October's Gone

Wow. October is gone. Can you believe that?  Seriously, how does one month go by so quickly?!?  Granted, Ben & I started the month of October in NC for a wedding. We got back just in time to do some laundry and repack for our extended weekend in Rehoboth Beach, DE. It doesn't get any better than spending quality time with friends and family celebrating the life of my rockstar daughter and the thousands just like her that have been blessed with an extra chromosome!  The middle of our month was a giant blur of Natalie appointments and a nasty head cold that made it's way through our home.  Our month ended just as beautifully as it began, a night out with adult interaction; celebrating new life at a baby shower for a dear friend, Melissa,  and an afternoon of making new memories with her family:) and of course, Halloween!  Natalie didn't care much for Halloween, she cried then conked out before we even made it out of the house!  Hannah on the other hand, she was elated and couldn't wait to go trick or treating. She awoke from her nap ready to don her costume and hit the ground running, she was hyped up as if she'd already eaten a fist full of candy!  After 2 hours and hearing "I'm ready to go trick or treating" 100 times, it was FINALLY time to take my crazed toddler out to the crunchy, leaf-filled sidewalks and knock on every door that had a glowing, carved pumpkin adorning there walkways. After the third or fourth house she clearly had the concept down pat, as she was departing the steps of the home she'd just trick or treated she exclaimed "ok, let's go get MORE candy"!!!  And then she proceeded to walk up to Ben and say "up please daddy" and after he picked her up she said "next house please".  And that was the pattern for the evening...Daddy carried her, mommy walked with her up to the door and then Daddy carried her onto the next house.  My girl is smart, she didn't want to waste all of her precious energy:) 

Today marks the 1st day of November. Natalie and I started our day nice and early to join the mad rush of people trying to get into the city for work, I-95 north is always a joy...not!  Natalie receives just about every healthcare service at A. I. duPont Hospital for Children. The Rohe family is all to familiar with that joint!  We know most of the in's & out's and could probably start offering guided tours!  This particular morning we were headed to AI for speech/feeding & physical therapy.  Everytime, and I mean EVERYTIME we  approach that hospital fear & panic race throughout my body, even for the routine and non-invasive therapy trips. Let me explain why... 

  Back in February,  a routine cardiology appt turned into a 5 -day hospital stay so that Natalie could receive a feeding tube and Ben & I could receive the proper training to insert the tube, test that it was properly placed into the stomach, how to connect & disconnect from the pump and how to run the pump, all before we could be discharged to home. Then in March Natalie had a nasty cold and when I took her to the pediatricians office, we left there via ambulance with cardiac monitors and O2 set at 4 liters to get her oxygen levels from 78% to 95%. Natalie was admitted to the hospital and was released a month later after having had heart surgery.

 So...yeah...everytime I enter the gates to that hospital, fear & panic set in. I want to cry and I say a little prayer. Even though this is my reaction every time I get within a one mile radius of A.I., it still does not alter the fact of how grateful I am that we live in a state that houses such a magnificent children's hospital.  So many people travel from far and wide to have their child[ren] treated at A.I.  I'm very grateful that we live so close to a place that has had such a positive impact on my child's life...even if that place causes me to sprout a new gray hair or two whenever I'm within a one-mile radius;)