It's Almost Moving Day! Prepare to be AMAZED.

Not our moving day. That's not for another (gasp) 3 weeks or so. But, Children's Memorial Hospital will be moving to its new home in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago on June 9.

On Monday, June 4, the ribbon was cut on the new building and CMH officially became the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.  Though we didn't attend that ribbon-cutting, Charlotte and I did get stuck in the traffic it created while we were in town on a house-hunting trip.

ABCNews Chicago covered the event. Please click here to check out the opening, and even more interesting, the plans to move up to 200 critically ill patients about 3 miles down the road in 20+ ambulances on Saturday. It's extraordinary.

While we are thrilled about the opening of the new hospital, and proud to have played a small role through the Children's Service Board, we recognize how many parents and families mourn the loss of the facility in which they saw their child's last smile or held a beloved baby through a last breath.  As I wrote to Mary Tyler Mom in response to her loving elegy for the old CMH, the hand that her Donna saw as a beacon of hope will now light up Streeterville in a vivid tribute to the families and children whose lives have been touched since Julia Foster Porter opened an 8-bed hospital cottage, the Maurice Porter Memorial, at Halsted and Belden.

What better tribute to the memory of Ms. Porter, and of the children who passed through those hallowed halls, than to celebrate 125 years of pediatric medical excellence with the opening of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago?  I think Ms. Porter would approve.

Thank you, Team Charlotte, for your unflagging support of our family's journey. Charlotte is happy to be "going home" to Chicago and to "her" hospital.

No mention of the hospital can be complete without a pitch. Here's a link to Team Charlotte's page at Give Kids a Hand. To date, you have helped me raise $7,155 for Lurie's. In honor of MTM's Donna and Ms. Porter and all who dared to dream that pediatric medical excellence had a home in Chicago, won't you help me make it an even $10,000?

Keep scrolling for some Children's Memorial Hospital memories:

Where we began. May 10 (0r so) 2005. Before surgery.

May 16, 2005 after surgery. That's Charlotte under all those tubes and wires.

Charlotte (18 months) "poses" for an x-ray. They only way we could get her to stop crying was to have her smile for the camera. (2007)

Nurse Julie with sleepy Charlotte pre-second surgery. (2007) 

The only good thing about Radiology's waiting area...the kinetic sculpture. 

Fascinated by the bandaid over her blood draw poke. Last bandaid Charlotte tolerated, I think.

Waiting (and waiting) for Dr. Backer to come get her for surgery.  Ultimately, we went back the next day. Charlotte was a trooper.

Post-op, 2007.

Uncle Hal just couldn't stay away (2007).

The PICU Guardians. Yes, Bubba used to be a lovely (clean) golden color and sit up straight (2005).

Lung scan with IV (and video to watch). Not fun. (2008)

Certificate of Bravery for above. Charlotte rocks. And CMH staff knows how to help her through it all.

 Charlotte helps Dance Marathon Chicago get psyched (2010). She loves "her" hospital and likes helping raise money for it.

Spring, 2010.

Lurie Children's Hospital Lego(tm) Structure, Children's Service Board Security Desk, 11th floor, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital (2012)

Give Kids a Hand

Click here to Give Kids a Hand for Team Charlotte

For nearly 130 years, Children's Memorial Hospital has provided brilliant pediatric care to the children of Chicago, Illinois, and the world. A bit of history from the hospital website:

Children's Memorial was founded in 1882 by Julia Foster Porter near the site of the present hospital in an eight-room cottage. Mrs. Porter established the hospital in memory of her 13-year-old son, Maurice, who died of acute rheumatism. Children's Memorial was the first hospital in Chicago dedicated solely to the care of children, at a time when the field of pediatric medicine did not even exist.

The hospital will celebrate its 130th anniversary by opening a state-of-the-art facility in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. The adjacency of the Prentice Women's Hospital will mean that women like me will not need to be separated from their sick children. Instead of a three-mile distance that I was unable to cross while I convalesced from a c-section, I would be able to visit my infant in the PICU in a wheelchair rolled across a bridge connecting the two hospitals.

An even greater impact, especially for children like Charlotte, will be the ease of collaboration between pediatric and adult specialists at Children's and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. These collaborations occur today, of course. But, now, researchers and physicians will be on the same campus, facilitating even greater and faster collaborations.

As I've heard Pat Magoon, Children's visionary CEO, say, we are in an age of beautiful problems--children with heart defects, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, and other historically mortal health problems are living into adulthood. But, they are still treated by pediatric specialists since adult doctors have never dealt with their problems. (We saw a 30-something-year old in the PICU for a heart surgery in 2005.) The new Lurie Children's Hospital will begin to bridge that gap.

One of my colleagues on the Children's Service Board, Holly Duran, has said for years that Children's offers 5-star healthcare in a 2-star building in Lincoln Park. The new hospital will put children, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers in the building they deserve. It will allow for better care, better recruiting of top doctors, and better access for all children.

