Relocating to Area - Looking for Le Bonheur Info Please (Memphis: apartments, condo)

[RonJon]

Hello All,

I ran across this site while looking up information, got excited and registered to post. Hopefully I will be a long time poster with your help!

I wish to impose on those who may be familiar with Le Bonheur in assisting me with some firepower to convince my wife that a move to the area will help retain our sanity and improve our quality of life, all the while providing the medical attention needed by our son. Her concerns are well-meaning, but I do not think well founded. If you will allow me a little background:

We have lived our whole lives in the 'burbs of Washington, DC. Springfield, VA to be exact. In my opinion, a real rat hole of an area I have wanted to escape for some time now. A little over 10 years ago my wife and I were blessed with our only child, Jonathan, whom we discovered only a day after his birth he was entering the world with major heart defects!

Through God's grace and the genius of one of the top pediatric cardiology surgeons in the country, Dr Akl, working right here in our own back yard, we now have a relatively happy and healthy 10 year old son. We have lost Dr. Akl to cancer not long ago and it may be off topic, but to understand our love and appreciation of this man, cut and paste the following link and have a look:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...6/10/24/AR2006 (broken link)

Anyway, over the first three years of his life, Jon's heart was totally reconstructed, and as Dr. Akl told me after one of his constructive surgeries Jon will never play football, but he'll golf, and that was the best news I could have ever heard! Yet, Jon does have limitations - the surgery left him with scar tissue across his heart, resulting in the need for a pace maker, (has had one now since the age of 3) and a slightly leaky heart valve which has been under the watchful eyes of his cardiologists since the end of the last constructive surgery, but it has neither improved or worsened over the years. Other than pace maker swap-outs every few years, Jon has been pretty much surgery free for the past seven years.

I will spare you all the hows and whys, but we now have the opportunity to get out of DC in a very easy fashion...work and money will allow for it, yet when I discuss moving out of this armpit of an area I am met with the end of discussion statements that goes something like this:

1. "We can't leave Jon's pediatric cardiologist group. They worked for Dr. Akl and the heart reconstruction was a procedure that only Dr. Akl performed and only the cardiology group knows how to continue follow up or respond if something begins to go wrong"

2. "Dr. Akl didn't know if his procedure would last as Jon grows and he may very well need more surgery, or even a heart transplant sometime in his life"

(We originally thought the Doctor's procedure was very unique, but unfortunately for all children, it is far to common...A hypo-plastic left heart. The left chambers of the heart were completely under-developed and could not be repaired, therefore the heart was rebuilt to operate on two-chambers versus the normal four. Jon runs and jumps and plays normally with other kids - he just gets tired faster than they do...but when he does, he sits, rests, and jumps back in the game! And as for the time expectancy of the procedure, the Doctor did tell me, in almost a joking manner, that he would guarantee the surgery for 12 years. When I asked why only twelve, he laughed and said he has been doing this procedure for twelve years and all of his patients are doing fine...he finished that by saying next year, I may tell you I guarantee 13 years . Again, sounded good to me at that point in our lives)

3. "Jon's pace maker needs replacement every two years or so when the battery runs down, and that also has to be done by surgeons that know Jon, and Dr Akl's procedure"

So, I have asked the wife if she has talked to the cardiologists here about pediatric cardiology care in the Memphis area, and I am not discounting her as being untruthful, but she states she has and the doctors tell her they know very little about it. I do find that a little hard to believe with Le Bonheur there in Memphis...and St Jude's, although SJ seems directed more towards diseases.

Now, I have not called his cardiology group myself, but I will. Of course we feel very close to those doctors and the staff...Jon gets Christmas and birthday presents sent to him each year, and they throw annual Heart Patient Picnics for all of the kids, so they feel like extended family to us.

I will also be calling Le Bonheur and looking a pediatric cardiologist groups in the area...I am sure there are several practices around that hospital. But the real magic of forums such as this is the personal knowledge of people in the area who can relay information and "opinions" without prejudice or concern for lawsuits. Thank goodness for that!

So listen, if you have read this far, bless you. Again, if you have any ammo I can use, or should know about in the opposite direction, please let me know. Maybe I will soon be on the other side of this forum answering questions of potential neighbors.

Best,

Jon's Dad, Ron

[strumpeace]

Very touching story. I wish your son, you, and your family all the best.

Unfortunately, I do not know much about LeBonheur. I do, however, know a little about the cardio unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Sadly, Dr. Jonathan Drummond-Webb, who was their shining star, ended his life a few years ago -- However, the work goes on. (ABC ran a four week long 'reality show' about the unit called 'ICU' a few years ago.) When considering pediatric hospitals that have been pioneers in cardiology in our area of the world, you may want to give ACH serious consideration. Little Rock is a mere two hours from Memphis, btw.

