Recovery day 6

       The last couple days have been pretty rough for Grace and Jordan. They (especially Grace) have had a fair amount of pain. But after the more difficult days today brought some progress, this morning Jordan was discharged and he is very glad to be out of the hospital. He has to stay in the city for the next while for follow-up appointments but he is doing very well and improving daily. This afternoon Grace was moved from the step down unit to a different ward. She goes on short walks every day despite the pain she experiences and she has a very good attitude about this difficult recovery period, which plays a huge role in her speed of improvement.
The surgeon that operated on Grace came to Jordan and thanked him for what he had done for his mom. During the surgery they saw how damaged Graces old liver was, so it was a very good thing that they operated when they did because the disease was progressing quickly. With continued rest and care the recovery process should keep going smoothly.

Thanks
The Wiebe's

Recovery continues

       Jordan is recovering quite well, he is still quite uncomfortable but has been going for walks to visit Grace and can possibly be discharged in a few days. He has been moved from the step down unit to the ward. This morning Grace was transferred from ICU to step down, she is now just down the hall from Jordan. Today was quite a difficult day for Grace as she experienced much more pain than usual, but hopefully tomorrow there will be an improvement and she will be more comfortable.

Road to Recovery day 2

             Before the surgery even took place, Jordan was warned that the first few days of recovery would be the worst and that definitely showed today. He has pain and overall discomfort, but that is to be expected after such a major surgery. It will just be taken one day at a time.
Despite Jordan not feeling well, he was able to come up and visit Grace. She had been asking for quite a while now to see him and they finally allowed it today, so with some very helpful staff we took Jordan up in a wheel chair to visit Grace for a few minutes. She was very glad to see him and they were able to see how they are both in the same boat in terms of a difficult recovery.
            Grace is doing very well, she has lots of pain and discomfort but her nurses are very impressed with her rapid improvement which is very encouraging to hear. She does not feel the improvements they talk about but to look at her and talk to her compared to the last few days she is definitely coming along. Tomorrow they are planning to move her from ICU to step down as soon as a room opens up.
Everything appears to be progressing as it should be for both Jordan and Grace.

Thanks
The Wiebe's

Road to Recovery day 1

  It is the first day after surgery, Grace and Jordan are both doing well. Jordan went for a walk this morning and the nurses are very impressed with his speed of improvement. He is very tired but doing well, asking about Grace often and ready to come home.
Grace is now more awake and responsive in ICU, she is very tired but talking with us in short increments and asking questions. Her humour has returned which is wonderful to see, she is joking with us and the staff despite her pain and discomfort; example: She has very many tubes and machines attached to her, and as she is not allowed to eat or drink at the moment even though she wants to, she suggested putting some sauce on all her spaghetti(tubes) and eating that. She asks often about Jordan and wants to see him. Her road to recovery will be long but her attitude is already great about it. The staff here is wonderful and we are so thankful for all of their care.

Thanks
The Wiebe's

Surgeries complete

             At 6 am this morning Jordan was admitted in to the hospital to get ready to donate part of his liver to his mom (Grace). Grace was admitted in to the hospital the night before. My dad(Randy) and I(Karlee) waited with Jordan in pre op until 9am when he was taken in to surgery, we then waited in pre op with Grace. After the go ahead that everything was good with Jordans liver, Grace was then taken in to surgery at 12pm. The Toronto general hospital had a very nice surgical waiting room for families to wait in with very helpful staff and volunteers, which is where Randy and I spent much time today.
            At 6 pm after 9 hours in OR the surgeon came and told my dad and I that Jordan was out of surgery and everything went well. The surgery was estimated to take 6-8 hours, the surgeon explained the reason for a 9 hour surgery to be because Jordan was so well put together, his connective tissues were just so strong that it was difficult to cut through his liver. My dad and I were able to see him one at a time in recovery where he appeared to be doing very well, sleepy but responsive, the first thing he asked me was how mom was doing. Jordan then stayed in recovery until 10:15 when he was moved to his room on a ward called step-down, it is not an ICU ward. There my dad and I were able to visit him more, he was very sleepy and is doing very well.
          After a very long wait the surgeon came and told us that Grace was finally out surgery, In total she was in OR for 10 and a half hours. The surgeon said that it was a very challenging and difficult  surgery, he said on a scale of 0-10 in difficulty he would rate it a 9. Despite a difficult transplant everything ended well in surgery and everything looks good, the surgeons ended on a positive note. Grace was then moved to ICU and is recovering there at the moment. We have not been able to see her as of yet.
          After a long day in surgery Jordan and Grace are recovering and resting in their rooms.

   
   The Wiebe's
           

The call has come!

           This morning Grace and Jordan received the call from their teams that the surgery is a go for tomorrow morning. Grace was admitted at 2pm today for tests and meetings with her doctors. Jordan will go in at 6am tomorrow morning for prep and he should go in to surgery around 8:30am, Grace will then go in to surgery at approximately 10:30am. More updates will be coming, feel free to ask any questions if I have forgotten to include anything in the blog.

Thanks
The Wiebe's

The waiting continues

         
            We have been here in Toronto for a little over a week now, and Grace and Jordan are still waiting for 'the call.' The surgery will hopefully happen this week sometime as Grace and Jordan are getting quite anxious. They hear very little from their surgical teams so when they have more information we will be sure to share. We are very grateful for everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity up to this point.      

    The Wiebe's