The Science of Hope II

Yesterday (well, really Monday.  It's 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday right now.) when Rachel and I were leaving the PICU for a quick dinner in the Ronald McDonald Family Room, we ran into someone very special to us: Dr. David Kays.  I gave him a huge hug.  I love that guy for a lot of reasons - too many to list - but really they can be summed up in one photo. 

To really understand the meaning of this blurry photo, taken on Rachel's phone in a restaurant parking lot, you've got to do some background reading.  Go back to the first post on this blog, "First Few Days." I'll wait.... 

In the first days of her life Ginny was very, very sick. Just to keep things interesting, she gave lots of people the opportunity to save her life.  They all came through - big time. That first night it was Dr. Kays' turn. We thought Ginny was going to need ECMO, and when it comes to ECMO, Dr. Kays is the dude. ECMO is a very risky treatment, and he was able to avoid that using a combination of nitric oxide and an oscillating ventilator. He's one of our heroes.  That leads us to the second bit of reading.  Again, I'll wait... 

Pretty impressive, isn't it?  He's saved a lot of babies, and babies are awesome.  

Since the title of this entry is obviously a sequel, you probably went back and read the original "The Science of Hope."  If not, I'll give you a second... 

Yes, you guessed correctly.  That cute kid in the LSU shirt (gag) standing next to Ginny is Joseph. (He's the only boy allowed to stand that close to her - and really only for cute pictures and under close supervision.) Our stay in the hospital has given us some life-long friends.  Joseph will probably rebel against his family and be a Gator when the time comes.  

So by now I'm sure you know why we love Dr. Kays so.  Here's the thing, though: he's not alone.  At UF, he's only one of the world-class physicians that you can run into while roaming the hall.  There are others.  A lot of others.  Dr. Mark Bleiweis, Dr. Jay Fricker... Google these guys.  They're rock stars. They save babies, every day. And they're here in Gainesville.  It makes me proud to be a UF alum, and it makes me happy that I live in Gainesville.  (Don't just skim past that.  I said "world-class".  I mean it. You can count on your hands the number of places on this planet where you can get this kind of care.) 

A lot of you reading this have reached out and offered your help.  Many have brought us meals, or coffee, or run errands for us. We really appreciate it. We're lucky.  We've got awesome jobs - Rachel for GRU and me for Chen Moore - with good health insurance, and we've got a great support network. Not everyone up here has that. Ginny's pretty sick, and this is pretty scary, but there are kids a lot sicker than she is.  Two weeks from now, when Genevieve the Destroyer has returned home to terrorize her little sister and all is back to normal, we'll be looking for ways to help some of the other very sick kids that are here.  We hope you will be willing to join us.