Status: Approved!

Once we got that beautiful piece of mail that said we could, indeed, go to Houston, it all became very real. I was so excited, and so nervous for my baby. I knew we had to do this, but I was afraid it would permanently change her personality. I was worried that she would be this sad, broken little bird in her splint, and that I would never see her beautiful, kind, exuberant personality again. Like the world was going to break my toddler. She had to go through too much that she didn't understand. This, of course, was insane.

Things went really, really quickly once we were approved. The office called to schedule our appointment, and it was only about 7 weeks away. We elected to stay at the Holiday Inn at Houston Medical Center, as they have a small discount for medical visits, as well as a shuttle that will take you anywhere. They offered rooms with Kitchenettes, and had an on-site dining room, too. They were convenient to Houston Hobby Airport so we wouldn't spend a fortune on cabs. While the hotel was convenient, it was NOT cheap, and we decided to stay only 5 days. That meant flying home only a day and a half after surgery, but you do what you gotta do. We felt confident that our pediatrician could handle the aftercare and so it wasn't so scary.

Never has it been so important to make sure you are packing the right things. We were going to live in a tiny room with an unhappy kid with one useful arm. How does one prepare for that? We needed diapers to last five days. That alone took up half a suitcase. Had I known that the hospital provides a pack of diapers, I could have saved myself a lot of space. She needed toys, of course. Things to do on the plane, so as not to make other passengers suicidal. Don't forget entertainment for mom and dad - books and crosswords, a deck of cards. The most important thing to remember, though, was Elenore and Pink Blanket. Elenore is a pink elephant lovey she has slept with since she was a baby, and Pink Blanket is pretty self- explanatory. I was worried we would forget these items at home all week. I did not forget. Perhaps I should trust myself a bit more?

With surgery looming, we wanted to make sure that she was strong and active, so we made sure to do fun things like chase geese and go to Go Bananas! again. We knew that for the foreseeable future, we would be spending a lot of time indoors. The splint couldn't get wet, too hot, or too dirty. It would either shrink, melt, or stink if it did.

That same week, we found a tree with a butt. I don't care who you are, that's funny stuff.