[My] Life in Wisconsin

Showing posts with label mayo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mayo. Show all posts

Good Grrrrrief!

 

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Casey's bed tag...
"Endoscopic UltraSound"

Not sure what the final "E" was for...
Maybe to tag her as an 'experiment'?



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Rochester Welcomes You by you.
A misnomer, this sign...
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Good Morning Everyone!
We are home from Mayo once again.
Sadly, no wiser than we left.

And I have been battling a migraine since our return.
Not fun at all.

****IMPORTANT:
If any of you received text messages from CaseyFace on Friday, please know that she was more than 'under the influence' after her procedure.
(Mad as hell, and very much
misunderstanding what the doctor had told her)...

We left on Thursday...
... and during another new attack for her...
Knowing Mayo would do her blood work and let us know what was going on with her amylase and lipase counts.
She has not had any pain pills in a few weeks now, and has put herself through hell with that too.
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Casey and Punk by you.
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She slept for the most part after we finally found a hotel ~as did Punk.
(I say 'finally' ~because the fair was "happening" in Rochester, and there were no rooms anywhere).

Oh wait, yes there were... AND, we even had a choice!

Either we paid an ungodly amount to leave Punk in the car, or at another place, to sleep in one bed.
(A twin bed at that)!
hehehe
That's not going to work...

So on the phone with Casey's wonderful man. Greg googled everything for us, and found us a room at Stewartville. (Just a hop, skip and a jump down the road from Rochester).
I'd much rather be out of town anyway, so this was definitely not a problem.
I called there.
The people (Eastern Indian) were extremely difficult to understand on the phone.
But upon our arrival, were the most decent people I have ever dealt with in any hotel.

After getting settled in, (in our pristine and perfect room), we ordered from one of the town menus.
One pizza place offered Homemade Chicken Pot Pie.
Casey cannot eat pizza since her pancreas has gone haywire; so we both ordered a serving of their pie.
Casey was even bold enough to add some BBQ wings to go along with hers.
To say that these pies rivaled my own would be true. hehehe
OMG, but they were SO good!!!
Casey also had remarked that her wings were also the best she has ever ordered anywhere.
(She'd eaten about 4 bites of her pie before her pancreas violently objected to it, ~ so she was 'stuck' eating those wings)...

Punk simply drooled...
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Punk, waiting to leave by you.
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They both slept until I woke them at 10:30AM. We had to be out of the room by 11; which worked out perfectly to get to Mayo for Casey's appointment at noon.
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Placing her IV by you.
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Something funny? by you.
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The nurses were quite kind...
Mayo had a visiting doctor,
(Clain), from USC who specializes in gastrointestinal stuff; a leading doctor on the pancreas.
He was also quite rude, not allowing Casey to say a word. When she did ask a question, he replied that she did not want to be telling him how to do his job.
WHAT?!?
All she did was ask a question of him!!!

So let's just get this over and done with.
First to sign a paper that authorized them to to 'use' her as a study patient.
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Casey- Signed Consent by you.
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They had found her interesting enough to place her within this group.
blah blah blah.
For Pete's sakes, who the heck cares about all of this?
Just please fix her already???
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Almost ready for surgery by you.
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Whenever one gets poked in the pancreas, it sets off an attack. This has always been her reaction to her EUS procedures, or the ERCP's she has had.
Any probing really p*sses off her pancreas.
Friday was no different.
She returned to the recovery room in pain.
They gave her Demerol, (25 mgs.), which did not even touch her pain.
Then finally gave her a hypo of Dilaudid.
That worked, and we would be able to keep our appointment for her results across the street for 4:30.

We used the skywalk...
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Casey by you.
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At this appointment, her doctor, (Kisiel), tried to explain to her the possible scenario of nerve damage from Froedtert's surgeries; and the possible inability they would have to control her pain. At some point, the dilaudid really kicked in... and she got everything a little mixed up.
Reflect back to my note about her text msgs... At no point did he say she was an addict. Good grief, she has gone many months at times with no relief at all.
This is a very touchy subject for us both, especially given what July had thrown our way.

