Houston?

Most of you have read how my appointment in Lubbock went.  I have been stressing about it ever since and feeling as though Lubbock was not the right place for me to get the care that Sunni is going to need.  Since I first started researching hospitals, drs, etc I have felt that Houston was the place. Well, with a  few peoples help it may be in the works.

One of our good friends from high school lives in Houston and is actually getting married to an RN that works in Houston (Hi Michelle!).  She emailed me after reading my blog and recommended a doctor (surgeon) there in Houston along with a ton of other information about CDH etc.  I finally today decided to email that doctor-- not really thinking I would get a response for a while.  I asked him how I would go about getting down there for care.  

He responded within an hour and told me that he gets a lot of referrals from Lubbock and Amarillo and that he was forwarding my email to his fetal team coordinator.  About an hour after that she called me!  I was getting my hair done so I did not answer but she left about a 5 minute voicemail.  That voicemail would have had me in tears had I not been in a public place.  It was SO informative, helpful, and caring.  She said that normally they get a whole team together to evaluate early on.  They look closely at the baby and decide what the plan of action will be.  I will be able to meet every dr at that time.  They would take me on a tour of the hospital.  The would co-work with my dr here in Amarillo so that I would not have to make that drive so often.  They usually have patients move to Houston at 36 weeks gestation and they can help me arrange to stay in the Ronald McDonald house which is right by the hospital.  When the baby is born they have a place (Ronald McDonald) IN the hospital that you can stay in while your baby is there.  She emailed me again with forms etc that my OB will need to fill out.  She said she knows my baby will be in great hands there.  WOW!  I was blown away.  They had 18 cases of CDH delivered in their hospital last year and more than that-- that they saw that weren't actually delivered there (does that make sense?).

ALSO--I talked to my sweet cousin Kim who also lives in Houston today and she has offered me to stay with her and her family whenever I need to.  She has an apartment behind her house she said I was welcome to stay in.  Her house is only about 14 minutes from the hospital.  She told me she would talk to a lady that she knows (retired RN) and ask her about the hospital that is in question (Children's Memorial Hermann) and seek her opinion.  As luck would have it, she ran into her at a Walgreen's in Houston shortly after we had talked. ((CRAZY OR WHAT??)).  The lady said that she would FULLY trust that hospital.

So although I didn't make any real progress today I have found comfort in knowing where I believe I am supposed to deliver Sunni and where she needs to be in order to have the best care possible.  I ask that my prayer warriors and supporters pray for this to work out for Sunni and our family.  Pray that everything works out insurance wise and so forth.  I plan on calling in the morning to see what I need to do to get an appointment and then taking this information with me to my normal OB appointment in Amarillo on Thursday (July 5).  Thank you for the many prayers you have already sent up and in advance for the new ones.  I have had a ton of support from friends, family, and strangers!  I'm grateful.  Thank you!