Beautiful July 7: Houston We Have a Problem! (Part 2)

My post title.. I take what I went through seriously but on a few days the sun shines in when you least expect it and I have surreal clarity and... well, we really did have a problem that only Houston could help us with.

The world works in mysterious ways. When mom said she would go to Houston I was overwhelmed with gratefulness that she will start fighting the beast in her and yet felt anxious at the same time.
I started thinking "How do I get her in now that I have shown her some light at the end of this dark scary tunnel".."Have I just gotten my moms hopes up for nothing".
Blondie over here had not thought out the WHOLE process, I was only focused on finding the right place to send her. However my awesome dad and all of his many connections knew someone's daughter out there that was a doctor, so she was able to get us into the admissions door.
However another catch was the Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology unit only took certain cases. MD Anderson is such an honest facility that they will decline your request for treatment if they can not help you. They aren't after your money. They exsist because they want to improve with each patient and they want the survival rates to increase.

So they never said they would take mom's case they first said send us your scans and we will go from there... what a long wait that was. Mom and the family had to come stay with me in Birmingham and have her scans done and get all of her records so that UAB could send them out to MD Anderson. Those days were scary. I am impatient. So what do I do... I call Patty from Illinois, pleading for her help and telling her I am just a girl from Alabama that wants to get her mom the best help. I was lucky she put her number on her blog. Soon after I left that message, I received a phone call from an amazing lady that I would like to just about call family. She gave me instructions and she said she would reach out to her doctor personally for us. Then she said take a breath. You just hopped on the worst roller coaster ride but I will be here for you as you endure peaks and valleys. From then on we have talked. I am still waiting to go see her one day soon. Mom even got to meet her because they had appointments at the same time. So little ole me set up a playdate! Mom felt blessed to know she wasn't alone. That her beast also lived inside of this lady she was hugging.

When the phone call came.. it brought relief. They accepted moms case. I was ecstatic. They came to Birmingham to do scans but also packed ready for Houston because mom knew God would guide her path there. She was so right. Although it was like waiting for a baby to be born, we didn't know how long it would take to get and appointment. But God answered our prayers and they flew out that same week.
As I wasn't able to take off of work to go immediately, I found that I was ok with that because she just had lab work to do each day before the doctors appointment. So I took off for Houston early morning to make that first appointment and I must say it was my first trip to pack all my stuff in just a carry on. I meant business.. get out of my way ppl I am trying to get to my mom and get to her quickly. Plus clothes do not matter but my moms health did.
I got them set up with just the right hotel that they/us ended up staying at everytime. The staff all became so close to mom.

(Landed in Houston, First thing they saw- Mom ready to get there- Mom loved her basket robins)

I arrived to see shock and relief on my moms face that I was actually there. That I came to be with her. And she held onto me for a long long time. As she didn't sleep because of her nerves and neither did I. So we layed down together as the rest of the family awoke to begin our journey at MD Anderson.