Greetings from Camden, NJ

We got the call from the Ronald McDonald House last Wednesday around 5pm, and by 8:30 we had made our way there from King of Prussia and checked in. The room is pretty nice and spacious and despite the presence of many children things are surprisingly quiet. Camden is not the loveliest of places, but it is very convenient to Philadelphia and to CHOP. There is a public transport hub right across the street, and yesterday we took the train in to visit some friends who live in the city.

We had a successful 37 week appointment today. Everything is progressing just fine and the doctor said that going into labor is no longer a concern since Viv is fully developed. Even though we're hoping for labor to occur naturally, we did schedule an induction for the evening of March 26. We're hoping that Viv takes matters into her own hands though and moves the timeline up.

After another routine appointment, we received a reality check during a tour of the delivery room and the adjacent room where a team of doctors will immediately intubate and try to stabilize Viv. It's moments like these when we remember just how abnormal our situation is. We also met with the neonatologist, who walked us through some not-so-pleasant things we already knew about Viv's condition and then answered some questions that we (mostly Allison) had. It's hard to hear about all the things that can go wrong, but we also understand that this is the reality of the situation. Vivienne's defect is severe, and there's no point in sugarcoating it. It's the doctors' job to keep us informed, and it's our job to be prepared for a variety of outcomes.

There has been so much work to do getting to this point and so many little milestones to meet that we always had some minor task or benchmark to keep us occupied. Now we're nearing the end of the pregnancy, and it's unsettling and scary to know that this phase is coming to a close. Soon it will be all up to Vivienne and her tiny lungs, and all we will be able to do is love her and hope she's able to beat the odds.