Now Today's Challenge is a NO BRAINER!!
Those that Know My Story KNOWS Which Day Stands Out the Most. For Everyone else, I would Absolutely Love to Share this Day with You All.
*NOTE: The Original can be found Here, and in its entirety. For Challenge Purposes, I fast forwarded to this Date.*
Thursday December 9, 1993 is a very important day to me,
my family and friends. I’ll walk you through that day. I woke up at 5.30 AM to
get ready for school. I arrive at the bus stop at 7AM with my classmates. Our bus
shows at 7.15AM to take us to Germantown-Lankenau Motivational Program Annex, a
then extension to Germantown H.S. During 3rd period English, my classmates
asked if they can see my catheter. I agreed, and they asked a lot of questions
which made me smile. I love being asked questions about my illness. Shows me
you want to learn about the Human Body, and you are not ignorant. After school,
I was tutored in Biology by Mr. Hovis. Subject: Punnett Squares. I got home
around 4PM, and was getting ready for my nightly routine. Oprah was on, and my
mom was cooking dinner. At 4.15PM, the phone rang. My mom picked it up, and this
is the actual conversation that took place:
Mom: “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Andrew Boyd’s mother?”
Mom: “Yes it is.”
“This is Anna Taggart, Transplant Coordinator for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. How are you?”
Mom: “I’m fine. How can I help you?”
Anna: “How would you like a kidney?”
Mom: “Excuse me?”
Anna: “We have a kidney for Andrew!”
Mom: *In tears* “That’s all he wanted for Christmas!”
When I heard my mom mention Christmas, I knew EXACTLY who that was on the phone and what was happening. My brother and I looked at each other and we screamed, jumped up and down and hugged (SIDEBAR: I’m getting teary eyed writing this now, and this was 14 years ago when this happened). We went into the streets telling neighbors, and calling friends and family. My mom called dad, and told him the news, where he was a bus driver at the time. He drove his bus back to the depot, and came straight to the hospital, where we were around 8PM. Mom, Calvin, Dad, Aunt Mattie, and Uncle Bill were all there to see me off. I went into the Operating Room around 9.00PM-9.30PM.
During the transplant, my cousin Donna had a dream. She was in the OR with me and the doctors while they were taking care of me. Our Great Grandmother Nancy was there as well (Great Grandmother passed away 2 months before I was born, and watched over me daily. I still feel her around me to this day.) Great grandmother kissed my forehead, signaling that I would be alright.
At 2.15AM, I awaken in the most God awful pain EVER. My stomach was hurting, I felt AND got sick, and I felt EXTREMELY weak. I was so weak I could barely lift my bed sheet to see the bandage on my stomach. I had a pulse measurer on my right index finger, monitors to the right of my bed, a dialysis machine to the left of my bed, and more tubes and wires than I cared to count. Oh, and let’s not forget the uncomfortable Foley Tube to catch my urine! Man, was I pissed (no pun intended)! They told us the surgery was a success, but I lost a lot of blood. They asked about a transfusion, and mom objected strongly. She told them to wait and you’ll see something amazing. I come from a long line of fast healers, and sure enough I showed my bloodline proud. And the blood loss was a minor thing.
After 2 days, we noticed that I wasn't urinating as well as expected. Next thing I know, my stomach was tightening up and I was in pain. Thankfully, the PD catheter was still in, and they were able to drain my belly. They tested it, and found something:
Urine, lots of urine.
Somehow, the new gift I received was not connected right, and I wound up peeing in my Peritoneum (We found out later that my bladder sits lower than the average person’s). They took me to the OR again, and reattached my bladder to my new gift. After that, they put blue dye into my bladder (Yellow Urine + Blue Dye = Green Pee), to insure that the reattachment was successful. When I started urinating, my mom cried and said, “I’ll never be happier to see Green Pee!”
Three days later, I walked from my bed to a chair about 10 feet away. I sat in the chair for an hour, and then walked a little bit before returning to the bed. That afternoon, I had my first long awaited taste of food: Hamburger, green beans and apple juice. The burger was bland, the green beans had no heart, and the apple juice was the only decent thing on the tray. I ate it all, EAGERLY!!
The next evening, they transferred me to a regular room, where I could have more visitors. My brother Calvin, my future best friend Ricarto, and our good friend Mark showed up, and gave me wrestling magazines (For you Guys out there, DO NOT let your friends give you wrestling magazines, esp. if good looking girls are in it while you are catheterized in the “inky winky.” IT HURTS!!!). They meant well, and I still love those guys. 2 nights later, I was invited by Channel 10 into the Children’s Hospital Auditorium for a special edition of the Randall Cunningham Show. I signed my waiver, and was on my way with my mom. We ran into a sea of eager kids and Philadelphia Eagles fans. Then the Awesome happened.
We were waiting to be seated, and my eyes locked onto the eyes of Eagles Linebacker Seth Joyner. Man, he was HUGE!! He shook my hand, asked my name, and we talked for a while. Then he talked to my mom. Then he went inside the auditorium. My mom looked at me and said, “You might have a new daddy,” I said, “OK!”
Mom and I sat in the front row, and loved the show. During one of the commercial breaks, Eagles Quarterback and host Randall Cunningham came off the stage and shook hands with me and other kids. I got the chance to see his new wedding ring (BEAUTIFUL!!!) and asked him a question:
“Seeing how you are injured, if the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl, would you play in the Super Bowl, even though it may mean the end of your career?”
His response was one word: “Yes.”
I should’ve studied Journalism…LOL!!
December 23, 1993 was the last day I spent in the hospital. Mom, dad and Calvin were all there to take me home, and just in time for Christmas. Simply put, our Christmas that year was the most memorable.
