An Afternoon at CHoP

So much better when it's just a couple hours. And even more so when it is pre-planned and non-emergency. Of course, it's still a hospital. And it's still in Philadelphia.

I don't miss making that drive. Let's hope we can continue to avoid needing to do so.

But I did get to wear a Super Bowl Champs t-shirt into the city of "brotherly love." It's like someone offering a ride on their private jet: you'd be foolish to pass up the opportunity.

So the Bear is scheduled for the surgery to have tubes put in her ears next week. We've been informed it's a "day surgery" and we should be on our way home in no time flat. We will likely have to be there at about 6 am; they'll prep her for the procedure, which reportedly takes all of 15 minutes; and then she'll have to recover for a few hours. Try to imagine our excitement if all actually goes this smoothly. Fingers crossed.

Her vitals were excellent yesterday. All the numbers looked good, her lungs sounded good, she was happy and well behaved.

We actually had the same nurse practitioner prepping her that we saw before the catheterization in October 2006. Needless to say she was taken aback by Molly's progress and demeanor. I hate to put words in anyone's mouth but I would be shocked if she thought back then she'd be seeing us almost a year and a half later for an elective surgery.

Of course, all kidding aside, it's still surgery and Molly is still delicate. The procedure is short, but if her breathing isn't stable once they anesthetize her, there is a possibility they'll need to open up her airway. This is never an easy job, since her airway is so narrow. And there is always the possibility once this happens that she won't go back to breathing on her own. There is a chance of this happening to anyone. But, obviously, odds increase as a result of Molly's somewhat unique genetic makeup.

But they don't really talk about that much, because it's so unlikely. We, like many other things medical, are just sort of keen to it because if our experiences.

At any rate, let's hope Molly stays healthy for the next few days so she can go in as scheduled, and have all that extra strength. We'll keep you posted on her, ovbiously.