First trip to Salt Lake City, Utah

So we just got back from our first trip to Salt Lake City, Utah to meet all the doctors. We were planning on going around 36 weeks like planned but they called last week and told us that it was really important to come down and have an echo done by their cardiac specialists, meet our OB and have everything planned and schedualed for our return stay....but that was not the trip that we thought it was going to be. We left monday after work about 2pm and made great timing into SLC about 7:15ish. We were able to get in contact with a cousin of a cousin on my side of the family, Louie and steve who welcomed us into their beautiful three store home overlooking the city of Salt Lake and walking distance from the capitol. They have an apartment attatched to their home and have so kindly offered us to stay there during our 6-10 weeks return trip for birth and delivery, we couldn't be more thankful!
We made it to our first appointment with the cardiologist about 9:30 at Primary Childrens Hospital, Dr. Pulchouski and his staff were great, they did tell us everything we already knew about the arterial switch proceedure, complications that could occur, actual surgery and after care for our sweet boy. We toured the labor and delivery as well as the NICU where our son will have a close eye on him to ensure that he stays in good condition until his surgery which should be between 3-5 days after delivery. The NICU broke my heart and i couldn't look at those tiny, innocent babies hooked up to the monitors. It was very hard for me to see and couldn't help but to imajine our tiny baby just like that. Being there, I can't help but to cry and wish that everything could just be normal.
That appointment, including tour ended about noon. We were starving by then and decided to eat at the cafateria in the University that is a part of the hospital, and surprisingly they had good and relatively inexspensive food!! Our next appointment came quick and we were back at the University Medical Center, which is part of the campus of medical centers attached to each other, for our ultrasound at 1:30 and OB appointment followed at 2:30....... that was how it was suppose to be scheduled at least. I had been sick since that morning, either because I'm coming down with a small cold or because I was at the hospital and it was making me feel miserable, so I was already in the mood to get in and out of there. We had our ultrasound about 2 and the tech made quick work of the ultrasound, about 20 mins or so. She left the room, telling us she'd be back shortly and the resident who had been watching her work asked for a chance to take the reins and get a little practice. I obliged, even though I wasn't feeling well. We thought that was going to be fast but OHHHH no! The nurse returned 40 mins later, returned us to the waiting room and told us the doctor would be with us shortly. We waited, waited and waited some more. We then waited about an hour and a 15 minutes before approaching the front desk lady again. They have a beautiful gold sign tacked to the wall just to the side of the receptionists that states, "You will be helped determined on the procedure you are waiting for, not by the order in which you arrive," obviously to deter just those kind of impatient questions. The receptionist pulled up my info again, and stated, "Oh, we didn't realize you were done with the ultrasound and were waiting, let me notify the nurse that you're ready." 15 minutes later we were taken across the hall and gave our OB/GYN paperwork that we'd brought with all of my apppointment information and medical records from the pregnancy, that apparently was not able to just be faxed over prior to seeing us, so that the doctor, nurse, and midwife could be familiarized with our special needs case. After the nurse finished with all of her questions and providing information, we waited again for the doctor. Half an hour later a woman entered. We assumed this was the doctor, seeing as I had requested a female OB/GYN prior to having the appointment set, but it was only the midwife. She went through much of the same information as the nurse and reviewed my records, as well as explaining that she would be performing all the exams for the doctor, and expressing her exasperation with the federal requirment of going to computer records instead of paper, and that they were apparently not competent enough to have picked up on it well yet. After finishing with the midwife we waited again. This time from 4:10pm to 5:25pm. The doctor appologized for the delay, citing the holiday yesterday as the problem. Apparently to make up for the time they take off, probably paid, they decide to overbook the next day and make all the pregnant women suffer while they try to play catch up. The doctor asked basic questions as he reviewed my files, and regurgitated the same info we've been hearing from everyone since our 20th week when the diagnosed the heart defect. Now understand, the whole point of the trip down to SLC was that the doctor was supposed to examine me so that we could accurately provide a timeline to come down to SLC for the delivery, and we were told all scheduling and appointments would be made so that we could provide our employers with the necessary dates for my FMLA and Jared's nights that would need to be covered while we were gone, and how soon this would be. From all the cardiac specialists we've talked to, this was supposed to be between 36 and 37 weeks to ensure that the baby was not born out of state and then need to be medically transported to SLC and then have them try to fit a surgery into their schedule and causing unnecessary complications or risk for our baby. We assume that the doctor has been through this process before since Primary Childrens referred us to him, and since the two hospitals are literally connected. Needless to say, we were flabergasted when the doctor told us, "Well, it's too early to tell anything and this point. We will plan on you coming up at 39 weeks, and play it by ear and see what happens over the next few weeks with your regular appointments with Dr. West in Boise." Excuse me?? see what happens? Thats what we were there for, because they would not schedule our induction, or set up a referral for the Ronald McDonald House, ect. without us making this trip down so he could examine me.....and he wants to play it by ear and didn't even do an examination? So we talked for a while and mentioned everything that all the other doctors had been preparing us for, the timelines they had mentioned including making sure that he wasn't born in boise to avoid any complications that could happen either way, and having to transport him to SLC. He metioned that he was also trying to give us the option to not interfere with our daily lives and that most families aren't as apt to come down that soon, which we appreciate, but was exactly the arguement we had made for not making the trip down in the first place, missing work, and having the echo, ultrasound, and examination done when they could have been done in Boise where the previous ones had been done, and sent to them. That, yes I understand but for goodness sake you think they'd all be in contact with each other and not confusing us and telling us different things when we have many other things that just add to our other worries and stress. The end result was " well I'll call you in a couple of days and set up a date. So we are planning to be in SLC about 37 weeks and have more detailed information and planning then. We were most upset because they made it seem like such a huge deal for us to come before our big trip, so we gathered some money and drove the whole 6 hours for them to tell us the same exact thing that our Boise doctors have talked with us and prepared us for, for months. So we will "play it by ear" and just plan to be there about 37 weeks unless something medically changes that. We are glad to be home, like I said disappointed in our trip and to be honest we were at the point in discussing if we still had time to choose a different hospital. I really hope that this all works out for the best and that our next trip for our final stay is a whole lot better than it was this time.
p.s. I am not 3 days away from being 33 weeks and our baby boy weighs 4 pounds 11 ounces and his ultrasound was so amazing I teared up a bit. To share a little secret, Jared and I both think he will have Jareds nose. Its crazy how much detail you can see in it. If I ever figure out how to post pictures with my blogs, I will post it.
Let the rest of our pregnancy be safe and healthy. Our good Lord is up there watching over us, I just know it and these are going to be the times that our family needs him the most. xoxo