Third time is a charm!!

Our amazing boy

A little luck was on our side

Carter minutes before surgery

We were out of the house by 6:45am this morning and headed to our CT scan check-in at CHOC. After filling out paperwork, we got a call from UCLA. They asked how Carter was feeling, and we told them his nose hadn’t been running all morning and he seemed good. The doctor said they had a great liver prospect and Carter is in the #1 spot. She told us to leave and not have the scan done, and head up to UCLA. We immediately started crying as we felt like this is it! We turned the paperwork back in and told the people at CHOC we had to leave, we got a liver call for Carter. The woman asked if I was going to be okay, because I could barely get those words out. We went running out of the full radiology waiting room, and I’m sure left many people wondering. They probably thought I was going into labor…little did they know the crazy life we lead! We had time to run by our house and grab a few things we had left behind, and then got on the road to UCLA.

Matt and I were quieter in the car this time, and were both nervous and excited thinking this is the day. Carter hadn’t been able to eat since last night because of the CT scan, so he was starving and kept asking for food. As soon as UCLA called though, we had to be sure he didn’t eat or drink anything. Luckily, Carter fell asleep 10 minutes into the drive so he didn’t think about it until we got to the hospital and at that point things were too crazy. The doctor came to “eyeball” Carter and make sure he looked okay and healthy enough for surgery. She felt good about what she saw, and we were on to begin testing and prep work. We saw many doctors throughout the day and Carter endured a lot. And through it all he was a trooper and was smiling and cracking jokes. He is our strength. At 1:45pm we were told it was most likely a “go” and they would come to pick up Carter from our room at 4pm. The surgical team still had to go to the donor and survey whether or not the liver would work for Carter. We were told the donor was local in the LA area, and Carter would be receiving a whole liver. So, we knew we wouldn’t have the complications of whether or not they could split the liver; it was a matter of if it would fit. Matt and I have thought about the donor’s family constantly throughout the day. We can’t imagine the day they have had and know we are so blessed by their generosity. They lost a small child today, and we are gaining a new life for Carter.

They finally came to get Carter around 5:30pm. We all walked down to the OR area (Grammy and Grandpa are here too), and luckily they let me hold Carter the whole way as he could sense something was going on and was starting to get pretty upset. They gave him some sedation drugs and he became a little loopy in my arms. The doctors had me dress up in a big white suit with my hair in a cap, mask on, and booties on my feet and I got to carry my little baby into the operating room. I sat there and sang to him until they put his mask on to fully sedate him. I was apprehensive about going into the room with him thinking it would be too hard, but it gave me a lot of peace. I could see how things would play out and know everything is going to be okay.

As we sit here in the waiting room right now, we have been updated regularly from the OR. At 6:45pm they did the first incision and let us know they’d call us again when they had the liver out of Carter’s body. This was great news because we knew they had not seen any other cancer in his body or else they wouldn’t have been able to move forward with surgery. And they must have also realized the new liver would fit in Carter’s body. At 8:25pm they had the cancerous liver out and the new one was going in. Yeah! Carter is cancer-free!! At 10:05pm they had profused the new liver with Carter’s blood and everything looks good so far. His body seems to like the liver and they are now attaching the artery. Now all the small plumbing begins. This is where the surgery can be complicated. We have successfully completed so many hurdles, and know we will continue to do so throughout the night. We will update this again soon, but for so many Carter supporters…this is when we need your good thoughts and prayers!!! This is the day we have been waiting for! Thank you for all your support!!