May, 23rd 1996
Preparations for our trip were going well. The car was packed the night before and the excitement was evident as it was hard to fall asleep that night. Our first family vacation together, we couldnt wait to get going. Nick was going to see Mickey Mouse for the first time and my beautiful wife Lori would be making the trip 5 months pregnant with our second child tagging along for the ride. We decided to be surprised again, boy or girl, like when Nick was born, so no name yet for baby number two. Great things were happening for us! Departure time was approximately 11 am and we were set to go!
The next morning as we were making our final preparations for our departure, the phone rang. Quite early though, around 8 am. My wife answered the phone and told me that it was Dr. Ciecko. He needed to speak with me. Hmm. Mr. Keenan, he said with his quiet voice, we would like for you to come in this morning to Aria hospital to recheck your bloodwork. That there were some inconsistencies in the blood sample and they wanted to repeat them. Of course, I asked if we could wait until we returned from our trip. We were ready to leave shortly and it would be inconvenient to go there at this time. Sternly and direct Dr. Ciecko told me that the appointment was already set for nine am and I needed to be there. This was very disconcerting and needless to say very upsetting. Lori and I asked our neighbors to watch Nick for us since she already had plans to stop by her work for a couple minutes and I needed to head to the hospital. What could be so urgent? Something is not good, I thought. My mind was going a mile a minute. This day was not be starting out the way we thought it would be. Lori would meet me at Frankford Torresdale Hospital.