Children's Memorial may be located in Chicago. But, it is a world-class medical institution that treats children from all over. In 2011, the hospital treated more than 148,000 children representing every state in the nation and 33 countries. The Lurie Children's Hospital will have more beds and be able to treat even more children.

As this season of joy, generosity, and cheer draws to an end, I would like to ask you, the followers of Charlotte's Journey Home, to join us as we continue to help make the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago a reality. We hope to raise at least $1,000 in the name of Team Charlotte and earn her name on a tile mosaic in the hospital lobby. No amount is too small, and of course, no amount is too large. Follow this link (and make sure you land on a page that says "Team Charlotte" at the top).

Alternatively, follow this link and choose "Support a Fundraiser" in the left-hand nav. Then choose the radio button for "Search for a Team" and type in Team Charlotte. Click on the link for the team and choose "Support Team Charlotte" from the right-hand nav.

From our very grateful family to yours, best wishes for a healthy 2012.

Topping Off Celebration

Nineteen months ago, I attended the groundbreak ceremony for the new Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hosptial of Chicago. With my mother by my side, I had the privilege to join politicians, philanthropists, doctors, nurses, and patients as the dream of a new hosptial began to become a reality.

Tonight, with Charlotte, I attended the. hosptial's "topping off" ceremony. A topping off ceremony occurs when the last beam of a building is hoisted, usually with an evergreen. The ceremony, like a ship's naming, celebrates a major landmark in the project and thanks the construction workers. The evergreen symbolizes growth and good luck.

Charlotte and I signed the beam, adding our signatures (and my mother's name) to the thousands of other names--construction workers, donors, politicians, medical professionals--who have made this day possible.

After some snacks (Charlotte ate a chocolate-dipped marshmallow, mini-bratworst, 2 gingerbread men, and a hot cocoa); speeches by politicians, including the indomitable first lady of Chicago Maggie Daley; entertainment by ice skaters and a children's choir, we thrilled to watch the beam go up the tower.

Charlotte and I had front row seats. I held her up as tears streamed down my face and Charlotte cheered with glee and joy.

In her remarks Ann Lurie (or was it Maggie Daley?), quoted Christopher Reeve's famous remark, "When you choose hope, anything is possible." Five years ago, after a devastating prenatal diagnosis, we chose hope. We chose Children's Memorial Hospital. And you all chose to come along for the ride, crying and cheering along with us. Along with Charlotte and her doctors, you are our heroes. Thank you.

And now for a blatant plug:

The hospital's bones are up and it's time to add the flesh and blood. Our capital campaign is still underway--in this economy, fundraising can be a bit slow. In this season of giving, if you can give anything to our critical mission, the bricks and mortars, please consider it. Visit Heroesforlife.org and follow the link "How to be a hero."

While you're there, check out the campaign song. Tonight we heard it sung by a famous Chicago gospel singer. Extraordinary!

CMH Cath Lab, Or the Importance of Philanthropy

In early April, I had the distinct honor of attending the dedication of the new cardiac catheterizion lab at Children's Memorial Hospital. Funds for the new lab were raised by the Children's Service Board just before I joined the board. If I'm not mistaken, it took about $3 million. While I was not on the board when this gift was made, I was eager to see the new lab as Charlotte has had two cardiac catheterizations.

The new lab is inside the operating theater suite, allowing the cardiac interventionists to work even more closely with the surgeons. Because the lab is within the sterile suite, children can move from the lab directly to surgery if necessary and, if a condition proves truly emergent, surgery can occur in the lab.

Catheterizations are guided by sonogram and the camera now installed has 360 degree mobility, allowing for much more detailed views of the heart and better diagnosis as well as more precision in determining the success of a procedure.

We got to play with the IVs and other tools used for procedures such as closing VSDs, various stents, etc. (We only played with demonstration items--nothing that would be used on a kid!) Closing a VSD used to require open heart surgery; now the doctors can insert the patch via an IV, reducing the invasion into a child's heart.

Dr. Jeffery Gossett, pictured here, delivered a wonderful presentation, then gave us a tour, and guided us through the different tools (or "toys" as he called them), showing us videos of each utensil at work. It was astounding. When we talk about the miracle of modern medicine, I think we really only know part of the story. What Dr. Gossett and his colleagues do on a daily basis takes a steady hand, intense focus, and dedication. It was a privilege to see even a little bit of his world.

Since we were all suited up in sterile gear, the nurse who coordinates the operating theaters, gave us the grand tour. I can't tell you how moving it was to enter the operating room in which my darling girl's heart has been repaired twice.

In case you're wondering, the new equipment will be moved to the new hospital.

To see more and better images of our excellent catheter adventure, click here.

To learn more about the Children's Service Board, please visit Childrensserviceboard.org.

SHAMELESS PLUG: To learn more about the new hospital and become a Hero for Life, please visit Heroesforlife.org.