Ian is out of surgery!!! He was finished at around 7 pm, so this post is obviously quite dated, but our priority was to get in to where he was, not to blog about it. So sorry! ;)

We got to speak with Dr. Heffron, the surgeon, around 7 pm. He told us that it went extremely well. On a scale of 1 to 10, he gave it a 9.9. Some very minor things to take care of from Ian's Kasai that extended the time of the procedure, but he said there was no drama in the operating room, which is exactly how he likes it. Drama usually means trouble. He said they started the actual transplant around 2 (first incision was around 1 pm). It went rather quickly because Ian has good sized arteries and blood vessels, so the connections there were not difficult to do. His old liver was quite hard and he was, from that, moving rather quickly towards needing it badly, so the timing turned out to be perfect. We may be able to get pictures in the near future. He also told us the new liver was a perfect size match. This is great because they don't have to use Gore-Tex (something used to hold the liver in place) and Ian is completely sealed up, meaning he should heal rather quickly.

We finally got to see him around 8:10. His nurses are fantastic. We were told last night that the first few nights they give the transplant kids nurses with more advanced training. We are grateful for that. He has lots of tubes of various types in him right now and is sedated to expedite healing, but he actually looks fantastic to me. For those wondering, no, he is not pink yet. That usually takes a few days, so he's still our little yellow fellow for a brief bit longer.

This is not the end of the road for him. It is merely the beginning of a new road, and this new road could have lots of bumps and potholes to contend with. I just think back to a certain special blessing that Ian received in April 2007, where he was promised a full recovery. Most people are not aware of that blessing, and it was the type of experience that shouldn't be discussed much publicly due to the special spiritual nature of it.

I also want to comment on the outpouring of love and support that has come our way. I've heard from people I consider friends but haven't heard much from for some time... even years in some cases. It is amazing to me how powerful prayer is and how powerful love for one of our Heavenly Father's littlest ones can be.

I'm also, again, amazed by my wife. She is truly a strong and special woman. I've seen her, over the course of the last two days, handle a situation that was unexpected with great class and a greater calm than would have been expected of her even five years ago. She's been able to drive a car she's not completely comfortable in through Atlanta traffic (another discomfort for her) and, allegedly, she drove very fast at some points. She has handled her own temporary physical maladies without complaint and with tremendous determination. She has also been at my side or at Ian's side or at Livy's side for two days straight with no break. Being that close to me for that long should be enough for anyone to claim sainthood. :)

All kidding aside, I've come to realize just how much my family means to me. There is no "Why?" this time, just the realization that, for all of them You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray. You'll never know dears, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away!

I now appreciate, even more, that my dad sang that song to us as kids...