Carter Luke Vermilyea - Part 12

Carter was born on Friday and he had his first pediatrician’s appointment on Tuesday. He had shown some signs of jaundice and we were just going in for them to see how he was doing. Ryan didn’t go with me because he had come down with a stomach virus overnight. My mom gladly went with me though. As we waited to see the doctor, I remember asking my mom, “So, do I tell them about Carter’s arm before I unwrap him from the blanket, or do I just let her see and see what she says?” I knew I was going to be emotional about it either way.

Dr. Rice and the nurse came in and when they were oohing and aahhing over him I went ahead and told the doctor about his arm/hand situation. She was SO loving! She checked out his arm and was just real encouraging to me. I cried while she shared about her college roommate who had an arm just like Carter’s. She shared about how she became so adept at using her arm, that most people didn’t even notice she was missing anything. It wasn’t that Dr. Rice was trying to tell me people wouldn’t notice, but she was trying to encourage me that he will use that arm and be able to do most anything. I was amazed that our pediatrician had a close relationship with someone like Carter. Wow. I have no doubt that God ordained that appointment. It was encouraging.

Dr.Rice said that somewhere down the road she would put us in contact with a pediatric orthopedic doctor. I told her we had gone ahead on our own and made an appointment with someone we knew of for the next morning. I asked her if we should go now, and she encouraged us to keep the appointment. She said that it would be good for us to hear what the orthopedic doctor had to say and be encouraged by him also.

So, I left there emotional and encouraged. Amazed that God had placed Dr. Rice in our life for a day such as this. We were really excited for our appointment the next day.