Dear buddy,
Way to go! I knew you'd sail through your surgery when it finally happened. There's a long, long road ahead, but that's one major step in the right direction. Next stop: transplant list!

PS--the RN implied that the drugs will make you forget most of your recent time in the ICU, but I hope the dumb jokes, bad movies, and silly card games with your many visitors brought you some comfort and distraction in the moment.

also:
Dear universe,
It'd be awful and selfish of me to hope for someone else to die so that my friend can live, but would it be ok of me to hope that if someone is going to meet a tragic end anyway, they're an organ donor and a match?