The Oreo Miracle

Never a dull moment, that’s just how we roll - livin la vida loco 😜 

On Wednesday November 9th Florida was bracing for its 2nd hurricane in 43 days and Walker and Candy had to drive up to the Mayo Clinic at 5am for some testing, then they turned around drove right home returning about 12:30. I was driving back home to Orlando about mid afternoon from doing a job in Melbourne, where the wind and rain where starting to get serious, as Nicole lumbered across the Gulfstream towards land fall wed night or Thursday morning. Then I get a call from Candy. “Walker just got a call from Mayo saying he’s in full blown rejection and that we need to head up there for a 730 am testing and that they will probably be admitting him”, she says. Gulp! Brain freeze, time stands still, heart starts beating faster. Seeing as I am familiar with this type of difficult news, my symptoms are momentary as I take several deep breaths and return to the job at hand. 

Not news we were even close to expecting especially because they had just sent him home with their blessing hours earlier. Everything had looked fine until his main doc got results back from some biopsy test which came in only hours after they headed home. “Got it, we will figure out what to do when I get home ok?” I say. Then I immediately call to see if the wonderful Gabriel house on Mayo’s campus has availability, which they do not. Next I call the Hyatt by Mayo which kindly has a favorable Mayo rates for us frequent fliers and make a reservation for that night. I will confer with Walker and Candy but it looks like we probably need to haul boogie to Jacksonville tonight and not try to make it in the am fighting the serious winds of Nicole which will hit directly on east coast from Melbourne to Jacksonville.

Walker and Candy agree that we must pack up immediately and head north prepared for a 3-4 day stay we estimate. On the road trip north it rained pretty hard the whole way to Jacksonville. We checked into the Hyatt that evening and settled in. Early in the night, Walker began throwing up constantly, which happens due to dehydration, and Candy wisely decided to take him to the Mayo ER to drop him off knowing they would expedite his admission to the hospital. We got a few good winks in till waking early morning to head over to Mayo. Nicole had arrived and was whipping the shores of Daytona and New Smyrna beach killing plans for any Veterans Day parades and ruining the foundation’s of many family homes along the beach front. 😔

As we have come to expect from Mayo, we find Walker well taken care of ensconced in a single room, I-v drips in place, and testing already under way. One of his main transplant care coordinators comes to the room shortly after we arrive while Walker is away at a test, she tells us that she believes that his negative test results are due mainly to diet and lack of adequate water which is extremely important for new kidney transplant patients. That she will be reading him the riot act about taking better care of himself when he gets back to the room. She sets us at ease and oddly never mentions the word “rejection” much to our relief. As usual, his nursing care is par excellence and his doctors are on top of everything toot sweet.

Walker pretty much slept through most of Thursday and when we went in Friday morning he was feeling much better. It’s amazing what lots of fluids can do for a body. We still had not heard anything from the docs about rejection yet and we were waiting on a biopsy to be taken Friday lunch. Overall we were quietly feeling confident that things would improve but wanted to hear that from his doctors. So, Candy and I went out to find a bite of lunch stopping at a local diner across the bridge towards Jax beach. After lunch, we took a drive on one of the side streets towards the beach and a couple of stop signs in Candy sees a corgi dog up on the right that looked a lot like Finn, Walkers dog. We stopped and chatted with the lady then Candy asked where she got the dog. It turns out that she bought the dog from the same breeder and the dog was about the same age as Finn, it was Finns brother from a litter of 7, Oreo was his name. 

What are the odds we thought that driving up a random street in Jax beach that we would meet Finns brother Oreo. He even acted just like Finn, nipping at my hand and shying away from Candy just like Finn had when we first brought him home. We were smiling from eye to ear, so happy we were to meet Oreo and his human, Betty. To us, it was God telling us that everything will be alright. It was nothing short of a miracle to run into a corgi named Oreo that looked almost exactly like Finn who came from the same breeder about 2 hours away in near Ocala. A seemingly little miracle that lifted our spirits and gave us a tangible confidence, once again, that Gods got Walker in his hands. 

Later that day, Walkers biopsy came back negative and his stats continued to improve so much so that they decided to send him home on Saturday which made us very happy because we would get home in time to watch our UCF football game against Tulane late Saturday. Walker feeling great, not in rejection, and UCF beat Tulane, things were looking up👍. Super, super thankful that what seemed like a disaster in the making had made a quick turnaround to the positive and we could return to our life together in good health. 

Some Christian people that have been through extraordinary trials when asked if they would change their circumstances have responded that they wouldn’t change anything. For through these trials, they found a living God that breaks into their everyday to help carry them through the tough stuff. I would agree with them however I would challenge this cliched answer to say that there are definite things I would change for those in my family that have suffered I would go back and ask for a do over. The one thing that I would not want to change no matter what would be the personal growth in my faith in my God whom has held me close through these trials and given me a peace and a hope that surpasses all understanding. For I hope in Christ.

Thanks be to God for miracles both large and small that remind us of his sovereign power for we have no power to create the great blessings that may come our way. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me.

God Bless

The McKnights