It's hard not to be in awe of the staff at Children's Hospital Boston, from the support staff to the nurses to the cardiologists to the surgeons. Everyone moves and works together as a finely tuned machine - they're incredible in every aspect of the word.

When we first met Sammy's surgeon, the impression was everything we expected a pediatric heart surgeon at one of the top hospitals in the world to be: intelligent. Well-spoken. Confident, if not slightly cocky. We told ourselves that we wouldn't want him any other way - the last thing you want is someone unsure of themselves working on your child's tiny, tiny heart! Could you imagine? "Hey... you, nurse - what do you think I should do next?" Eeek!

Then we met him again before Sammy's second surgery, and this time I saw a whole new side to him. He was kind and reassuring. That cockiness we saw in those overwhelming first few days after Sammy's birth was replaced by someone who really seemed to understand the terror of handing over your child. He was still confident, but this time that awe was replaced with a deep respect for him and what he does - and what he was about to do to our child.

I just received an email from another heart mom who informed me that CHB is doing a mission in Ghana:

A 24-member team from the Cardiovascular Program undertook a one-week mission to provide cardiac care to needy children in Ghana. These clinical services are unavailable to the population of 25 million Ghanaians due to lack of infrastructure, chronic economic problems and lack of specialized training. Over the course of the week, 50 children were evaluated and eight were selected for surgical repair. We provided all the diagnostic, operating room and ICU equipment necessary through generous donations to our mission. We were able to provide same high quality care that we have come to expect within our cardiovascular program in Boston.

Sure enough, Sammy's surgeon was there. Here's a link to his profile. Amazing. I have such respect for those who help bring medical care to areas lacking in the quality of care we are so blessed to have here in the U.S. According to the site, "The country contains 25 million inhabitants and exactly 25 trained cardiologists -- one for every one million inhabitants, as opposed to one in ten thousand in the developed world."

My respect for CHB and Dr. Fynn-Thompson just deepened. Each day I am beyond grateful that we live so close to CHB, and I often think about what it would have been like had Sammy been born elsewhere in the world. It's very likely he wouldn't be here with us today. While I dread the coming weeks as we prepare for the Fontan, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude that we have such great care and such a compassionate, skilled surgeon just miles down the road from us.

Pretty darn cool. You go with your bad self, FFT! :-)