Hospital Update

Surgery has been rescheduled for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

That's seven weeks away.

We've already been waiting eight weeks. But I understood the delay there. The cardiologist said they were trying to get all the school-kids' surgeries done before classes started in September. They had to wait for an open slot on the MRI. They had to analyze the MRI results and discuss them. Then they had to schedule a place in OR for Maggie. But now it's seven more. And Maggie's grown an inch taller and 13 pounds heavier since the August cardiology appt. If she's growing faster, that's all the quicker she's outgrowing her pulmonary artery which she'd already outgrown 18 months ago. But the cardiologist says she'll be okay waiting until the end of next month. I hope he's right.

The cardio-thoracic surgeon "should" be scheduled for one surgery a day. He can do two in a crisis. He's scheduled for two a day, every day through the end of this month. He has some days he's scheduled to be out of town in November. The nurse said we could request "second slot" on Nov 14, 15, or 16. But she said the likelihood of getting bumped again was not insignificant. She said we would be scheduled for the morning surgery if we opted for Nov 28 or 29. She also said that the likelihood of getting bumped again then would be minimal; only the desperate people schedule surgery between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If we're stuck waiting seven more weeks, we're hoping that at least we can look forward to the surgeon having had some days off and little bit of a rest from his currently crazy schedule.

Somehow, though, I just can't believe we won't get bumped again. I have no confidence whatsoever that we'll go in at the end of November and actually stay for the operation. Either the doctor's schedule or Maggie's health could interfere with the planned date. Beyond the emotional preparation and the logistics of who's living where when and eating where when, and getting subs for work, there's the financial situation. The deductible is already paid this year, and so is most of the co-insurance. If this hospital stay spills over into January, it's going to cost us an extra $1800. (There I go, fretting again. I suppose I could get out Luther's devotions from a couple of weeks ago, the week the Gospel was on Matthew 6.)

It is utterly amazing to me how tired we are from the change in plans. And I'm rather disgusted with myself. I keep thinking how inconvenient this is for me, how this is going to mess up our December, how I have to get back into the swing of everyday life and school and work. Goodness gracious -- there are little babies whose lives depend on having access to that surgeon today. And all I can think is how this change in plans disrupts our lives. That is astoundingly selfish. (Not that such a realization changes my selfishness....)

Maggie has been completely satisfied with the change of plans. Initially she wasn't. But when her friend Mary found out that surgery was canceled, her first comment was "then Maggie will be able to come to my slumber party after all." And so it is arranged that the girls will get together this Friday, and in the Land of Eleven-Yr-Olds, all is well.