Back to Dr. Kisiel.
Her EUS was unremarkable. No calcium deposits etc. (I know too, that the good Dr Clain had made up his mind about her pancreas even before he went in and looked around).
One gets to 'peg' these certain personalities after these many years of watching, ~listening to the nurses and doctors; seeing/reading their body language (that may/may not betray their words).

And so, like I said before, we know nothing more than what we did before we left home.

She is still in pain, with no good explanations, or help, or relief offered to her.
I for one, would LOVE to be a fly on the wall if her doctor here would ever be in the same room with this Dr. Clain. After all his work with her here, and to have his lab results simply dismissed by Mayo.
They also threw out her bloodwork from the hospitals here because it wasn't on their scale.

We drove home that night.
I didn't mean to, as I had been up since 4 AM.
But again, there were no rooms within a couple hundred mile radius of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, because of the EAA Convention. (CLICK for info).

I was dog tired, and my head was just starting to act up. I dropped Casey off at her place. Punk and I came home to a hot stuffy house.

We will know more once she speaks with her doctor here, and has him all filled in. I promise to keep you all informed.

For now, it will be back to my quiet dark bedroom... Maybe a nap?

I hope you are all having a grand weekend!

XOXO
Anne

Originally posted to my Y!360, Sunday August 3, 2008 - 09:22am (CDT)

I See It...

Good Morning Everyone;

Time is at a premium right now, so I will keep this short...

After a terribly painful trip for herself, Casey is sound asleep- and when we get to Mayo, they will knock her out for her EUS.
Hopefully we can get results right away.


I was going through a few pics on my Flickr account and I found these two...
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angelCnv0888

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I have no problem seeing a resemblance.
Don't you see it too?

XOXO
Me

~

My Brother and I...

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"My Brother and I"
one of the many explanations from the Mayo Brothers
about their core system of values.
As posted on the wall of the subway to Gonda.
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Good Morning Everyone;
Yes, we are back from our visit to Rochester, to the Mayo Clinic.
And have learned little from this visit, that we already didn't know.

Casey is now scheduled for an EUS, (Endoscopic Ultrasound) next month. Am hoping they might find out a bit more then.

She is a bit let down by the arrogance of so many of these doctors. And especially those that barely do their jobs; and simply go home.
(While they do of course have a right to have a home life, I am thinking they have an obligation to their patients too).

She has had so many just put their hours in, forgetting about even their own humanity in the process...
Perhaps for them, then it is time to really go home and get another job; one that a person can honestly let go at the end of the day.

We had to get all of those files, records, xrays, and slides... Am wondering "what for?" we did that all for now.
Expensive, (and oh so frustrating an endeavor), to be told she must carry them in to Mayo.
The doctors flipped through a few pages, and declared that since her pancreatic enzymes were not high enough for them that they probably couldn't do anything for her. (I didn't know I had to research their necessary levels before wasting all that gas and money).
All I know for sure is that her levels of amylase and lipase are high enough to leave her hospitalized (and how many times now?), and to hold her in pain every day of her life.

  • Some of her pain is treated.
  • Most of it is not.

  • Some patients are treated.
  • Some are not...

Kind of a crappy way to handle things.
Go for the glory, boys.
Leave my daughter suffer, will ya?


  • There have been times that her enzymes have been 10 times normal.
  • There have been hospitalizations when those levels were only 2 or 3 times normal.

Guess they just discarded all of that.

So much for the above title and sign.
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Besides my beautiful co-pilot,
there WERE things that made the trip worthwhile.


Like points in Wisconsin where the glaciers never touched.
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Cnv0786 by you.


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Seeing 'life' growing from rock...
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Cnv0774 by you.

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Crossing the Mississippi...
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Mississippi by you..
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Learning that Punk did not care one whit about any of that...
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Punk On the ride to Rochester by you.
She slept mostly there and back
'Til 'nature' called every now and then

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But she surely cared what Casey was munching on...
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Cnv0790 by you.

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(Especially when she didn't get any)!
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Cnv0792 by you.
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Driving downtown to all the hospitals
made us snicker when we saw this water tower
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Cnv0784 by you.
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I dropped Casey off,
leaving her with one of the security guards;
and found a place to park.