Even though there were a few ups and downs, we held onto our gift for 11 years (We took it over 3 more years, so that shows we knew what we were doing). As we speak, we are waiting for another chance at being the happiest people on this Planet. We are waiting for another Kidney Transplant, and a Third Chance at Life. I know in my heart as well as the hearts of my Family and Friends (Mi Familia), that day is rapidly approaching. We’ll be waiting, and I will document everything that happens so I can update you all on my well-being.
~2009 Andrew Boyd~
Mom: “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Andrew Boyd’s mother?”
Mom: “Yes it is.”
“This is Anna Taggart, Transplant Coordinator for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. How are you?”
Mom: “I’m fine. How can I help you?”
Anna: “How would you like a kidney?”
Mom: “Excuse me?”
Anna: “We have a kidney for Andrew!”
Mom: *In tears* “That’s all he wanted for Christmas!”
When I heard my mom mention Christmas, I knew EXACTLY who that was on the phone and what was happening. My brother and I looked at each other and we screamed, jumped up and down and hugged (SIDEBAR: I’m getting teary eyed writing this now, and this was 14 years ago when this happened). We went into the streets telling neighbors, and calling friends and family. My mom called dad, and told him the news, where he was a bus driver at the time. He drove his bus back to the depot, and came straight to the hospital, where we were around 8PM. Mom, Calvin, Dad, Aunt Mattie, and Uncle Bill were all there to see me off. I went into the Operating Room around 9.00PM-9.30PM.
During the transplant, my cousin Donna had a dream. She was in the OR with me and the doctors while they were taking care of me. Our Great Grandmother Nancy was there as well (Great Grandmother passed away 2 months before I was born, and watched over me daily. I still feel her around me to this day.) Great grandmother kissed my forehead, signaling that I would be alright.
At 2.15AM, I awaken in the most God awful pain EVER. My stomach was hurting, I felt AND got sick, and I felt EXTREMELY weak. I was so weak I could barely lift my bed sheet to see the bandage on my stomach. I had a pulse measurer on my right index finger, monitors to the right of my bed, a dialysis machine to the left of my bed, and more tubes and wires than I cared to count. Oh, and let’s not forget the uncomfortable Foley Tube to catch my urine! Man, was I pissed (no pun intended)! They told us the surgery was a success, but I lost a lot of blood. They asked about a transfusion, and mom objected strongly. She told them to wait and you’ll see something amazing. I come from a long line of fast healers, and sure enough I showed my bloodline proud. And the blood loss was a minor thing.
After 2 days, we noticed that I wasn't urinating as well as expected. Next thing I know, my stomach was tightening up and I was in pain. Thankfully, the PD catheter was still in, and they were able to drain my belly. They tested it, and found something:
Urine, lots of urine.
Somehow, the new gift I received was not connected right, and I wound up peeing in my Peritoneum (We found out later that my bladder sits lower than the average person’s). They took me to the OR again, and reattached my bladder to my new gift. After that, they put blue dye into my bladder (Yellow Urine + Blue Dye = Green Pee), to insure that the reattachment was successful. When I started urinating, my mom cried and said, “I’ll never be happier to see Green Pee!”
Three days later, I walked from my bed to a chair about 10 feet away. I sat in the chair for an hour, and then walked a little bit before returning to the bed. That afternoon, I had my first long awaited taste of food: Hamburger, green beans and apple juice. The burger was bland, the green beans had no heart, and the apple juice was the only decent thing on the tray. I ate it all, EAGERLY!!
The next evening, they transferred me to a regular room, where I could have more visitors. My brother Calvin, my future best friend Ricarto, and our good friend Mark showed up, and gave me wrestling magazines (For you Guys out there, DO NOT let your friends give you wrestling magazines, esp. if good looking girls are in it while you are catheterized in the “inky winky.” IT HURTS!!!). They meant well, and I still love those guys. 2 nights later, I was invited by Channel 10 into the Children’s Hospital Auditorium for a special edition of the Randall Cunningham Show. I signed my waiver, and was on my way with my mom. We ran into a sea of eager kids and Philadelphia Eagles fans. Then the Awesome happened.
We were waiting to be seated, and my eyes locked onto the eyes of Eagles Linebacker Seth Joyner. Man, he was HUGE!! He shook my hand, asked my name, and we talked for a while. Then he talked to my mom. Then he went inside the auditorium. My mom looked at me and said, “You might have a new daddy,” I said, “OK!”
Mom and I sat in the front row, and loved the show. During one of the commercial breaks, Eagles Quarterback and host Randall Cunningham came off the stage and shook hands with me and other kids. I got the chance to see his new wedding ring (BEAUTIFUL!!!) and asked him a question:
“Seeing how you are injured, if the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl, would you play in the Super Bowl, even though it may mean the end of your career?”
His response was one word: “Yes.”
I should’ve studied Journalism…LOL!!
December 23, 1993 was the last day I spent in the hospital. Mom, dad and Calvin were all there to take me home, and just in time for Christmas. Simply put, our Christmas that year was the most memorable.
Even though there were a few ups and downs, we held onto our gift for 11 years (We took it over 3 more years, so that shows we knew what we were doing). As we speak, we are waiting for another chance at being the happiest people on this Planet. We are waiting for another Kidney Transplant, and a Third Chance at Life. I know in my heart as well as the hearts of my Family and Friends (Mi Familia), that day is rapidly approaching. We’ll be waiting, and I will document everything that happens so I can update you all on my well-being.
~2009 Andrew Boyd~
2 comments:
((hugs)) Your survival and existence is indeed a blessing. Thank you for sharing.
*BIG HUGS*
Thank You for Reading, No Labels! :-D
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