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