A LONG Awaited Answered Prayer!!

Greetings from St. Luke's Hospital!! I can proudly say as of Thursday afternoon my sister received her transplant for a heart and both lungs!! Everything began right before 5:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon when my sister called me on the phone saying they had asked her to stop eating. We were always told this was the first sign to look for when a donor was possible. The next thing that happened was her cardiologist coming into her room saying that there was a possible donor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is 1100 miles away from us which was out of our range meaning if anyone else needed a heart or the lungs they came first. There was 1 person ahead of her that if they matched they got it. First we were told we would know about 6:00 or 6:30. This later turned into more like 8:00 PM we will know. At 8:00 PM I called and my sister still didn't know, but that there was still hope. At 9:45 PM she called and my mom answered and Courtney said "THEY'RE MINE!!!!!" I immediately started jumping up and down, called friends to tell them, and got on Facebook to write everyone in the group that was created for my sister "Praying for the Guthrie Family." After that my mom, fiance' Quade, and I hit the road! We got there very quickly since it was 11:45 at night; however, it turned into a long night. We first were told the surgery would be between 2 and 4 AM then around 4 AM then between 5 and 6 AM....on and on because of issues with blood typing the potential donor. After a couple of hours of hearing very little, finally at 8:45 we were really told they were ours and would be leaving Albuquerque soon. Finally, at 9:30 they wheeled her into surgery after a very emotional goodbye. I figured the time waiting would just crawl on, but after such a long night of already waiting I was happy this wasn't true! Every half hour the organ coordinator that had become very close to Courtney came and gave us an update. The organs arrived between 12:00 and 12:30 and they were sewing her back up at 2:00 and she didn't even need the pump to keep the organs going anymore. The surgeon came out about 3:30 and said how great everything went, how fast it was, and almost immediately her heart and oxygen levels were where they always should have been! Even though she was still out, we got to see her at 5:00 and she was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen!!!!! Full rosy cheeks, the pinkest fingernails that were no longer blue/purple, and breathing the way she always should have been!!

Now, it is Monday afternoon, 4 days after surgery and she is hopefully going to be moving to a new room by the end of the day! We've only been allowed to see her 3 times a day for 30 minutes each from 10:00- 10:30 AM, 5:00 - 5:30 PM, and 8:15-8:45 PM. If she moves to her new room on the 8th floor, we will get to see her as much as we want! The first few days she was out of it. Just yesterday we asked her how long it felt since the surgery and she thought it was just the day before when it had been 3 days! She still gets sleepy understandably after what she's been through!! She's had some hallucinations from the medicine but only candy bars so we're taking that as a good thing lol! She still cannot eat or drink anything. Yesterday they started letting her chew some ice but very little since the risks for aspirating (puncturing) her lungs are still high but getting less high everyday. We've been blessed to have her do so well so far and have faith that God will continue to bless her recovery! Thank you for those I know who have prayed diligently for Courtney and I ask that you would continue so she can come home as soon as possible! Five and a half months is a long time and will turn into 6 before this is all over!