CHOP comes through again...

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia saved me from much mental anguish last week as it was discovered that my daughter had broken her arm. We are not talking about the kind that you get a nice cast put on and then home. No, the x-ray showed an inch of bone that had completely separated from her arm above her elbow. My local hospital (that has employed half its staff from Grey's Anatomy audition rejects) at least had enough intelligence to know that her procedure was way above their heads and had CHOP come to my rescue. Where the local hospital ER doc told me my daughter would lose use of her arm and need major surgery, the wonderful CHOP doctor told me this surgery was routine and non-invasive. I could finally begin breathing again after being up all night. Surgery is still surgery afterall. She needed anesthesia and a breathing tube down her throat. I had the priveledge of escorting her to the OR with gown and all. They started offering this when children are still conscious before the procedure begins. It was so hard to see the nurse put the gas mask over her face and see her struggle lessen. I can understand her anger when she realized it wasn't a mermaid mask as I had let on. Someone escorted me out to wait for her and hugged me as I sobbed. Yet... ta-da! the surgeon was done in 20 minutes and it was a success! We got settled in our room as we both tried to recover from a crazy 24 hours. At CHOP she was scared to move around with it but she has finally settled into a good routine with her cast (which is good because she will wear it for 2 months). You may be curious of my title selection especially the word "again." Let me explain, eight years ago to the month I was there with my other child with a much more serious diagnosis. He had supraventricular tacycardia when he was born. That means his heart was beating 250 bpm. It was brought down with digoxin(see poem) yet somehow when he was released developed sepsis (bacteria in his bloodstream) which of course brought his heart rate up again. CHOP had sophisticated monitors that could watch his heart closely as they put him on another med (inderal) since the dig wasn't working. Wow, by the time your done reading this you could write your own episode of ER! CHOP saved my son's life so I knew my daughter would be taken care of. I guess the banners of being the #1 children's hosptial in America helped put my mind at ease too. Strange as it sounds, to be there was like visiting an old friend, one you know you can count on.