I was asked by the staff of U of M, to write a letter of support in hopes of them receiving a gift from a foundation, I was happy and honored to do so....I thought that it would not hurt to post what I wrote to them....and also share about more about our journey.
To Whom it May Concern:
It gives me great honor to share our heart story. A story
that includes many answered prayers, countless amazing doctors, nurses and
administrators, and one little rock star!
At Josie’s 4 month well checkup, the doctor discovered a
small heart murmur, we were sent to a specialist. At the visit with the
specialist we received the news that our “perfect” daughter was living with a
heart defect, a defect so serious that it would require extensive open heart
surgery.
In April I made an appointment for Josie with Dr. Grifka ( U
of M), to get a second opinion. The same day I made the appointment, Dr. Grifka
personally called me to hear more about Josie, her heart, and our family. In that
very first conversation He listened to me through my tears, and heard my fears.
Already in that first phone call, I began to feel the “Michigan Difference”
After a meeting with Dr. Grifka and his team, we decided to
move forward with a surgery consult with Dr. Ohye. Our meeting with Dr. Ohye
impressed all of us (including Andrew and I’s parents). Dr. Ohye was so well
educated on the heart in general, but he was also familiar with the every
detail of Josie’s heart. He spoke to me on that day with true respect and appreciation.
He understood that although this might be his millionth surgery (probably not
quite that much) it was my first time at heart surgery, and Josie was my baby. He
understood the difficulties that parents would face placing their children in
his hands to have a major surgery, and He did not take that burden lightly.
Fast forward to June…June 20, the day before Josie’s
surgery. Mott did such an amazing job planning out the prep for surgery. Every,
I mean every person that we met that day for the greeter at the front desk to the
resident doctor, sat with us, answered our questions, and reassured us that
they would do everything in their power to make this go as smooth as it
possibly could.
I was actually able to sleep the night before Josie’s
surgery. I believe a lot of that had to do with the prayers of our friends and
family, but I also think it was largely due to the confidence that the staff of
Mott’s gave me during our day of prep. I realized through that long day of tests,
that the staff of Mott’s is extraordinary!!!! All of us walked away from that
day feeling blessed that we had chosen to U of M!
Josie’s surgery was uneventful! Praise God! When we were
brought back to see her, we were introduced to our nurse, Sam. Sam would give
Josie and us, one on one attention for our first hours in the ICU. Sam
encouraged me to focus on the little things that were still normal about Josie’s
appearance. She pointed out Josie’s curl that laid over her right ear… (To this
day, I call it her “Sam curl”)….She brought beauty to a really difficult
situation.
Our stay at Mott’s was a short 5 days. In 5 days we met such
amazing people, people that almost felt like family when we were leaving. One thing that stood out for my husband and me
while we were at U of M was how much the employees loved their jobs. They
shared that they loved their jobs because of the families they work with, their
colleagues but, also because they felt encouraged to learn more, and better
themselves by the management of Mott’s.
It gives me such great joy to share about our experience
with Mott’s because I hope that they continue to have the resources to continue
to bless countless other families like they blessed us! We felt the Michigan difference
over and over! The staff and the future of Mott’s children’s hospital is now
included in my daily prayers. My prayer is that God continue to bless each one
of the staff members to be a light of hope for the families that they work with
on a daily basis. I am grateful that God
included Mott’s hospital to be a part of our journey with Josie!
Thank you for letting me share…….
Sarah M. Sobel
