The newest member of "Team Wren" ....

..... is a jolly 'ol Scottish lad named Alexander Duncan, or as I've nicknamed him: Dr. Genius. Seriously, this guy is insanely brilliant. And he has spent the last 40+ years researching and treating thrombosis patients just like me.

Most hematologists are actually practicing as an oncologist/hematologist, this was the case with my previous doc, Dr. Munjal, and 95% of other hematologists in practice. These doctors must have a wide range of specialty .... they primarily treat cancer patients and as such they usually specialize in bone marrow, stem cell transplants, and the like. The result is that these doctors, though considered "hematologists", only end up with a basic working knowledge of the less-common hematologic issues like Protein S Deficiency. Dr. Genius, on the other hand, does zero oncology. And he does not specialize in a wide range of hematology problems .... instead his entire career has focused on basically TWO THINGS: 1) Congenital and Acquired Thrombophilia (yep, that's me); and 2) Complications of pregnancy due to hemostasis (hello! me again). He literally sees more thrombosis patients in a week than most "specialists" will see in a year (or at least, that's what he told me!).

He is widely published, highly regarded as an expert, and patients travel from all over the country to see him. Not to mention, he's kind of like a big teddy bear with his irresistible Scottish accent and his grandpa-like demeanor. How fortunate I am that he practices in Atlanta, and moreover that he is now officially the newest member of "Team Wren". I would love to brag and say that I researched this guy and sought him out for his clinical specialty, moving mountains in order to score an appointment with him ... but that's not so. The truth is that I landed in this guys' lap without even knowing it, all of which was God's work and I was oblivious at the time. I consider this the first miracle of Pregnancy #4, and the details are just too cool not to share....

On May 13th I was having my annual "pow-wow" with Dr. Munjal, my hematologist of almost 4 years. Outside of pregnancy, I just see her once a year to check on my numbers and make sure all is well. My last visit with her had been shortly after Jamin was born (April '09), and at that time they actually scheduled my next visit for May 13, 2010. So I literally had this appointment written on my calendar for a full year. Mid-way through our visit, Dr. Munjal began telling me some things about Protein S Deficiency that totally didn't make sense to me .... things which were 180 degrees contrary to everything she had told me for the previous 3.5 years, and things which were completely contrary to everything I'd read and researched.

This was not the first time I'd had a bad experience at her office. Recall Nurse Know-Nothing advising me to "google it" last year when my Protein S #s were dangerously low. There were other little things too, which bothered me from time to time but I ignored them b/c the thought of switching doctors was too overwhelming.

So here I sat in her office that Thursday afternoon, completely dumbfounded and confused by these crazy things she was telling me, feeling like I was in the twilight zone or something. Always being one to wear my feelings clearly on my face, Dr. Munjal obviously noticed my displeasure and finally asked if I wanted a second opinion. I thought for a moment and then agreed to her offer.

She proceeded to refer me to her own partner, at a second office .... gee thanks. When I caught on to that I told them NO THANK YOU, I would like a referral to someone outside of this practice please. The nurse suggested Emory, and I said fine.

A few moments later I was sitting at the receptionist's desk while she set up my referral over the phone and faxed all my medical records over to Emory. I asked her the name of the doctor I would be seeing, she told me she didn't know -- it was a large group with many doctors and they would decide who wanted to see me once my referral went through. I left there annoyed at my experience with my doctor of almost 4 years, but feeling grateful that I would be getting someone else soon who would probably be better in the long run. I wouldn't really need to see them for another year anyways so in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a super big deal.

TWO DAYS LATER I DISCOVERED I WAS PREGNANT.

And immediately it became a super big deal! So as I laid there on the bathroom floor that Saturday night bawling my eyes out, with all the fears hitting me like a ton of bricks, it suddenly occured to me: I don't even have a doctor right now!!! Could there possibly BE a worse time to be in-between hematologists?!? Of course, you know the rest .... I completely freaked out because, well, I am Kristi afterall, and that's what I do.

Monday morning I got a call from a lovely lady at Emory who had received my referral and wanted to bring me in sometime in July or August for a consultation. I sheepishly explained ...... "well, something major has changed ..... uhhhhh ..... I'm pregnant." She managed a polite "Oh my!!" and immediately understanding that July or August would not work, she scheduled me to come in within a matter of days. Just as we were hanging up the phone I asked her the name of the doctor I would be seeing. She gave my Dr. Genius' name .... which I scribbled on a piece of paper .... and as soon as I hung up with her I consulted my good friend, Google. When I pulled up Dr. Duncan's profile on Emory's website I nearly fell outta my chair. Here I had just obliviously fallen into the lap of one of the most highly esteemed experts at precisely the time when I would be needing him most.

Instantly it hit me that God had orchestrated this entire thing, and for the first time in days I stopped crying and felt a bit of peace knowing that God was in control of this entire pregnancy and He already had all the details figured out for me.

Dr. Duncan is the Medical Director of the Special Coagulation Laboratory at Emory University Hospital. He is also the Medical Director of Emory University Hospital's Hemapheresis Unit. And now he's been appointed as the Hematology Director of Douglasville's own Team Wren, which I'm certain has to be the single most minuscule accomplishment of his career but nonetheless I'm quite thrilled to have him!!