Today we had a strange twist of events, but it turned out to be a blessing in the end. The doctor we were scheduled to meet with (Dr. Henry), had a family emergency, and he wasn't there for our appointment. I about blew a gasket - I didn't though, because a family emergency is an emergency, it couldn't be avoided, but still very frustrating! We had made an appointment with this doctor (quite awhile ago) prior to Katie's last hospitalization - but Katie happened to be in the hospital on the day of that appointment. So, we were told the doctor would meet with us before we left the hospital. That didn't happen. I was then told to make another appointment with him, which I tried to do, and I was told I was not "allowed" to make a consultation appointment with him (per him). I didn't understand that, or appreciate that, but what choice did I have? So I did what I was told to do, which was to make Katie's next treatment appointment there (the Phoenix clinic) and then he would talk with us and go over Katie's treatment plan to clear up all of the discrepancies, etc... I wasn't sure if we even wanted him for our doctor, that is why I wanted to consult with him first, but I knew we needed to make a change, so we went ahead and made our appointment with him in Phoenix. Then when we get there today, two weeks later, a nurse practitioner came in and said she would be meeting with us instead of Dr. Henry. I was not happy! The nurse practitioner, Britt, was very understanding and handled it very well and we were grateful.
The good news is, this actually turned out for the best. We ended up meeting with one of the department heads, who is a Leukemia specialist, and we loved her, and after talking to her in depth, we asked her if she could be Katie's doctor, and long story short, she is now Katie's doctor. We are extremely impressed with her - more so than any other doctor we have met throughout this entire process - and we have met a lot - between both hospitals. Her name is Dr. Dana Salzberg. She is about the same age I am, she was very nice, and she is very knowledgeable. I feel like she will be a perfect fit for us and Katie's needs. She actually specializes in working with children whose Leukemia relapses - and heaven forbid that happens, but if it does, we already have the right doctor. It was a tender mercy today to find her - she is an answer to our many prayers and concerns about finding the right doctor. (I would be overjoyed if it weren't for the fact that I have a splitting headache right now).
Katie is doing just fine. It was a long day. We were there from 10:30 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. Katie got a dose of anti-nausea medicine along with her double dose of chemo, so she is feeling okay for now. It will take about a week for the muscle weakness to kick in. Dr. Dana (she goes by her first name) is setting up physical therapy for Katie to help her to get the strength to stand up, do stairs and improve her walking skills. Dr. Dana also said this phase may not be as bad as we had previously been lead to believe - it may, or it may not be - we will just have to see how it goes. Katie didn't eat one bite of dinner tonight. She has had 5 diaper changes since we got home. So, it begins...
Today we are so glad and grateful to have found Dr. Dana. We feel blessed! Thank you to all those who brought by gifts and food this evening. We are grateful! "I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma 38:5)
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