The Greatest Paths Will Always Take You Uphill

We entered Panic Mode yesterday when the pharmacist broke the news to us on the phone: “I’m sorry, all of our compounding pharmacists have gone home for the weekend – the earliest we could get your son his medication is Monday.”

Yeah, I know – to be honest, this was totally our fault. We had failed to recognize the slowly depleting level of medicine in the prescription bottle in the fridge. We began to make a few more desperate calls, and thankfully the pharmacy at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City said they’d be able to have the medicine ready by the next morning. Though that would mean about a 45-minute drive, at least Asher would have the meds he needs to help him as his body is currently dealing with Shones Complex and heart failure.

We decided that I’d take both kiddos with me up to Salt Lake. That would give mommy a bit of time to relax and tackle the pile of laundry that’s been glaring at us all week. Plus, I knew that the boys would love to get out of the house for a while, so we loaded in the car and made our way north to Salt Lake.

Our two boys are under the impression that the pharmacy visit is only secondary to our true mission, and they know perfectly well that the real reason they came along was for the donuts at the University Hospital just across the sky-bridge.

This has become sort of a tradition for us. We enter Primary Children’s, take the elevator to the fourth floor, go to the end of the hallway, and then race across the skybridge to the University Hospital. If there’s time on the way back, they love to stop in on the third floor to see the Superman statue, as well as the entrance to the CICU on the second floor, where Asher has developed quite the reputation among the staff due to his many hospital stays.

After getting our donuts and wandering Primary Children’s for a while, we finally made our way back down to the pharmacy on the first floor to pick up Asher’s medication. Even here the boys have discovered a way to entertain themselves while we wait. They instantly ran to the shelf with the band aids in order to see which Disney Characters were printed on the boxes – today they found Olaf, from Disney’s Frozen, and a Minion as well.

We picked up the medicine and headed out to the car to make our way back home. As we pulled out of the parking garage and said goodbye to the hospital, I couldn’t help but wonder how, after all our family has had to endure at that hospital, we are still able to walk in as a family and smile, laugh, and make it an enjoyable experience? Weren’t these return trips meant to incite feelings of fear and anxiety in our minds?

Of course, it didn’t take too much effort to realize the answer to my question. While we’ve certainly had our share of lows at that hospital, some of our family’s greatest success stories were written within the walls of that building. Our family is now stronger and closer because of the experiences we shared together there.

To be honest, I’m actually quite grateful that the compounders at our regular pharmacy had gone home for the weekend. Had they not, we wouldn’t have had the chance to go up to Primary Children’s and be reminded of just how strengthening this whole CHD journey has been for our family. Don’t get me wrong – it’s definitely been tough – but it’s been said that the greatest paths will always take you uphill.