First stop, the Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. David Sacco. We traveled by cab ($$$) to Dallas Children's Hospital, about 20 minutes away from our hotel and the actual hospital where Joey's surgery would be. Let me just say, from the two I've seen, Dallas has amazing children's hospitals. Every detail is designed w/ children in mind. From the colors on the walls, to the twinkling stars in the ceiling, to the giant train room that is two stories tall and probably more square footage than our house! Simply amazing!
Dr. Sacco actually called us back to his office himself, which is unusual. He looked younger than I had seen in pictures. How could he have so much experience? We knew the Texans must have thought it was cold outside (it was 80 degrees that day!), b/c Dr. Sacco was wearing a wool cardigan and cords!
The first thing he did when we sat down was he zeroed in on Joey. He talked directly to him and tried to put him at ease. He took a few quick measurements and touched his head a couple times and rolled his chair back and smiled. He knew that we were so scared and he put us at ease. He went into the logistics of the surgery and exactly what to expect. He was straightforward and it took him a while to crack a smile and a joke. I didn't mind that he was serious... this was serious stuff! But in the end, he really let us know, from his aspect, what his job was in the operating room, what he was responsible for, and assured us that he would be there from beginning to end. That was very important to us. So many other hospitals, the doctors come in and out of the room, only doing their job and then leaving again. Dr. Sacco and Dr. Fearon are there, together, from incision to stitching. He was confident, which led us to be confident in him. Whew...
Next, we had media/photography. Our friendly photographer Max, was a wonderfully, sweet man. As soon as he shook our hands, he wanted us to know that we were in the best place possible, with the best team in the world. You could just tell that he has the utmost respect for Drs. Fearon and Sacco. Joey sat on my lap as Max had me move Joey in certain positions so that he had a lot of different angles to shoot from. They blow the pictures up beyond lifesize so they have an idea of where they were before surgery and where they want to be.
Once we finished w/ Max, we moved across the hall to Dr. John Kolar, Anthropologist. He was a newer addition to the team of doctors, having worked with them only a few years. His role was to take precise measurements of Joey's head and face. He had these metal instruments, that every time they got near Joey's nose, he opened his mouth to eat them! The reason for the measurements was to track growth and development. Another nice doctor who held Sacco & Fearon in the highest regards.
Next... the dreaded blood tests. My poor baby. The phlebotomist had a hard time finding a vein and of course, had to take 4 vials of blood. This was the only part Joey had trouble with, as you can imagine. He bawled his little eyes out, which made me cry too b/c I had to hold him down. All I wanted to do was scoop him up and run out of the room. It was the longest 2 minutes.
Finally we were almost done. Just one last person to meet.
No comments:
Post a Comment