Parent blog: Whitney and Zacharia Goodsell
In their own words
Whitney and Zacharia Goodsell
Denver, Iowa
At my 12-week ultrasound in February 2019, my local doctors discovered Zane had fetal tachycardia, an abnormal increase in heart rate, and I was referred to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. We had appointments once a month to every couple of weeks throughout my pregnancy. Our son’s fetal tachycardia is very uncommon and was made a little more difficult with me having a history of supraventricular tachycardia, as well.
We saw Benjamin Reinking, MD, along with Brenda Haag, RN, BSN, most of the time and had the pleasure of meeting Ian Law, MD, as well. Once Zane was born then we got paired up with Luis Ochoa, MD, in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital who is now Zane’s pediatric cardiologist.
Our experience with UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital has been amazing. The doctors there were so amazing, and we feel like we grew such a strong relationship with Dr. Reinking and Brenda during one of the scariest times of our lives. We were never sure what we were going to hear at each appointment and Dr. Reinking was very professional and told us as it was and was very forthcoming with all the possibilities. He gave us options and was willing to try different treatment plans with us. I needed to be admitted to begin treatment for my baby’s heart rate and he told me to go home to celebrate Mother’s Day with my daughter and come back the following week to start the admission process for the medication. What a sweet guy, seriously! We truly appreciated that.
Brenda always called us to discuss the previous day’s appointment and to answer any questions and confirm the next step or appointment. Dr. Reinking always answered all our questions and even the grandparents’ questions, as well, as they often came to some appointments too! We are all medical professionals, so we had lots of in-depth questions. He told us what to expect once we would deliver.
Once Zane was born, we felt like we were as prepared as possible. I always needed to know what was going to happen next and what COULD happen and if it did what would then happen; Dr. Reinking was amazing at being very honest and explaining it all to me so I had time to process it all. Dr. Ochoa was also so kind to us all and always answered questions, very personable, and knowledgeable. We look forward to our appointments with him!
I would tell others they are in wonderful hands at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The flow of how everything comes together from the hospital stay to the appointments and the communication behind the scenes and compassion from the doctors and nurses is truly genuine. We feel like our voices are heard at appointments and feel comfortable with the plan when we leave.