom put her life on hold and made the move with us. We are so blessed to have her! This picture was taken right outside our rental home. It is so beautiful here. A few of Ryan's wonderful classmates came to visit and Suedy also made her first trip here in September!

October -- I spent a few days in the hospital in October and was pretty weak for most of the month but we had a blast taking Harrison trick or treating on our cute street! We also got a special visit from Zak, it was so good to spend a few days with him and have his spirit in our home.

 

November -- November was a special month. I felt strong and was able to see almost all the family. Chels came and spent several days with us and we had some great mother-daughter time and then the rest of the family was here for Thanksgiving and it was so fun to have them all here. I could not have been more grateful for their presence on that special holiday! The Air Supply Event also took place in November and it is a day I will never forget. Even thought I was not able to travel to San Diego for it, I felt the love and support so powerfully. Ryan flew down to be there and filled me in on all the amazing details. Here is a beautiful highlight video put together by Benny Ek from the event.

Air Supply - "Filling Lungs with Love" Event Highlights from Benny Ek on Vimeo.

December --December was such a fun month, celebrating the holidays in a new place was fresh and fun. We really tried to get out and explore this area and take advantage of all the fun holiday activities. The best gifts we got were our loved ones! Ric spent a lot of time here and Grammy and Grandpa were here in the beginning of December and then back at Christmas! Two times in one month was such a treat! It was also so much fun to have Suedy and Alfonso here!! The pictures are from December are on my last post but I'll put one of my favorites here of me and my sweet boy that didn't get included in the last post:

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post! Looking back on 2011 and seeing these pictures makes me so happy. I truly love my life and am so grateful for the experiences I'm having. I feel like even though we faced some tough challenges this year, we didn't let those challenges prevent us from really living and enjoying our lives. Actually, the challenges we faced this year made the precious moments even more precious and brought our families and our friends together in such a special way. Here's to 2011 and looking forward with hope and faith for an amazing 2012! Blessings!