The Phone Is Always On

I could get THE CALL any time from here on out.  Today, tomorrow, in three weeks.  This Chistmas or Next July 4th.  And the ultimate reality is, unfortunately, the call may never come for me.  But still I need to be ready 24/7/365.

Human organs, especially the heart, are an extremely precious resource, and extraordinary efforts are made to ensure each organ has the best chance of helping the recipient.  Most folks only get one chance, and some never get a chance at all, and the chance of rejection is ALWAYS there, so this HAS to be done right.

A ton of work will go on behind the scenes to get the donor heart matched to my own body.  I read where as many as 100 people are involved in the procurement of a donor heart, and subsequent implantation into the recipient.  Blood type is just one of many factors that goes into determining a suitable match.  Also important are tissue type, the overall health of the donor upon his or her passing, my height and weight as well as the donor's height and weight, my medical urgency, and my time on the waiting list.  For me the official clock started ticking August 22, 2014.

But once the medical team makes that determination, that I am indeed the best match for that heart, they will move heaven and earth to get me to the hospital as quickly as possible.  They have my cell number, my girlfriend's cell number, my mom's phone number.  And I will get a pager.  And it's my understanding that if they really can't get a hold of me within a certain amount of time, the police will try to hunt me down.  Maybe they even call the fire department.  Don't quote me on that one though.

Luckily I live 10 minutes away from my transplant center at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics so that shouldn't be a huge obstacle.

But we've started to watch the local news from a slightly different perspective.  Sadly, hearts usually become available as a result of some unforeseen, traumatic, tragic event.  Car accidents, hunting accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, farming accidents.  Even suicide.  It's still a bit daunting for me to think something really bad is going to have to happen first, before a heart becomes available.  But that's just the way it is.   Still with each news story I listen for details of the victim.

 Are they they relatively the same age as me? Same body type?  Same blood type?  We're they a registered donor, and will the family actually honor those wishes?

And of course a lot of those details are never revealed in a 30 second news spot, but still I wonder.  And I wait.

And by the way...my 'from the hospital' ringtone is the Mission Impossible theme song.