God. The Ultimate Travel Agent

We traveled today for surgery number two in Philadelphia. Our flight out of DTW (courtesy of Children’s Miracle Network for all four of us) was set for early evening. So we both worked a half day, rushed home, threw the bags in the van and were off to the airport.


The trip to the airport was decent, with a minor delay on the Southfield Freeway courtesy of some good old fashioned Michigan road construction. The Edward was kind enough to drive us again, making it an easy drop off. The kids are now pros when it comes to checking in at the airport. They each have their own suitcase that they get to wheel around. The bad part about that is they don’t always want to wheel it. So you can guess who has to wheel it for them…Becky, haha bet you thought I was going to say me.

The flight although a little bumpy was great, Addison enjoyed a movie and Tristan fell asleep. We landed on time, picked up the suitcases and hopped on the SEPTA train into the city. If you have followed our blog you will remember this is the point where I broke down on the last trip. (Recap: Becky had decided that walking from the train station to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) was the cheaper option. And 11 city blocks later…) Well, I was prepared for it this time and when she said “Let’s just walk it” again, I remained calm – cool - collective. (I am growing.) It was a nice warm night and the walk wasn’t bad. Of course Tristan and his 2 ½ year- old strong personality wanted to pull his own suitcase and walk at a 2 ½ year-old pace, so we journeyed at less than 1mph down the streets of Philadelphia. Did I mention this took a loooonnng time?!

We didn’t have as long as a walk this time though, because as it turns out we are not staying at the Ronald McDonald House. I called this morning to see if RMH would be able to accommodate us (we’ve been on the waiting list since February) and found out they were full. We were prepared for this because they called us earlier in the week telling us to find a back-up plan. Now financially this is not what we were hoping for, but God always has a plan and for Him it’s not a “back-up plan”.

Let’s go back in time a few days…since the call from RMH, I have been earnestly searching for a hotel space under $250/night in downtown Philly. I have explained Tristan’s story to many hotel managers and one graciously brought down the price to $159, which of course Becky was having a “hairy canary” over. We looked at every option imaginable…staying closer to the airport and taking the train in each day, renting a car and staying even further away, but any way we added it up it wasn’t drastically cutting the cost of this trip. We even had a friend at work offer up hotel points, but the hotels available were just too far outside of the city. So we prayed and hoped that RMH would work out again.

Now, here is where the Master Planner (aka God – who acts as a travel agent part-time apparently) enters the scene…Becky went to teach at college for her Saturday morning class on the 9th. Right before class starts one of her students comes up to her and was asking questions about Tristan’s surgery and where we would say. Becky told her about RMH and hoping to get in, and our back-up plan, which was 18 blocks away from the hospital. The student who works full-time in the hospitality industry mentions she is going to check to see if she can book us a lower rate at a different hotel in Philly. She said she would call Becky later in the day…

Saturday evening the phone rings and this individual (sent from God) booked us at the preferred hotel we wanted, but could not afford that is only three blocks from the hospital. She was also able to beat the rate for the hotel that we had as our “back-up plan”. We were thrilled. Wait…it gets better. This morning she texts Becky and says the hotel manager is dropping the cost even more to less than $75 a night – unheard of in the city!!! Plus, we are staying on the top floor with an amazing view, and access to the hotel club lounge which gives us breakfast privileges, select snacks throughout the day, and appetizers in the evening - for no additional costs. (Insert praise to God here.)

So, after a stress-free day of travel, we entered our home away from home for the next few days and thanked God for meeting our every need in His timing and His way. Then we ran out for pizza and now, I am writing this from my king size feather bed...(I won’t elaborate on that further) and know that I will sleep well tonight.

In the morning we are off to pre-surgery appointments at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) for blood, x-rays, a meeting with Dr. Flynn and we will find out the surgery time for Wednesday. Hopefully, tomorrow will be incident free and if we get out of the hospital early we might be able to catch a little history in the city or maybe Becky can sneak in a “cheese-steak”.

Thanks for your prayers for safety…we are blessed and thank you all for your support in helping us get here. – The West Family