Today is a new day...expect change

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a blog site. I listed as "Children's Hospitals - Penn River" because I want people who are searching for a children's hospital to stumble upon this site. Hopefully it works.

In response to my son's recent passing on September 24th, 2007, I wanted to construct a place for people like me and my husband now after Penn's death, and those that were like us prior to his surgery to go.

My ultimate goal with this site is to inform parents of the necessity of checking out the hospital at which your child will undergo surgery so that the same things that happened to our son, do not happen to your child, or your friend or family member's child.

On July 27th, our son Penn River Harding underwent open heart surgery to correct an AV Canal, a congenital heart defect associated with his diagnosed Trisomy 21, spontaneous translocation.

He never made it home. We began our journey at Methodist "Children's" Hospital in San Antonio, TX. BIG mistake. We transferred him to Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX on September 6th, 2007, much too late. Had he began his journey at a hospital that is specialized in care for children, in a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, like Texas Children's, he would be with us here today.

My big message is that despite your confidence in the surgeon, you must also do your research on the hospital at which your child will receive treatment. If a hospital is not dedicated to the care of children, such as Methodist Healthcare System, you are not going to get the best care possible, which is something you MUST do when considering a complicated surgery, like pediatric open heart.

If you have any questions, please email me at tadharding@hotmail.com, and I will be more than happy to get into contact with you.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two." This biblical verse gave me overwhelming inertia while my son was hospitalized, and still guides me today.