Stanford Consultations

Over the past couple weeks, I have been in contact with people at Stanford Children’s Hospital trying to set up appointments for consultations. We are currently scheduled for appointments on November 14, 18 & 19 with a pediatric surgeon, cardiothoracic surgeon, perinatologist, neonatologist, ultrasound, MRI, fetal echo, non-stress test, genetic counselor and a social worker.

Unfortunately, because of the timing of things I will need to go down to Stanford on the 14^th by myself (Greg will be in Florida) to get the ultrasound and MRI. The radiologist needs to have enough time to read the results (particularly of the MRI) and pass the information on to the pediatric surgeon, cardiothoracic surgeon and the neonatologist before we meet with them the following week.

We are so fortunate that Greg’s sister lives in Walnut Creek and is able to take the time off to watch Kyler while we do all these appointments. I will stay with her on the 13^th before my appointments on the 14^th and she will keep Kyler until I am done. Then, when Greg & I go down together, we will be spending the night of the 18^th in Palo Alto between our two days of appointments. Natalie will be able to watch Kyler the whole time. It sure does take a lot of stress off us for sure!

I talked with the social worker from Stanford on the phone on October 29 and she was very helpful. She is kept in the loop of everything we are dealing with and works with us to make sure we have everything we need. She also put us on the waiting list to stay at Ronald McDonald House right by the hospital. There are always more families than space available so she wanted to get my name on the waiting list to begin my stay on December 21 or 22 which is when I will be 36 weeks.

This whole process has seemed a bit overwhelming at times but I am trying to stay organized about it all. It helps me feel like I am doing something useful. And, the people at Stanford have obviously worked with many families in similar situations so they have their systems figured out.

We just ask for your continued prayers as we go through this consultation process. We are looking forward to having a second opinion on Caden’s condition. And we hope to be able to make a final determination on whether or not we will be delivering at Stanford.