Follow up

No real updates on Emily, she is doing great and will have her weekly labs tomorrow, and I will have an update.

Yesterday I got an email from the CGO (Chief Governance Officer) of Lucile Packard Hospital and she wants to take me up on my offer to be parent spokesperson on behalf of the hospital in their battle with Palo Alto to get clearance to build the new Hospital. To remind/update you, Stanford Medical Center, which is comprised of Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Hospital wants to build an entire new facility. While Stanford is a world renowned medical institution, the facility is dated. I can attest to that because Tracy has worked there for years in one of the old wings. Lucile Packed hospital is much newer but it's just too small, which I can also confirm from our in patient experience this past summer. The Pediatric Oncology unit which just opened is great, but still really too small. Let's face it, more kids need to have the care Emily is getting, I can not imagine being told, "Sorry, we don't have room to cure your child." but it could and probably does happen.

When I was touring the Ford Center after it opened, just walking the ward my myself I struck up a conversation with the Director of Patient relations and she told me all of what I just wrote above, and I told her, "if there is anything I can to help, please let me know" She said yes you can help, and she gave me her contact information. I followed up with an email and that's how this got started.

I believe what they want me to do is come with their delegation to the Palo Alto planning commission meetings on this matter and to give a heart felt testimonial of what Packard Hospital has meant to me. That will be easy, and if she wants tears I can easily conjure those up, I'll just bring a power point of picture of Emily's life, and talk about her and the diagnosis and treatment. I think we all deserve a updated hospital rather than a bigger shopping center and a new hotel. Honestly I can't imagine this is an issue. I know what it's like to need it. But Palo Alto probably wants the tax revenue of the new Mall. They also won't allow buildings over 5 floors I believe, and there are some real issues with traffic and the roads that need to be considered, not to mention we're in hard economic times. Those are the real, some some legitimate issues pushing back on the expansion.

I am so excited they want my help, I hope I can help make a change at this level, something that really matters.