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[pnwmom]

314. That's true. And that's another reason they were better off that the surgery was moved

out of Las Vegas and to Los Angeles, where they were FAR more likely to have a specialist who had dealt with Wilm's with some frequency, and not someone who was excited to get a surgery he didn't get to do very often -- AND a hospital that offered excellent care, not one near the bottom of national rankings.

All of this started because the parents were confronted with the sudden, shocking advice to remove the girl's kidney through open abdominal surgery -- by a doctor who wouldn't have been an expert in this (because national experts don't end up in so-so hospitals in Nevada, where they won't see many challenging cases.) The parents were RIGHT to be skeptical and to immediately want a second opinion, even when he told them he thought it was stage 4 (which is a staging that is done post-surgery, not pre-surgery.)

And after that rocky start with the medical community, and the surprise when they got to LA and found out that the surgery had been scheduled without any further testing (whether or not that was justified, they hadn't been prepared for it), I understand why this traumatized mother needed some time to adjust to what was happening.

ON UPDATE: I have dealt with the maelstrom of feelings a parent undergoes when confronted with the possibility that a child has a life threatening illness. Nothing could be more devastating. So maybe that's why I have more sympathy for the parents here than some people do. Also, in my child's case, thank goodness time proved the doctors were wrong, and no surgeries or toxic treatments were ever necessary. But I know how these parents must have felt when they got the diagnosis. And I don't blame them for feeling panicked or for wanting the best care possible. And that wouldn't be anywhere in Nevada, for a rare disease requiring specialist care.