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Well, here it is Monday, and we can't believe we get to leave tomorrow!!!!!!!  We are so excited!  Madeline and Eli have their airplane fun bags packed and can't wait to get into them in the morning.  Tim and I have done a little shopping over the weekend which was a fun treat.  We ALL got haircuts on Saturday - it was Eli's first one! Now, we are doing those normal things we all do before a trip:  make a dozen lists, run to Target three more times, rummage through the half-packed suitcase just to make sure I put something in there, and finalize arrangements for the dog and cat.    

 

Tomorrow we will arrive in D.C. around lunch time.  It will be the perfect time to grab a bite and let the kids rest at the hotel.  We will be staying at the J.W. Marriott which is just a few blocks from the White House! Kids from other children's hospitals attending Family Advocacy Day will be staying there as well.  Jennifer talked about the kids making new friends in the elevators and hallways last year, so we are looking forward to that for Madeline and Eli. We hope to catch up with Sharon Laden from NACHRI who trained us last year in Nashville.  She is so encouraging and really makes us feel like we can make a difference.  After a nap, we are planning to take on the city, ride the metro, and go somewhere like the zoo or do something in Maureen's book about things to do with kids in D.C.  

 

Wednesday morning, we will be up early for a radio tour and a training session.  We will also have some time to do some site-seeing with other families here for Family Advocacy Day. That evening there will be a Family Networking Dinner, or as Madeline says, "a party with all the kids!" That should be a fun way to meet people and share experiences.

 

Thursday is the BIG DAY!  We will see Congressman Steve Cohen at 11, Congressman John Tanner at 1, Senator Bob Corker at 2, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn at 3:30 and Senator Lamar Alexander at 4:30.  So, it will be a full day!  We are looking forward to meeting them and reminding them of children's health care issues.

 

After Thursday, we will stay a few days to tour around, explore, eat good food and just experience D.C.! We will return home on Sunday. Thank you for following along with us!

 

We also wanted to mention something wonderful that happened at Le Bonheur on Friday. For the first time ever, a parent was able to go back with her child before surgery and stay with him until he was under anesthesia.  Wow, I can only imagine how wonderful that must have been for Joanne Cunningham (our Family Partner's Council Chairperson) to see exactly was happens to her son, but even more, how wonderful that must have been for Jacob to have his mom right by his side to make things more bearable and less scary.  There is nothing worse then sending your child through those double doors and seeing her sweet tear stained face turn around to look for you and her arms reach for you, but you can do nothing. It's hard for the parents and so hard on our precious little ones who just want their mommies and daddies.  Parents can already wait with their child in recovery, and this is just another step toward Family Centered Care.  Both these changes are a result of Joanne's work on the Family Partner's Council.  Kudos to you, Joanne - you are truly an advocate for all children and an agent of change.  An article in the Commercial Appeal explains this momentous event more thoroughly.