Go time!!

The countdown has officially started in hours, no longer days. About 9 hours from now I will be off in never never land while they rewire my insides. We had tests all day today at the transplant center and spoke to numerous doctors. The University of Minnesota is really unbelievable. They have a whole surgery team that takes care of me and a whole separate one that takes care of Erica. I think both of us are very impressed with the people that we have been dealing with. There is definitely a reason why they are one of the best in the world. It has made me feel old because two of my doctors are the same age as me, but they are all very, very good. The doctors have given me pretty positive responses to all my questions. I am fortunate that I have time on my side and my overall health is very good. There is alway risk of infection or rejection but everyone feels pretty positive. Its funny because for these people it is just another day at the office, for me its one of the biggest days of my life. They deal with this 6-8 times a week!!

We have been joking about the what ifs when I get Erica's kidney. Maybe it will bring out my feminine side, and I will become a top notch massage therapist. I will start to like to watch chick flicks with Tara, and we can really "talk about our feelings". Geoff may also find himself mildly attracted to me. All small sacrifices for a healthy kidney.

For the next few days Tara will be keeping everyone up to date on what is going on with the procedure and hopefully by Saturday I will out of the hospital and on my way to recovery with my family. The hardest part will be that I wont be able to see Karen for a few days because she is still a little sick with a cold and they dont want any risk of infection. The drugs that they give me lowers my immune system to an almost unsafe level. One small sneeze could make me really really sick.

I appreciate all the support and phone calls that I received today and throughout this whole process, I know we have tons of support and that means a lot to both Tara and I. We look forward to spending quality time with everyone once this is all over and getting back to normal life. We have realized normality is a good thing!

See you all soon when I'm one pound heavier.