During my lunch today (Friday) I went to visit Michelle at Mott Children's Hospital here at U of M (I work here now). Iole was there with her today. Michelle looks fabulous! Obviously her heart is pumping much more efficiently because the color to her face, arms and legs is pink and healthy! She wasn't as drowsy today as she was yesterday, and her alertness, when she isn't hitting the morphine button, is pretty good.

At U of M patients who have congenital heart defects as children are treated at Mott Children's Hospital. This is because almost all of the physicians and surgeons who practice adult pediatric cardiology are located in Mott. This makes is much easier for surgeons to keep track of their pediatric and adult-pediatric patients at the same time because the main hospital is physically separate from the children's hospital. When the new Women's and Children's hospital opens in 2010 there will be more space for adults treated for the same cardiac conditions as children in the children's hospital area. Until then, they are all very close together in the same ICU unit in Mott.

The University will also open a new CardioVascular Center next year (a project for which I am responsible for updating the financial model).

While children won't be treated in the new CardioVascular Center, the CVC project, along with re-building Mott Children's Hospital, is part of the University's effort to provide top level cardiac care for patients of all ages. If the care Michelle is receiving is standard, then U of M is doing all the right things!

- Robin

--Robin Wagner
<mailto:[email protected]>