Eight months ago today I got the call from Nurse Jane at United Healthcare. The call asking me if we wanted Ella to be part of the Diagnostic Odyssey Program. It was the call I never ever thought I would get, asking us to participate in a program that I had never heard of but always wondered if it existed. Eight months ago today we started on a path that in less than a week we will be leaping down.

A week from today we will have completed our first round of two days appointments with Ella at Boston Children’s Hospital. We will be seeing a handful of doctors and meeting with a nutritionist, audiologist, and social worker. We will be asked questions that we have been asked a million times before and we will be hoping and praying a new perspective will get us different answers.

We will be leaving the boys with friends, who I know are more than capable of handing high maintenance CJ and endless energy Jack. I am certain CJ will not want to ever leave and cross my fingers Jack doesn’t lose it when he figures out I am not coming right back. It’s the first time away from the kiddos for this long in forever. This mama will be heading to Boston filled with tons of emotion.

We have spent months gathering information, collecting data, and communicating with doctors, nurses, and counselors. Some days I would literally make five phone calls to get what was needed or to figure out scheduling. I have met some incredibly sweet and compassionate people on this journey and have felt the love they have for their vocation.

I was asked again this week, “Courtney, how do you take all of this on and still manage to hang onto your sanity?” The answer most days is, I fake it until I make it. There is no formula and there is no right way. Like most parents, I do whatever it takes because that’s what a parent does. Never gives up on their kids no matter what. Until my last breathe I will do whatever takes to insure we are all living our best life. Sanity is overrated.

This opportunity is an amazing one for Ella and we won’t take it for granted. I will be documenting it all and promise to give everyone updates. If you aren’t following us on Instagram now is the time. I will be using my stories like crazy.

Keep the prayers coming. Pray that we arrive safely, that we find some answers, and that Ella doesn’t get too overwhelmed and shut down on us. We need her at her best so the team can properly assess her. Also, pray my mama heart can handle are these feelings that will be coming my way.

Five days and counting.

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