The Butterfly Doctor

Today we took Hannah to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to have her eye checked....she's had a stye (it's not really a stye, but we'll call it that since it's easier to say and type!) since mid-January that just will not go away. She has been on six different antibiotics for this thing, we have done warm compresses, and anything else we've been told might help it go away. Her pediatrician referred her to Vanderbilt Pediatric Opthalmology to have it checked out since he thought it would most likely have to be surgically removed. We refer to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital (VCH) as the butterfly hospital or butterfly doctor and if you've ever been there, you can probably guess why. In the second floor lobby, which is right next to the food court, there is a huge wall of wooden butterflies that kids can make spin around. Hannah remembered those from her many, many visits to VCH when she was younger and she was super excited to go see the butterflies today! After her appointment (where we were prescribed antibiotic number 7, but no surgery!!), we took both girls to see the butterfly garden and they both loved spinning them!

Today was the first time that I have been back to VCH since shortly after Sadie was born...praise the Lord!! Just walking into that hospital brought back so many memories and emotions. They say that smell can be one of the strongest triggers for a memory and that is so true. We walked by the food court and the memories just came flooding back...I could so vividly remember eating so much Taco Bell and Pizza Hut while Hannah was there that I can't stand to eat either of them now, sending David down to get Ben and Jerry's ice cream for us as our last snack of the night, and waiting with a pager in hand while Hannah was in surgery. Looking around that place was like stepping back in time and I must admit that I got a little watery-eyed over it. For those of you that may not know, Hannah was born with imperforate anus...basically, her anal opening was in the wrong place. She spent a few days in the NICU and a few more days in the hospital when she was born then had surgery when she was five months old to correct the defect. At the time, it was such a big deal for us, but now it seems so small...I honestly don't even think about it most days. For her first year of life, we were probably at VCH 3-4 times per month with various doctor visits...usually when a child is born with that defect, a series of other problems accompany it. We were so blessed that Hannah didn't have any of the other problems...she had some minor kidney problems that self-corrected within the first year and slight heart murmur, but that's it. My emotions today were definitely that of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for healing our sweet Hannah! It is amazing how quickly we tend to forget our blessings and today was a great reminder...thank you Lord!!

On a side note, I just want to mention how wonderful that hospital is! We have never had a bad experience with the staff there. Granted we've had our share of really long waits, but everything is geared toward kids so it's not so bad! We are so blessed to have such a great facility so close to us!

Here is a picture of Hannah after her big surgery!