Stephen's Second Chance starts today!!

May 24th, 2011

Great news my friends, Dad is in recovery and doing well.  He received "the call" last night at 8:30pm.  Surgery started around 7am and finished up around noon.  We just met with the surgeon and he said that it could not have gone better!! We are hoping to get to see him soon,  Jax won't go home and rest until he sees his Grandpa!

I want to thank all of you from all of us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Without you, none of this would have been possible. 

Dad's second chance starts today!!

XOXO,

Gina

What a day!

May 3rd, 2011

Dear friends,

Yesterday we got the call we have been waiting for, THE call! After I ran around in a circle several times, I woke Jaxson and Michael up and we threw some things in a bag and left for UK.  Our emotions were all over the place.  We were stunned that the call came in, sad for the family that had lost a loved one, and excited for Dad's second chance at life.  Of course the nurses remembered Dad, they were so happy to see his face.  Dad was very nervous, having his two grandsons in the room with him helped calm those nerves.  The call came in at 6:30 in the morning and surgery was set for 11:30.  Dad was sent up to holding around 10:45.  They only allowed one person to stay with him, we all gave big hugs, said a prayer, cried  and left mom with dad.  At 11:15, we found out that the liver was bad and could not be used. 

So we got in a practice run.  I now have a transplant bag ready for the next call! Dad is second on the list, so the call will be soon and we will be prepared!

Tomorrow is World Give Day and this fundraiser has been chosen by GiveForward to be a featured fundraiser on their homepage!  This gives us great exposure and a great opportunity to raise more funds.  May 13th is Dad's Birthday, he will be 54.  Tomorrow is World Give Day, or 5/4.  In honor of all of the 54's, we are going to be doing a fundraising marathon.  I'm challenging everyone to email their contacts and ask if they could give $5.40 or $54.00.  We are getting so close to our goal, thank you so much, we have been so blessed!!

Love,

Gina

53%

May 1st, 2011

Wow!! Our goal was to reach 50% by May 1st and we reached 53% because of all of you.  Thank you so much, this is amazing! We are still waiting for the call, it could be any day now.  Dad is keeping his head up.  He has missed some work because of blackouts, but he is such a trooper. We cannot express enough what your thoughts, prayers and generosity have meant to us during this time.  We could not do this without you.

XOXO,

Gina  

The List!!

March 15th, 2011

Dear friends,

I just received the call from our wonderful transplant coordinator, Dad is on the list!! She just received insurance approval from Anthem. Awesome!!

What this means:

Dad's current MELD number is 16.  Most patients get bumped up to the top of the list and receive a liver once their MELD number is 22.  He has been increasing on average 1 number a month.  Fran (transplant coordinator) said that because Dad's sodium levels are so low, he may get a sodium exception MELD. A sodium exception would bump him up to the top of the list before reaching a 22 MELD. 

Thank you for all of your prayers, they are working.  Our family truly feels so blessed to have your love and support.

XOXO,

Gina 

Ebay Auction

March 6th, 2011

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you know that Mom and Dad are auctioning off some antiques that have been in the family for generations.  They have been loved & are now in need of a new home. If you know of any antique lovers, please pass this info along.

Here are the listing numbers:

120694520806     120694555756          120694524296          120694533146

120694540958      120695266464          120695240678

XOXO,

Gina

Not on list yet...

March 3rd, 2011

I have a correction to make from yesterday's update.  I spoke with the transplant coordinator today & Dad is not on the list until the insurance company approves the transplant.  She said that she contacted them on Tuesday after the UK approval and they have 15 days to respond.  So we have one more approval to get through.  Please keep Dad in your thoughts and prayers & I will keep you posted. Thank you!

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice

March 2nd, 2011

Rejoice! Rejoice!! We feel so loved and hopeful because of all of you! Your prayers and well wishes are working, we just left Uk where Dad was given the final approval by the transplant surgeon & now he is officially on the transplant list!I teared up, which made the surgeon tear up!! Dad is in great hands:) When I picked up Jax from school and gave him the good news, he said, "Grandpa and I are going to have to celebrate with a man night this Friday!"

We were told that he could get the call tomorrow or 6 months from now, but the average wait is 3 months.  Dad is trying to work as many double shifts as he can, but I don't know how much longer he will be able to continue working like this.  Please keep forwarding this link to as many people as you know & if you are able to, send donations.  No amount is too small, we are so thankful! Because of you, we are at 9% of our goal in two days, AMAZING!!  I wish you could have seen the relief and the newfound hope in their eyes when I started reading off the prayers and donations. I don't think any of us have stopped tearing up since Monday.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Our souls are filled with so much love. "faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" ~John 3:16