When I was pregnant with Reagan and many ultrasounds were being done to try to get a good look at her heart, one of the ultrasounds was recorded and sent to Children's Cardiology Associates for review. They are the ones who, after reviewing Reagan's ultrasound, predicted she would have Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia and MAPCA's and they were right on the money.
The day Reagan was born, Dr. Gregory Johnson, was the cardiologist on call and therefore became Reagan's cardiologist from that day on. I remember being in the recovery room after delivery, while Reagan was off being examined by the NICU team, and being worried about whether my baby was even going to survive or not. Dr. Johnson came in with a heart drawn on a piece of paper and tried to explain to the new inexperienced heart parents the best he could about how Reagan's heart formed and how it functioned in comparison to a "normal" heart. Dr. Johnson is a great guy and we are truly thankful for all he does for Reagan. Every time Reagan has been hospitalized in Austin, whether he's on call or not, he makes an appearance and checks on us and Reagan. Unfortunately, because of Reagan's many hospitalizations, all of the cardiologists at Children's Cardiology know Reagan because each of them have been on call at some point or another when she's been in the hospital. They are all fantastic professionals and we appreciate what they do from the bottom of our hearts!!
Thank you, Dr. Johnson for all you do!!
Once we had been seeing Dr. Johnson for a few months after Reagan was born, it was looking like she was getting ready to have to have surgery soon. Dr. Johnson sat down with Rod and I and explained that there are only a handful of surgeons in the country that operate on children like Reagan. He then went on to tell us that our closest option would be a surgeon in Houston and that he had sent patients there before who had done fine but Reagan's success rate would be about 50/50 if we went there. He then said BUT there is a surgeon in California that does this more than anyone and with Reagan's defect being so rare your chances at success are better with Dr. Frank Hanley. He said, I realize it's hard on families to pick up and go to California and not all can, but after working with your family I felt it might be a possibility for you all and strongly recommend Dr. Hanley and will do anything I can to get him to take her case.
Before having this meeting with Dr. Johnson, my mom being the strong grandmother she is, had already done some research on her own and found out about Dr. Hanley and had told Rod and I that we needed to go to him because he was the best and that she had already contacted them and that they did take our insurance. I think I remembering telling her, "Thanks, mom, but just calm down and let's wait and see what Dr. Johnson recommends." Well, when the words Dr. Frank Hanley came out of Dr. Johnson's mouth, I got goose bumps all over and knew that was God's way of telling us that he was the one who needed to do Reagan's surgery. After telling Dr. Johnson we agreed to go to California, he worked a miracle and got us in with Dr. Hanley very quickly. Now that we've gone to California so many times, we've learned that Dr. Hanley sees patients from all over and that his surgery schedule stays booked months in advance, and so we truly appreciate him fitting Reagan in somehow on that first trip back in June of '07. From then on, we usually get a surgery date for our next trip before ever leaving because we know how far in advance you have to book with him.
Dr. Frank Hanley, is an outstanding man with a heart for children. I remember meeting him the first time following Reagan's first surgery. I couldn't believe how calm he was talking with us after just coming out of the O.R. for such a long, intense surgery. Of course, we did not want to keep the man any longer than we needed so we just said "Thank you very much for all you did." and let him go on his way. I've now learned that when you see him after surgery, you may not see him again because he's so busy, so ask any questions you have then because you may not get another chance. Even with that said, I still try not to ask too much, because it's usually after midnight when he comes out of surgery and I know he probably has another surgery the next day and as a mother want him to get some rest to be fresh for the next child he operates on. In all reality, I get a weird sense about me, every time I see Dr. Hanley, as if being in the presence of a king, or royalty of some type. I know it sounds crazy. Rod evens tells me to quite lusting after Reagan's surgeon to which I laugh. But, I've read so many other heart moms descriptions of how Dr. Hanley affects them as well and know it's not lust it's complete adoration for a man that's smart enough and willing enough to devote all his time and energy to saving your child. It's a feeling you can't describe, only experience!!
So, from this mom and many other heart moms out there, we thank you Dr. Hanley for all you do. I often feel sorry for his wife because I know she rarely sees him because he's always taking care of our children and for that, we love him!!
LOL I echo your adoration for Dr. Hanley. It's sooo true!
ReplyDeleteThe girls are truly in the best hands.
Thank you for sharing this.
Love,
V