In Good Hands

On Feb 3, EJ and I, drove with Ryan and Avery to Columbus, Ohio, to Nationwide Children's Hospital. Avery is a new patient there at the Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction. They are one of the best centers in the country concerning her birth defect.

She had four different appointments in 2 days, the final appointment in the OR under anesthesia for two exploratory scopes. We now know the inter workings not-inter-workings of her precious little body. Be glad I am vague, trust me.

She was such a little trooper and so was Ryan who did a lot of of sitting and waiting around.

The hospital was filled with carved animals. I think Ryan took his picture with at least 10.

More waiting

He ate lots of hospital hamburgers. Ha! We kept him busy with crafts from home and he also spent an hour each day in the hospital "club house" child watch bc he could do more crafts :)

We stayed both nights at the Ronald McDonald house. It happens to be their largest facility. A converted apartment complex and newly done! Such a blessing to stay there and we are grateful for the folks who donated so much to help provide an extremely affordable and loving place for families with sick children.

 
It was directly across the street. A short-cold walk and we were at the hospital.

The local ice hockey team sponsored an indoor play area in one of the stairwells.

After the first day of lots of pokes and prods we ALL needed a little treat to share :)

The second day was A LOT of waiting and more waiting for OR time.She kept all the nurses and doctors on their toes with her questions. Even asked to see their photo ids. We may have the making of a pediatrician on our hands ;) If she only didn't fall and hit her hand so much.

Ninja moves with glitter baton. 

After she woke up from her quick procedure and she was happy to see us.

She recovered quickly and tried walking all over the hospital in her woozy state. Somethings never change. Thankfully she didn't injury herself. A quick lunch on day 2 and then an 8 hr drive home. We were ever so thankful to be home and fall into our own beds. The big boys returned the next day after skiing and going to an indoor water park with my parents!

Overall, we are very happy with our decision to take her to Columbus. This is where she needs to be seen. The Drs were wonderful and gave us the time and attention we needed. They are very optimistic. They were pleasantly surprised by the surgery repair she had in Ch1na. Once again, we see God's hand clearly with her, when we were not.
She will be going back again, but nothing has been scheduled yet. For now we are scheduling a local MRI and changing her bowel management routine a little.