A God of Miracles

"He is a God of miracles." Those are the first words my dad said as he came out of his 13 hour liver transplant surgery. Our family has truly witnessed a miracle this weekend, a miracle that we have been praying for, for 16 years. Everything happened so fast that I want to remember the process and the thoughts that I have had throughout it. On Friday night we heard of a young man who had fallen from a building working on a construction project in Hawaii, we knew of the family and his dearing wife wanted to give his liver to my dad. She arrived in Hawaii and gave permission for her husbands liver to be designated to my dad. His blood type and liver size matched my dads. The liver was flown from Hawaii on Saturday night to Salt Lake City where my dad was taken into surgery at 8:30 p.m. We waited in the waiting room and were given updates every 1-2 hours. 13 hours later the doctor came out and was very tired. He said it was a difficult surgery, more difficult then they expected but that it went smoothly. His spleen was 10 times the size it was suppose to be with it trying to take over the functions of the almost dead liver. My dad;s liver was as hard as a rock and they had a hard time getting it out. The doctor had to break some ribs and make a larger incision then planned to get the bad liver out. The young mans liver was put in and started working instantly. My dad's spleen also instantly went down to regular size. The doctor's said they have never had a liver work so well so fast after putting it in. My father will spend the next 3 days in the ICU but we were allowed to see him 2 by 2. I went in to see him Sunday morning with my sister Lisa. They had already taken his breathing tube out, he was doing so well. The first thing he said to us was, "He is a God of miracles." He was so overwhelmed and had a hard time holding his emotions. He was overwhelmed by the willingness of a family to give the greatest gift that anyone could ever want, the gift of life. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and that he is a God of miracles. I have witnessed one for myself and have faith in his plan. I am eternally grateful for the blessings and love he has given to my family. I will always trust in him,a s I know that he knows what is best for us! The pictures above are pictures of my dad right before he went into surgery. He has lost a lot of weight in the past few months and when I saw him yesterday, he already looks better. He said he feels like a new man.
-Michelle