Final Countdown

So today is the day before the transplant.  We've been doing a pretty decent job of keeping ourselves distracted with other things -- mostly out of necessity -- but it's impossible to forget about it entirely.  Our nieces went off to school, Ben and Laada spent the morning on campus, and Josh's parents headed out midday to visit a friend.  Our older niece is applying to private high schools, so she also had two interviews/tours today.  I don't think all 8 of us have been together in one place since we woke up this morning.

I did a couple loads of laundry and Josh and I finalized our immigration visa application, made photocopies, and FedExed it off to the British Consulate General in NY.  They may be a little puzzled as to why two people who live in Washington, DC got fingerprinted in San Jose, CA and submitted their application from Seattle, WA, but hopefully that won't affect their decision to grant us the visa.

Josh and Ben both got calls today confirming their check-in times for tomorrow.  Josh is supposed to be at the hospital at 7 am, and Ben at 8 am, but we'll all probably go together at 7.  In addition to their pre-operative dietary restrictions, both brothers were prescribed different methods for flushing out their digestive systems, so to speak.  We have various theories about this, but no actual information as to why Josh was prescribed one type of medication and Ben another.  I don't think either of them would appreciate my going into further detail on this subject, but let's just say only one of them was given something to take orally.  The other's prescription came with this helpful sticker:

I'd like to thank everyone again for all the supportive comments, emails, and phone calls.  It means a lot to us to know that so many of our friends and family members have us in their thoughts.