My "Cleftie"

Chapter Four: Austin here we come!

I spent two or three weeks and close to 2,000 minutes on the phone trying to get us seen by the specialists in Austin, TX. It wasn’t even getting an appointment that was the hard part. That took a whole 10 minutes to do. It was arguing with the insurance on the importance of going and needing countless authorizations and approvals that was so hard. Every person I talked to, seemed to think that I was a complete moron and was making stuff up. There were notes and agent names and their employee ID numbers and such to back me up but still I had to start over EVERY time. Explaining over and over and over the situation, what I had, and what had been done to get the approval from them was so frustrating!

My husband and I were stressing about how we were going to pay for the trip out there. We still had some money left over from our income tax return but that had been set aside to pay bills from when my husband had taken the time off work to help me with the kids. I was told by someone that the insurance offered transportation assistance. They gave gas money, hotel accommodations, and food for the child and one adult. So I called and after a week or so finally got the approval and money was sent via Western Union. We were FINALLY all set to go to Austin.

Easter Sunday was hectic. We were packing last minute things, since we would be leaving for the airport that evening, cleaning the house, and of course the pumping and feeding for Evalyn and Shauna. My family arrived and we all joked and laughed. We did an Easter egg hunt and hid the eggs in funny places since most of the kids were older. My brother in law, who was holding Evalyn, even hid a plastic egg with money under her dress. It was so great watching everyone be so carefree. It had felt as if all the tension and stress had melted away and we all forgot our problems for those few hours.

I was nervous and my husband was doing everything he could to keep me calm but nothing worked. I am not good at flying is an understatement. I’m not exactly terrified just… apprehensive? The thought of this big, heavy, metal contraption flying though the sky, just doesn’t sit well. While I know that there are scientific explanations on how it is possible, I cannot seem to shake that I know, if I throw a tin can, it will fly sure, but it still falls and crashes because gravity is NOT my friend. Later on, as we were stepping through security I get stopped with Evalyn in my arms and they ask me what this “liquid” is in my diaper bag. Since I am not trying to get violated because of my sarcastic ways, I bite back the “its bomb making fluid for my plastic doll” and say “breast milk for my baby she will need to eat soon” I have never seen a grown man act so skittish about milk before. It was amusing how he dropped it and said he was going on break so that the next lady could do the “liquid test”, even she looked amused.

Once seated on the plane, we were told that we could use the extra seat beside us for our daughter’s car seat so that we could be more comfortable. A few minutes before takeoff, another flight attendant tells us that we cannot have our baby there since we did not pay for that seat. Before either of us can say anything the first attendant says that she approved it since the flight wasn’t full. Take off was funny to my husband since I was holding my breath and gripping the arm rests with a death grip and chanting “We’re not gonna die! We’re not gonna die! That’s normal, that scary sound is normal, OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG” 

I don’t think I took a full breath of air until we landed in Austin about 2 hours later and were already in my husband’s uncle’s truck. We went to his uncle’s house and met up with our “Austin family”. It was great to see everyone. We then headed off to the hotel we were staying at close to the children’s hospital where the craniofacial clinic is.

Stepping into the clinic the next day, my husband and I were humbled and in awe. There were other babies with cleft and other conditions and the parents had other kids and everyone was happy. There were no awkward stares or reassurances. It was like any other doctors office. After filling out millions of forms, we were taken in and Evalyn was weighed, measured, cooed over, and pictures of her were taken to track progress. The plastic surgeon (Dr. K) was the first to doctor to see us. He looked at Evalyn and turned her this way and that way opened her mouth and then asked us lots of questions about our health history and how much we knew. Then he explained and answered all our questions with all the patience in the world. He told us the nurse would give us some information and packets and that he would want to do surgery in about 3 months depending on when the orthodontist gave her approval. The huge difference in talking with him and talking with the ENT back home was colossal. I felt reassured and happy that my baby girl was getting THE BEST treatment we could provide. Any parent’s dream for their child is exactly that.