[Pearlbob]

Good luck, LBCMC is a great facility, however I know nothing about their practices. They are not affiliate with St. Jude however; SJ has nothing to do with cardiology. Cancer, sickle cell, and HIV are the main diseases they cover.

Check their website and look at their cardiology section, if they have one. I agree that UA Children's is also one of the best, or at least was at one time.

[RonJon]

Strum and Pearl - thank you both so much for your fast thoughts and well wishes...I do take a great deal of comfort knowing that Children's in Arkansas is not so far away...I have done a great deal of research on Le Bonheur, and they do speak of their cardiology department, but it is nice to get thoughts form those in the area.

Let me know if you hear of anything...as I go through the research, I am finding nothing but good things!!!!

Best,

Ron

[Pearlbob]

Doing a quick search I've also seen Texas Children's and St. Louis Children's pop up. Is there a specific reason you'd want Memphis? I know CHOP in Philly and Rainbow Babies in Cleveland are 2 of the best and would be closer to you.

[Pearlbob]

And also....not to rain on the parade, but you mention hating DC, called it an "armpit"....I do not think Memphis is any better in terms of crime, things to do, etc. I would guess we have a lot less here, or at least a lot different things than you'd be used to in such a high class metro city (at least SOME areas of DC are upper class.....)

[RonJon]

Pearl,

Thanks for the concern...We are actually moving just across the line in DeSoto County, but as you know, that's a suburb of Memphis...I will make it brief:

I was a young cop when my wife and I met...spent all my money on fishing and after work partying, etc...was never smart enough to get involved in the DC housing market. I could get local apartments for almost nothing because they wanted cops to live there. My wife and I had actually saved upa sizable down payment for a home when our son was born but thoughts of buying a house were the last thing on our mind at the time.

It's 10 years down the road and in the DC area I can't get a condo for less than $350k and buying a house without selling another home here is out of the question. Quick example, the 45 year old home we live now just sold for $525k (We have some time to get out, so we are okay), but there is no way we could come up with enough down payment to make the mortgage affordable. A puny $10k down would still result in mortgage payments of several thousand dollars a month. While we will certainly upgrade to a house we can afford there, the comparable house to this one in DeSoto is around $129k. A nice down payment places a mortgage well below $1,000 a month.l

Bottom line, we can survive in DC, but we cannot flourish!!! We can live hand to mouth here and never get ahead, or we can gives ourselves and our son the quality of life I think we all deserve.

[RonJon]

Pearl,

PS...thanks for looking at the other national hospitals...your attention is very kind!!!

[Pearlbob]

Ahhh okay. Well if you are already moving here, no point in making suggestions for other hospitals around the country

If all you need is a pediatric cardiologist to follow your son, there should be plenty here, mainly at LBCMC. If you need something specialized, you may have to go elsewhere, I'm not sure about how large the cardio unit there is. I think you said he is 13 now? Good thing is that he's almost to the point where he can be treated as an adult, but an adult cardiologist, which you can find almost anywhere.

[tigergal]

Hi.

I'm very familiar with LeBonheur on two fronts. My husband has worked for Methodist LeBonheur for twenty years (not in the medical field)and our daughter's still here (and going strong at 8) because of the doctors at Methodist-LeBonheur Healthcare.

They have an excellent cardiology department and are the only only pediatric cardiovasuclar program in the region. They are teamed with St. Jude in many ways (though not cardiovascular, though the quality of the work of LeBonheur is showcased by their work in conjunction with St. Jude). LeBonheur works hand in hand with University of Tennessee's med school. Dr. Myers is the head of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at both LeBonheur and UT. Here's a discussion of him here. <b>Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center</b> And The University of Tennessee Name Chief Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon - News, Search Jobs, Events

The University of Tennessee Bowld Transplant Center is actually part of Methodist University Hospital. (LeBonheur is the pediatric arm of Methodist Hospital. Perhaps there's more information around about Methodist for your needs.)

I'd say I'd trust my child to LeBonheur, but I already have many times in her life. She was born with a less than 3% chance of survival, let alone a healthy outcome. Today, she is healthy, happy and bright with only allergies as a health issue to concern her, despite being born with serious health problems that had her hospitalized for the first 4 months of her life.

BTW, I wouldn't promote LeBonheur just because the hubby works there. If I thought it wasn't a great place for a kid to be treated, I wouldn't say it. I know what it's like to be on your side of the issue.


LeBonheur does great work. I'm looking at her right now.