We've got a DATE!

Ok, so it's almost 12pm and I am still in my jammies, and I just ate breakfast. Yes, it's been one of those mornings. Busy.

I was awoken at 9:15am by the phone ringing (note: I am not usually sleeping still at this time, but Piper was playing nicely in her bed, so was taking whatever sleep I could get!). In my head I figured it was Matt calling, as it was his break time, so I let it ring and tried to call Matt on my cell phone (the phone that is by my bed. I was not up for bolting out of bed, no glasses on, almost passing out due to the blood-rush in my head and slipping on the laundry, then officially passing out. No. I let it ring.)

Calling Matt, he told me that he didn't try to call, so I figured now was a good time to get out of bed. Seeing on the call display it was "CHLDRN&WMEN HLT", I knew that someone from the BCCH had called. I checked the messages and the surgery booking lady left a message to call her back!

Now, I have played out this scenario in my head a few times. This was nothing like how I thought it would go. I hadn't talked to anyone much yet in the day, so I still had the morning voice, I was in my jammies, no breakfast in my tummy and my baby was running out of happy play time. Oh well.

I called her back right away and she told me that they had an immediate opening for a surgery date on the 12th of January.

What?? That is next Tuesday! Now, don't get excited yet, ok? The story goes on.

Ok, so she gets me all pumped for this surgery to happen on this coming Tuesday, and keeps telling me that it is nothing that has changed in Piper's status, it was just that a spot became open and her name came up and she was going to see if she could fill it. She was even calling other families already, but none of them picked up either (everyone was sleeping in today!).

I take down lots of notes and listen to everything she says, as my emotional-meter is going up and down and sideways. I'm on the verge of crying and laughing and peeing my pants.

She hangs up and I sit there and take a deep and kinda shaky breath. This was seeming crazy! For this time next week my baby could be recovering from an open-heart surgery? Yikes.

So I promptly start calling all the important people, still with this mix of emotions: ecstatic, scared, worried, impatient, nervous...

Anyways, as I am talking with my mother-in-law, I get a call from "CHLDRN&WMEN HLT", so I took it. It was the surgery booking lady telling me that there has been an emergency surgery that needs to have Piper's spot and bump- we go. She did give us a date of February 3rd, though, which helps.

That was just such a crazy ride, for all 75 minutes that it was. For a little while, my baby was going in for surgery so soon, and life was looking kinda hectic, but things were rolling and we'd be all done well before February, and then - bump- slow back down.

Really, I was happy to not have to wait so long and have this ball rolling so quickly; it would give me less time to worry and think about it too much. But even now, having more than 3 weeks to prep is still good. We can really plan out a few more things, and feel a little more in control of this whole hoop-di-la. It's just really hard having everything coming true for an instant and then, it's like reality kicks you in the gut and says "just kidding... you have to wait like the rest of the world". Right.

That is it, though. I do need to wait, and waiting is good in this instance and I can get a better grip on things.

Another dose of reality is that this bumping thing could happen again, and again and again. So let's say that there is a tentative surgery date of Feb 3rd. You know, just like next time I am due to have a baby, I am automatically tacking on an extra 2 weeks onto my "due" date, and not getting all caught up in the lateness of things, or the nothing-is-happening-on-time-ness. Bah.

I am deciding to just roll with it. That is my only option now anyways. This is a whole other month for Piper to get bigger and stronger and braver. Those are all good things. The surgery booking lady did say that Piper was a "priority 3", which I am assuming is the lowest, that is what the doctor told us, so there is no need for an emergency to rush in.

Half of me wishes I would have just continued sleeping in this morning. Then I wouldn't know what I could have had, and I might have still gotten a call telling us that Feb 3rd is "the" day, and I could really look forward to it without grunting "well, it was supposed to be sooner". (but still, I am so glad that it is not my baby who needs to be rushed into the OR with a surgery that needs to happen pronto... I think that would be more stressful than having my schedule look a little more messy due to some dates being scratches out) Boo-hooey. I should be glad that we finally have a day to count down to and that yes, this ball really is rolling and thing are happening.

And really... I am. God's giving us everything we need in His timing. I've just got to take a big breath and give it all up.

And don't get my wrong about the surgery-booking-lady (she does have a name, I just don't know how I feel about sharing their names with every body? Their privacy? I don't know...) is a lovely lady! She probably has the best and worst job ever. She does it with grace and I hold nothing against her... just in case it sounded like I did...

So the countdown is on. For now.

We go in February 1st (Monday) at 8:30am for a pre-op run-down of how things will go, and that appointment is about 3-4 hours and we meet the nurses and the anesthetist and the surgeon etc. And then on the 3rd (Wednesday), in the morning for the real dealio.

Here we go! I am not looking forward to this part of the adventure, but I suppose it is a necessary evil.