Yesterday after dad's broncoscopy, Dr. Cahill and the other doctors walked out of the room to the nurses station and were discussing dad's situation and what they had seen on his scans. I was teetering between staying in the room with Dad and also trying to overhear what they were discussing outside his room. Once I knew my Dad was okay and relaxing after the procedure I walked out of the room to ask Dr. Cahill how she thought it went and whether or not she was happy with what she saw inside dad's lung. I instantly got a pit in my stomach when she and one of the transplant coordinators looked up to answer my question and looked as if they had been crying. Dr. Cahill quickly wiped away her tears and started telling me that things looked okay with Dad, which had me wondering then why they had been crying if everything was okay?
It had me worried all day yesterday and last night, wondering if they were just being overly optimistic with my dad and didn't want to break the bad news to us yet or something? So this morning I asked one of the coordinators what the tears were for, even though I knew it probably wasn't any of my business. She said that they had just been told that one of the first heart/lung transplant patients at the U had passed away and they had just read his obituary. He lived a good 20 years post transplant and was near and dear to many on the transplant team at the U, which as you can read from his obituary, completely explains Dr. Cahill's happy tears. I know that one day, maybe 20+ years from now :), Dr. Cahill and her team will shed happy tears for my dad's passing as well, as she recalls her fond memories and admiration for my dad and the amazing man that he is.
Jeffrey LaVere Wright Obituary: View Jeffrey Wright's Obituary by Salt Lake Tribune
