VEPTRS

We had an appointment with Dr. Campbell yesterday. I went alone with O. We set out on the highway at 8:30 am. It was a fairly uneventful until we got to Philly. I approach our exit thinking that I am going to be about 3 minutes late as it is, and there are the police, blocking the exit. Great. So I tell myself, "Sara, just drive to the next exit, get off, find the highway going the opposite direction and head back towards the hospital." Phew, we have a plan. So I do this successfully. I am headed back to the hospital, I am able to get off the highway and have even used the GPS on my phone to find the way. Except, once I can almost see the hospital, there are more of those damn cops blocking the street again. Now I have to go some other way and I have no idea where I am going. I call the office and the first woman has no idea where I am or where I am going. The second woman says "we know your going to be late, it's fine" and hangs up. The third lady, exclaims "I know where you are!" and proceeds to give me directions and I love her. Truly. I start off on my way and lo and behold, the cops have the end of that street blocked off as well. Fun. I try to ask the cop how to get to the hospital and he says "just follow Market or Spruce". He might as well have said, "make a right on Mars and two loops around Saturn" as I cannot see Market or Spruce. Needless to say, I find them. My instincts tell me that I should follow the traffic, because what are the chances that the whole line of us isn't going towards UPenn or CHOP? And they are. I feel smart. I also have the chance to file all of my nails while I am behind them. Multi-tasking at its best.

Finally we reach the hospital. We see Dr. Campbell. We talk about the various loose end appointments that have to be done prior to surgery. We lay Owen on his side and I draw in a deep breath. Will Owen have the inch (of fat) to be pinched??? Why, yes he does, or he almost does. We can go forward. It strikes me as odd this "pinch and inch" test. For a surgery that requires 7-10 days of hospitalization, expandable titanium rods that will literally lift and expand the bones of his rib cage, anchors that will go in his shoulder blades and quite a hit to his lungs, the test we do to see if he is surgery ready, is pinching the fat on his back. Hmmm. It's the combination of complex medical technology and something it seems like my grandmother would do that is sitting awkwardly within me. Now, of course, I know that's not all that went into it, but that is what we accomplished yesterday.

Surgery will go forward 3/22. We need O to be healthy but other than that, it's happening. It seems so big. Too big for my little baby, even though he is 18lbs! That's big for a child with Escobar. And 7-10 days in the hospital is just bringing me to tears. Not only for O, but for the whole family. Splitting the family up while we are at NYU is hard. Splitting the family between Philly and NY seems sad to me. But we will figure it out and since I turn 33 that weekend, I think everyone will come for the weekend. We will have a party at the Ronald McDonald house or if by then, it's safe for Caleb and G to come for a while, in O's room.

That's all I got for now!