As I faced this day, so much was running through my mind. First and foremost, I felt fear. Vicki was with Allison and I was alone.

6:30 am rolled around quickly. The attendants in masks came and took my baby girl back to the sterile, cold operating room to perform a surgery nothing short of a miracle. While Allison was in surgery, I couldn´t sit still, so I decided to throw myself in my work, and spent time in TOSH just surveying all the going’s on in this VERY IMPRESSIVE place. I was overwhelmed with how smoothly and efficiently the operations were run. I was amazed at the professionalism and the overall attitude of the staff. Off the chart customer service! Even the kitchen worker who was so kind to personally deliver the English muffin I ordered was exceptional with his service. The English muffin even had fruit carved into a delightful design on the side of the take-out container. Incredible!

I finally requested some time to speak with the DON who then took me to meet the Administrator. I asked a million questions. When they found out I was an administrator, they stopped what they were doing and for about an hour they took me to the areas of the hospital where the general population is not allowed. Everything - absolutely everything - was the opposite of what I would call "average."

I have spent a majority of my career working in acute care or in assisted living, so I know what I mean when I say "average." Average has become acceptable in our culture. Sad as it is, when someone is just average, that is viewed today as exceptional. Well, there was NOTHING average today. I saw what exceptional was first hand.

The same goes for the surgeon.

When I met Dr. Shahinian on Monday, I quickly realized nothing about him was average either. Not one thing. He was a tall, handsome and very distinguished man who obviously demands perfection from the staff. He seemed was pretty much cream of the crop as far as his knowledge of his specialty. He was not arrogant, but he was demanding - in a good way. He was in a very expensive business suit and presented Allison´s case (a life-threatening arachnoid brain cyst which was pressing on the right cerebellum, then wrapping around the brain stem and continuing to grow towards the left cerebellum, slowly disabling her walk) through MRI pictures displayed on a high def television screen. Both he and his office was state-of-the-art. He answered every question we asked with a direct, but polite answer. He held nothing back, but spoke in a way that was very kind and gentle as what he saw staring at him was a scared little girl and her panicked mom. When we left, we felt completely safe in the hands of this miracle doctor.

Today I saw him once again. Only this time in a different setting and in scrubs, post surgery. What I experienced was the same thing I experienced on Monday. He sat down with us, went through the pictures of this miracle surgery frame by frame, all while treating us as royalty, offering to personally go get us food or drink. It wasn’t fake at all. It was impressive!

But what delighted me the most was what others at the hospital had to say about him. The entire building literally WORSHIPED this man! Yes, he is known worldwide for his unique ability with this type surgery. To all he comes in contact with, he is a GOD and a Savior. But the hospital staff think he´s the greatest too! Only they think he is great because he sees himself as their equal - from the kitchen to the administration - he treats all as his equal with no ego. WOW! A man who per surgery is paid $40,000-$80,000/hr, he goes out of his way to go to the kitchen to get the little lady (not his patient) in a wheelchair a glass of water before he comes to speak with us. THAT is not average!

Observing all that has taken place in and around the miracle of Allison this week, I began to reali