Wow! Incredible! A miracle. We could not ask for a better outcome than what we are seeing right now. Walker came through 14 hours of surgery where they removed his bad lungs and replaced them with a new set flown in from far far away and then they inserted a new kidney. The docs said the hardest part and main reason it took so long was the difficulty of removing his dead left lung. So far, all his new organs are operating very well. He is breathing with his new lungs on a ventilator but that will come out shortly and his kidney is producing urine wonderfully. We could not ask for a better outcome for all things transplant since we got the call Tuesday morning, everything has gone according to the Mayo Physicians plans as described to us. Mayo Clinic is absolutely the best!! Thanks be to God for putting Walker in their very capable hands. His family is so very thankful for this miracle of life givin by God for Walker 3.0[...]

I was about to leave for work this morning and Walker calls asking me to come back in the house. I walk in and he tells me, “I got Organs, they called me and we have to leave in a couple of hours”.[...]

On Thursday the 17th Walker got a call from the Mayo transplant coordinator that his transplant procedures were approved by his insurance company and that he would be listed officially starting Friday the 18th. Now the green light is on for go and he is officially on the transplant list for a double lung and a kidney transplant. It’s time to pack our bags and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. We have to be on site at the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic hospital in under 4 hours from the time the call is received. 2 hours to get home from wherever we are all are at the time, get our stuff together, and a 2 hour drive time from Orlando.[...]

Walker got a phone call yesterday from the transplant team at Mayo. He has been under evaluation at Mayo since October with a January 21st appointment being his last hurdle before they would meet to decide his fate. The transplant doctors meet every Thursday to discuss new patient opportunities, evaluating them in extraordinary detail seeking to determine if they will be successful recipients of very valuable organs and have the necessary fortitude and determination it takes to sustain a successful transplant.[...]

Seasons greetings 

While there is little “new” news to report from the last month, we wanted to wish all that are following Walkers journey a Merry Christmas. This time of year brings a hope and a joy to our hearts that transcends all the medical troubles we encounter about every other day. We stand united as a family in the knowledge that miracles , like the miracle of the birth of the creator of all things as a child born in the flesh humbly to everyday people in a forgotten pace without fanfare, happen!! We have witnessed them up close and personal in the life of Walker, in the life that is this extraordinary journey our family is traveling. 

[...]

Well, last I wrote, we thought that Walker would be put on the transplant list by AdventHealth after they said they would do the surgery. Shortly thereafter, for various reasons too many to explain, the team changed their minds and “closed the book” on Walkers case. Of course, we were very disappointed, yet Walker took it in stride and we began circulating his case to Tampa General, Shands, and The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Within a couple of weeks, Walker was contacted by the Mayo Transplant team and invited to come meet with them on Nov 9th to begin their evaluation. 

[...]

The transplant team called Walker late yesterday afternoon and told him that they were going to proceed with the transplant. There are few more items to check off before he will be officially listed, likely next week.[...]

Good Morning 

Please say a prayer this morning for the AdventHealth transplant team that is reviewing Walkers application today for a transplant operation. We pray Lord that you will direct them on the path that you have laid out for Walkers surgery to receive a double lung and kidney transplant. Give the team the fortitude to say yes to Walkers transplant application today. While it may be a difficult challenging medical procedure, we know that if you Lord have pre-ordained this experience for Walker that the team will have the skill and the strength and the passion to successfully complete this complex surgery in your name. We ask that if this door is not in your will to open that you will prepare the next avenue needed to accomplish this great life saving transplant surgery. And we say a special prayer for the family of the loved one that will be the donor of these precious organs, for a supernatural comfort in knowing that their loved one did not die in vain but gave new life to another.[...]

Greetings Brothers and Sisters

Last you heard in early May Walker was on a fast track to transplant, since then he has been working hard at qualifying to get one. The fast track we thought he would be on turned into a ‘hey, not so fast mister’. The AdventHealth transplant doctors are essentially undecided as to whether they will even do the surgery at this point. They even went as far as asking his permission to send his records to Shands in Gainesville and to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville for them to review in case it does not proceed here in Orlando. In speaking with an ex-head of transplant surgery from another hospital, I have learned that it is not so easy to qualify to get a transplant. The biggest factor being the probability of success of not only the operation but also the recovery through months, years of rehab.[...]

Greetings

Wednesday the 28th was Walkers 22nd birthday. We had a party for him that night at Top Golf in Orlando with 6 of his childhood buddies and most of his family in attendance. It seems taking turns swinging golf clubs loosens up a party :-), a good time had by all. And last weekend Walker got to see his beautiful sister Laura before she and her friends let for her junior prom. Too sweet! [...]