All is going well. We are checked in to the hospital. Ryan is in room 905 and Neal 968 Rhodes. Basically today is for meeting with all of the doctors and getting lab work and a chest x-ray. So far so good. The day could go a little faster, but at least we are here. Surgery is on for 7am. Ryan will probably be taken around 6:00 or 6:30 and Neal shortly after. They plan to get both of the guys up and about fairly quickly. It certainly was weird for us to be checking in instead of rushing to the ER. It is very strange for Ryan actually being a patient! The surgeon feels very good about the success of this operation, which is nice to hear. Until tomorrow....

One kidney and one day to go!

I am at work (bad decision on my part) and the tears have begun. Finally some good tears! I am so excited the day is finally here! We were able to spend last night with some of our family. It was nice. Neal is at dialysis this morning and we are meeting Ryan and Les at the hospital at noon. We are packed and ready to go. I cannot believe this day is here.

If Neal's posts have not clued you in, the transplant is in 3 days. The guys are checking in on Monday afternoon and the surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Monday morning will be Neal's last dialysis treatment. We are very excited and nervous. Neal and I have barely slept all week and are trying to keep ourselves busy. Ryan and Les should be pretty busy playing the Wii my Mom and Mike bought them.

My Uncle Jim is flying in from North Carolina and Ryan's brother Sean is coming in from Arizona for a couple of days. With them, our parents, siblings and friends, it will be a packed house. It will be nice to have everyone here for support. If you are looking for us we will be the big group sporting the Donate Life paraphernalia. I am sure Tuesday will be the longest day for those that are not under anesthesia. I will be looking forward to the McHenry hug the guys will have hopefully on Wednesday when they are up and moving around. The hospital stay for Ryan is 2-4 days and for Neal 5-7 days. I will post frequently throughout the week. We just bought a new camera, so I hope to post some pictures as well. There is nothing like 2 men in those hospital gowns/dresses.

We want to thank everyone for their support and gifts throughout this year. We also want to thank Ryan and Leslie for giving us this amazing gift given the year they have had. There is nothing we can say to them that will ever explain how thankful we are and how completely selfless they are. We are lucky to have friends that would literally do anything for us. We also want to thank their families for being so supportive of their decision. The final thank you to Neal's regular drivers Leslie and Stacy. We do not know how we would have made it through the last two months without you.

Just a note that the hospital does not allow flowers on the floor the guys will be staying in. I will post when visitors are allowed.

Today is also Michele's Birthday. Only 29 years old. To be so young. But if you ask Austin michele is 2 years away from her golden buckeye card.