UC Davis holds a piece of our heart.

Well, as I began this post this morning, I was inturrupted by the telephone ringing. Usually it wouldn't really make much of a difference, but as I looked down at the caller id my heart felt a slight twinge. It read:::

UC Davis Medical Center

Even though there is no doctor or nurse on the other side anymore calling in regards to my Savannah, I don't think my heart will ever fully repair from the last phone call recieved from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. There have been the occasional phone calls since she passed from the financial department, in working with us to get our insurance, and Savannah's insurance taken care of. I just can't help it... My heart still jumps a little. But I do know the PICU number by heart, afterall I only called it about a million times. And this was the exact number I was reading. {I am even familiar with their private lines.}

After Savannah passed, I missed the nurses so badly. I made my husband call down there with me, just to say hi. I love each one of them dearly. They really do, do God's work. And I've said before they will always be our family. Her family.

On the days following, as we were running around making funeral arrangements, I said I needed to stop and get a card. I read through what seems like thousands of thank you cards, to make sure I picked the perfect one. I proceeded to write a long heartfelt letter on why we appreciate them, and why we didn't want them to feel like they failed us or Savannah. Because they didn't, and they hadn't.

Their hearts were shattered August 31st, 2010. They said that Savannah had changed all of thier lives. That they hadn't had a baby, let alone a family that touched them like we had, in the PICU for a very long time. Each one of them cried on Savannah's last night. One nurse had to be walked out to her car when shift change came because she was emotionally broken. Without a doubt in my mind, they were angels hand picked from God to watch over her, even though he knew the outcome of it all. 

And on top of the card, and the letter, I enclosed a DVD of the photo slideshow I made for Savannah's funeral, and a picture of her for them to hang on their "happily ever after wall." I wanted them to know that Savannah was a "happily ever after." 

I sent that back in September. We called to check up and make sure they recieved it. They hadn't.

Until today... when the phone rang.

It was Laura Kenny. Our sweet sweet Laura. She is the Nurse Coordinator of the ECMO program at Davis, and she spent many nights taking on alot of extra hours and less time with her own family so she could be the one to be with Savannah.

She told me that they recieved the video...

She said they all watched it... more than once...

She said the letter, the card, the video, and the picture

all meant more to them then we would ever know...

And that no one had ever done anything like that for them before.

{Atleast not with a baby who passed I'm sure}...

She then asked if I would mind if Savannah's video

became apart of the ECMO training class that they teach at UC Davis.

I said we would be honored.

She then asked if I would mind if Savannah's video 

became apart of a new class they were starting,

"The end of Life." 

I told her we would love that.

She then told me, that not a day goes by that they don't think of us.

We chit chatted for a little while longer, and I hung up the phone.

I tried to tell my husband all that was said through very touched tears. He became teary eyed as well. We really are honored. Now we know that Savannah has truly become, a permanent peice of UC Davis' medical foundation. She was sent from God to help change the world.

{In case you missed it, here is the link to
Savannah's now UC Davis slideshow:}

Savannah's Story