A Day with Esther

There are people that come into our lives that leave lasting impressions. For any family who has ever had a child undergo open-heart surgery at The Children's Hospital, that person becomes Esther. A nurse at Children's now for almost 34 years, she is the connection between the operating room and the waiting room and the link between the day before and the days after surgery. I got to spend the day being her shadow yesterday as part of my training and it was an honor.

The day started a little before 7 a.m. doing rounds in the cardiac ICU with all of the surgeons, fellows, attendings, etc. They spend about 5 minutes discussing each case in the ICU as they make their way from bed to bed. Watching this group collaborate was impressive. These are some of the greatest minds in medicine working together to save baby after baby.

Esther and I were then off to the operating room (OR). On the agenda was a 6-week-old baby with a condition called Tetrology of Fallot, which is a fancy name for a baby with four heart defects. The bizarre thing was that the baby's mom was born with the same defect and underwent the same surgery at Children's 20 some years ago--and Esther was there for that, too.

We went in briefly while they were getting started (which takes about an hour just to get set up) and then went back to report to the family that things were underway. The rest of the day followed that pattern--in and out of the OR and back to the family with updates, each time with the family nervously awaiting the progress report. Between trips to the OR, we met two other families whose children would have surgery the next day. We gave them a tour of the scary-looking ICU and answered their questions. Esther asked my permission to share with the families that I had been through it and survived and so could they. Her calm demeanor is so reassuring.

Interacting with the surgeons was amazing--they welcomed me in their OR and I stood at the head of the bed watching over the drape for a good part of the day. Watching them go onto bypass, stop the baby's heart, fix it and watching it start beating again was like watching a movie. It is certainly a day I won't soon forget! The photo isn't great, but to follow rules, I couldn't take pics of any faces.

Two weeks & four months . . .

That's how long I have been in my new job and Doug in his. It has been a major adjustment in our household, but I am happy to report that we are all still standing. Doug is just four days away from finishing his training and I have just begun. He will soon begin advising TIAA-CREF customers what to do with their retirement funds. I suggested he tell them about our little vacation fund that is in need of some additional monies, but he was concerned he might get fired.

I worked my first official shift on my unit this weekend and it was surreal. The day started with a 22-day-old infant who came to Children's because his heart rate was wacky. Sure enough, it didn't improve and his heart rate became dangerously high (over 300 when normal for an infant is 120-160). An emergency was declared and people came running. The teamwork on the cardiac unit between doctors and nurses was amazing. At one point, the attending physician asked me if I wanted to push the next round of meds (OK, keep in mind, this is my first day on the unit!). So, there I am pushing a medication into the IV of a 3 week old baby that literally stops and restarts the heart. Can you say adrenaline rush? As I looked over to the mom who was in the room watching the whole thing with tears running down her face, I felt her fear. I walked over to her to bring her up to speed on what was happening and in that instant I knew why I was there that day. And, so while I wish I didn't have to work full-time initially, I am so proud of my kids for hanging in there and being such troopers! Oh, and the picture is the lobby of the hospital--pretty incredible!

Blackmail Material!

So, I know every parent thinks their kid is hilarious, but I had to post a video of Miss Kinley singing her guts out. She got this horrid sing along microphone for her birthday and we are all starting to run when we see her pull it out. We get treated to these High School Musical songs at least a couple times a day. :)

Ever Had a Wet Willie?

So, I knew owning a dog would be a challenge and so far it's been worth it, but let me just say that giving Willie his first bath was a far greater challenge than I expected. The
dang dog only weighs 14 pounds, but it took everything Doug and I had to give this dog a bath. With his eyes bugged out of his head, he looked at us like we were evil. The kids stood in

the background laughing hysterically. Um, not so funny. We toweled him off (yet another joke) and he takes off running. He was a dog possessed. He scooted sideways across every rug in my home and ran so fast he crashed into the couch. I don't think I've ever heard my kids laugh that hard. Next time, we will enlist the professionals. No more Wet Willies at my house! Oh, and the last picture I threw in is Willie every day when the kids go to school. He parks himself on the top of the couch and cries as they leave for school.