T-Minus 5 Days to Mayo

photo by JMcKnight Photography

 

8 days ago, we made the decision to call Mayo Clinic. We had no clue how we would get there, much less be able to afford the hotel, food, rental car, and missing work. But we knew God would work out the details.

My mom sent an email to our wonderful church family, and she created a YouCaring page so people

could help if they wanted. Immediately, donations started coming in. Every day since, we check the website and our mail to find another gift of love that has been sent. Two words sum up how we feel -

 

loved & overwhelmed

 

Airline tickets were provided the day after we posted about our trip. Over and over again God has confirmed to us that we are supposed to be taking her to Mayo. This trip has His hand all over it. Only God could have gotten her in so quickly with the doctors there.

 

 

A couple days after booking the airline tickets, my request to create Addy an online patient portal through Mayo was accepted. It was a little bit tricky since she is 2. I had to create a fake patient portal for myself, and then send in a request to be her proxy. It took a day or so to get through that system. When I got the email telling me I could access her account, which includes upcoming appointments, I decided to double check her appointment. The first thing I noticed was they had added an appointment before her initial visit for a chest x-ray. (THIS is why I already love Mayo. The x-ray will be read and sent to the pulmonologist before he ever sees Addy.) There was only one problem. We are flying into Minneapolis and then driving to Rochester. It's about an hour drive. The plan was to fly in on Tuesday morning, the 15th. Our flight landed at 11:05, and her first appointment was supposed to be at 1:30 pm. But the chest x-ray was scheduled after the flights were booked. Time of the x-ray: 11:15. Exactly 10 minutes after we land.

 

Cue: panic mode. I immediately called Southwest and explained our situation. The rep said she understood, but unfortunately no exceptions could be made to the rate. The rate to fly in on Monday was 3x the price it was to fly on Tuesday - times 3 flights. I had to call our friend who donated the flights to get some information so I could change the flights. We had no choice to change them. Flying in on Tuesday was just not an option. We were just going to pay the difference. I called back to Southwest and spoke to a different rep who after hearing our story adjusted the fare to reflect Tuesday's price. She saved us $600. I am not going to lie, I cried.

 

We decided to open a separate bank account for the money that has been generously given to us to help with these expenses so it does not get mixed in with our day to day money. While sitting at the bank, we had about 100 other places we needed to be. We were called into a lady's office, and we explained to her why we were opening a separate account. She said her nephew was seen very recently at Mayo in Minnesota. He had a heart issue that no other dr would touch. Mayo accepted him, and he is healed. She looked me right in the eyes and said she would be covering Addy in prayer. I had tears in my eyes when we left, because God put her in my path. It has given us such a peace about everything.

 

We have been told of Addy being added to church prayer lists all over the place. It is unbelievable to know that so many people are praying for your child. Thank you is just not enough, but it's the only words I have. We fly out of Nashville Monday morning, and we will be at Mayo on Tuesday for our first appointment. Every day the blog will be updated, so keep checking back to get updates on our sweet girl! Keep praying, because the prayers are working :)

 

photo by JMcKnight Photography

 

 

Laura