Lucky...

I realized today after reading some comments on Facebook that Maddie and I were incredibly lucky with our medical care.

I knew my OB was good from the start.  The practice I see was started by the OB that delivered my sister and I.  My OB (whom I've been seeing since I was 16) performed my mom's surgery.  We've known him for a long time and I have always been comfortable with him.  It wasn't until I became pregnant and had complications that I realized what an amazing practice it truly is.  I was cared for by 5 OBs, whom I had to rotate through for all of my prenatal appointments.  Every single one of them took time with me to explain things and answer any and every question I had.  Every single one of them came to see me every day I was in the hospital.  One of them in particular told me about her own complicated pregnancy and small baby.  I could not have asked for better care from any of them at any time.  Each and every one of them really went above and beyond with me to make sure I was comfortable, informed, and at peace. 

When I was diagnosed with GD, I was referred to a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies at Henry Ford.  While I was not necessarily a fan of her "worse case scenario" approach to things, I was thoroughly impressed with her always swift action and strict monitoring schedule to make sure that baby and I were safe.  My OBs were always updated on my appointments immediately after I left her office and a group approach was always taken before making any decisions about our care.  In the end, it was my MFM that decided it was time for me to go on bedrest, leave work, and ultimately be admitted to the hospital.  She came to visit me several times while I was in the hospital and even briefed her colleague on my case before going on vacation.

I also lucked out on my hospital.  I delivered at Henry Ford W. Bloomfield because that is the hospital my OB works out of (and also my MFM).  I have never in my life been to such a nice hospital with fantastic nurses.  I had a private room, my own bathroom, a refrigerator, TV w/ cable, internet access, room service, daily cleaning service, and the ability to have spa services in my room.  Honestly, in some ways it was like being in a hotel instead of a hospital.  I think I met every nurse on staff in L&D while I was there and they were all fantastic.  I heard on more than one occasion that the nurses got into arguments over who was going to get me for the day or night.  Shoot, I even had the hospital president come to my room and ask me how I was being cared for and if there was anything he could do for me.  The food was fantastic...restaurant quality in most cases.  The facilities and people there truly made hospital bedrest a lot better than it probably would have been.  The NICU was state of the art, private rooms with pull out couches, and again with wonderful nurses and doctors.  I was always kept abreast of what was going on with my baby and the nurses were all very helpful in answering my questions and teaching me how to care for baby.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Maddie and I both received the best care possible.  I have no doubt that Maddie needed to be delivered when she was, and I have no doubt that without the extraordinary care I received that Maddie would have been born much earlier than 34 weeks.  We had the best outcome I could have possibly hoped for under not-so-great circumstances.  I had a complication-free c-section and a baby that needed nearly zero interventions while in the hospital.  We are both thriving, and I know it's because of the swift, caring, and informed care I received.

I also stumbled into an amazing practice of pediatricians.  I put out an open call for friends and family to recommend their peds in the area.  A very good friend of the family gave a glowing review of the ped that he takes his girls to, and could not recommend her highly enough.  I called and tried to get Maddie in with her, but she was closed to new patients; I think that probably attests to how wonderful she is.  So, I decided to look into the other doctors in her practice and found one I thought I was really going to like.  I couldn't have made a better choice.  Maddie's ped is fantastic.  She honestly called us the first Sunday Maddie was home to make sure that everything was going okay and to see if we needed anything/had any questions.  She always makes plenty of time for our appointments and answers every questions I could possibly have.  She was even thinking of Maddie when she saw an explosion of RSV in the office and wanted us called to come in for her Synagis shot!  At her two month appointment, I honestly don't know who was more excited about Maddie's progress...me or her ped.

We are both very lucky to have such wonderful doctors.  I rest easy knowing that my little baby has the best care available!