I was invited to a super secret bloggers night out at the new Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center satellite location in Green Township. I received the email and thought “wow, I wonder why I was invited.” I was super excited though. I wanted to see this new location that will offer urgent care and they were promising dinner and a super cool swag bag (it was super cool). Plus, everyone who follows this blog knows how much Cincinnati Children’s means to me. As soon as I arrived and starting to talking to other guests, I quickly realized why I was chosen. I blog about Children’s Hospital a lot. I also blog about my son’s rare disease – Histio. The public relations staff had seen my blog and thought I’d be a good fit for this. As I talked to other guests, I realized they also blog about Children’s Hospital, their experiences and their children’s rare diseases. Wow!

I was in a room with several parents who have children with rare diseases. I couldn’t believe it. And then… I couldn’t believe the emotion that filled my whole body. I was overwhelmed. Here are a bunch of people who can actually relate to me. None of them are going to say “everything happens for a reason” or “God only gives you what you can handle.” Although I believe in those things, they are not comforting when you have a sick child. None of them are going to ask me about life expectancy (luckily Joey’s prognosis is good). Not one of them asked me how I can stay so strong because they all get that it’s not a choice. No one tilted their head and sadly asked “how is he?” They all just got it. Please don’t get me wrong. I appreciate everyone’s concern and I understand that most people just have no idea what to say to me.

And the most amazing part was how positive everyone was. I was in a room full of parents with children who have rare diseases and everyone was super positive and upbeat. Everyone talked about how writing has been therapeutic, how getting involved with the hospital has helped them, how they didn’t view any of it as a problem but just as another challenge in life and no one focused on whether or not their child had a life expectancy but instead how they are working toward finding a cure. It was truly therapeutic to talk these parents. In fact, some of us talked about getting together on a regular basis. Amazing is the only way I know how to describe this.

So if you live in the Green Township area, you might want to know more about the facility. It was really cool! It is extremely user-friendly with several self check-ins, information desks on every floor, color coded ceilings and floors to lead you to the right department and fun paintings on the walls. One of my favorite things was the lava dots on the floor. They actually change colors (see picture). This facility offers an orthopedic center, physical therapy, speech and occupational therapy, hearing tests, MRI and x-ray services, an urgent care and much more.

The new facility at 5899 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati, April 29. They will have a grand opening celebration on April 20 from 11-2. Families are invited to enjoy food, tours and fun activities.

Hallway

OT room

Lava dots

Lava Dots!

welcoming space

One of the hallways