We made it safely to UNC this afternoon. The transport team was excellent and took great care of Brett. Although we received excellent care in the other hospitals, there's no place like home when it comes to health care. Triangle area friends, did you realize that UNC Health Care is committed to caring for the citizens of North Carolina, no matter where you may be at the moment? If they have a bed available and there is not a higher priority case, they will come get your child by ground or air and bring you back to Chapel Hill for treatment. They have ambulances, helicopters, and even some jets are available that can be dispatched to retrieve patients from across the country if needed.
The transport team's words were, "We'll go anywhere to get our kids!" That is very comforting to me, as a parent of a child who is chronically ill. Also, if your child has some sort of accident or trauma or sudden illness while you are away, they will come get you if they can. They would have even come to Snowshoe to get us but there was not a bed available last night, so we went on to Roanoke until one opened up this morning. It worked out fine, though, because both transports were a pretty long drive.
Packing up to leave Carilion
Ready to Go!
Cute Brett with the RT on the transport team. They gave him a little Pediatric Transport Team teddy bear you can see on the gurney. It's very cute!
The North Carolina Children's Promise campaign raised the money needed to purchase this awesome transport truck. It was so cool! It is a worthy cause to give to - any of our NC children might need it one day. It is equipped to give full care to the patient. It has a generator that could provide power to a small house in case the truck is broken down and the patient still needs a ventilator or any other machine that requires electricity to function. Oh, and the all-important DVD player in the back so the kids can watch a movie in transport!
Good ol' Franklin Street
Unloading at UNC
It was such a great feeling to be walking in the doors of this emergency department! Almost like crossing the finish line. Never thought that is a sentence I would ever say...
My good friend Judy came over to UNC tonight and let me have a respite from 24/7 bedside sitting. It was nice to have a break and to get to drive her sporty 5-speed to Walgreens and back, even if it was in the rain. Thank you, Judy! The rest of the family enjoyed their last day of skiing. Mark is already skiing black diamonds. I guess I'll have to really work on my skills in order to keep up with him. I'm scared to go on blacks. It is wearing Rob out to try and keep up with Mark. I guess he'll need a vacation from the vacation when he gets home!
Thank you everyone for the comments both here and on Facebook and for letting me know you are keeping up here and there. Although I was quite surprised to see a comment from one of the docs who cared for Brett last night in Roanoke. I am now in suspense, wondering how you got connected to my blog, Dr. Hull! Please tell!
