Where do we go from here?

It was Friday, May 9th and we had been processing Addison's heart condition since the evening before. We had scheduled a time to talk with the pediatrician on post to get his recommendation of what to do next and we also had an appointment to sign a lease on our new Italian home. We went to the lease signing first but informed the landlord, our realtor, and the military housing office of our new news and said that we had not discussed our options with the doctor yet and could possibly be leaving. Everyone was very understanding but I also think no one actually thought we would leave Italy for this. Not because it isn't a big deal but because they have doctors there who deal with pediatric heart conditions just like we do in the states.

We left from that meeting and headed in to meet with the pediatrician. I will never forget the look on his face when we sat down in his office. One of pity and deep concern. He knew our fate and that he was going to have to be the one to tell us. My first question was, "Where do we go from here?". His exact words were, "Well, you can kiss Italy goodbye." Winston and I had discussed that if he told us we were coming home that we would have him explain why. We weren't going to just except it and move on. So we did just that. Padua has a great pediatric hospital with a great pediatric cardiology center. They are just as capable there of fixing Addison's heart as the doctors are here. Some minor details though were that we were in Italy where we have no family and have not had a chance to learn the language. Just think about how overwhelming hospitals in the states can be when they do speak English everywhere. The language barrier adds a whole new dimension. Plus, like I said, we have no family it Italy. It isn't to say that we couldn't make friends and gain a good support system before she is born but there is something to be said about family and friends that are like family; people who know you and get you.

Winston's next question was "then, where are we going to go?" If Padua has a good heart center, we didn't want to come back to the states to be seen by a military doctor with no experience operating on infants. To our surprise, the doctor at the military clinic said there was no way he would ever send us to a military installation for this. We were going to choose based on where "home" is and where the best doctors are for our situation. He told us he wanted to do some research over the weekend and find a pediatric hospital where they do over 200 cardiac surgeries a year. We left his office with our new homework assignment. We called family to say we were coming home and we processed this new bit of information. We had been in Italy for two and a half weeks and we were coming home. God always has a bigger picture and it was time to trust that and know that we were in the best hands possible: those of our one and only creator and Savior.