In the meantime, she got all registered and checked in.
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Before we went up to the 9th floor...
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DSC03459 by you.
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We met the nicest lady (Deborah),
as we took some pictures of our new surroundings.


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Seeing us both with our cameras,
she offered to take our picture,
together...
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Casey And Debbie by you....Casey and I, Gonda
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The view from the Gonda Building (part of Mayo),
was quite impressive.

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Casey 9th Floor, Gonda by you.
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It was then that we met with the doctors...
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Casey at Mayo by you.
96/60
~Taking the average of 6 separate readings.
(Borderline low blood pressure runs in my family).

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After which they scheduled an MRI.
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Cnv0781 by you.
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This whole test was flubbed from the get-go.
Too bad none of these 'professionals' actually LISTEN TO HER.
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Since that was messed up, it was time to go back to the hotel
(after speaking with the doctor who'd messed up)...

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But first, one more picture before we left...
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Cnv0782 by you..
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And back home for us then...

"My Brother and I"???
No. I don't think so.




Love to all.

From Flintville!
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Flintville, Wisconsin
hehehe
Have a 'wunnaful' weekend!

XOXO
Anne

*****Special note to Casey*****

Dear Sweet Daughter of Mine;
As you read this, know that I promise you WILL get you fixed.

No matter what it will take.
Foreverlonger...
XOXO,
Mama D.



originally posted to my Y! 360, Saturday July 26, 2008 - 06:57am (CDT)

7/25/08 WE ARE HOME~ & ~Update


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Added 7-24-08

Hi all...
I dropped Casey at her apartment- (Greg was waiting with open arms of course)!
She is tired- And more than a bit let down.

I share her sentiments...

Those of you that she had cell numbers for texting have already been updated by Casey.

She did not receive good news. But not necessarily bad news either. (I might be in a bit of denial here too)...
But we still have hope- 
(Remind me I said that if I ever forget)...

We go back in August for an EUS. (Endoscopic Ultrasound).

Love to all. Hope all is well with all of you.
I am beat.
Will check in tomorrow morning.


XOXO
Anne
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Added 7-23-08...


Please visit Casey's new blog for updates.
(click on word "Casey's", above)


XOXO
Anne

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7-23-08

Love to you all for your prayers and love sent.
With our stop at Froedtert and a few more records that they were STILL unprepared for, we arrived in Rochester early yesterday afternoon, and are tucked away in the hotel for a few moments more as we wait to find our way around Mayo's maze.

Will let you know how that all goes.
Casey has boxes and boxes of stuff, records, diagnosis', slides, etc...
(Hope we don't have to carry those things TOO far)!

Have a wunnaful Tuesday... (I'll get to 10 Thought Tuesday later). 

Love to all
XOXO
Me

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Hi Everyone,
Not too much news around here...

But we will be leaving tomorrow...
First to Froedtert, who (in their own wonderful style) completely "effed~up" Caseys request for ALL of her records there.
She must hand deliver them all to Mayo, and at Froedtert, one hand knows not what the other is doing...

After I raise hell there, and we get what we came for, we will be heading to Rochester.
Mayo!
(Yes, you may start singing now)!
hehehe

Here is Sweet Pea's rendition, (sang to the tune of Day-o)...

from Jul 15
take a deep breath now...

May-o, May-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and she wan' go eat
Duh, Dr St Mary say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh-uh-uh-o
Daylight come and she wan' go eat

Work all night on a drink a'water
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
clutch the belly till morning come
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

Come, Mr. Mayo Mon, belly make better
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Come, Mr. Mayo Mon, belly make better
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

It's six day, seven day, eight day, BRUNCH!
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Six day, seven day, eight day, BRUNCH!
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

May, Dr say May-ay-ay-o
(daylight come and she wa'n go eat)
Duh, Dr St Mary say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh

(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

A beautiful brunch a'food cooked by mama
(daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Hide thee Deadly Doctor of St Mary
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

It's six day, seven day, eight day, BRUNCH!
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Six day, seven day, eight day, BRUNCH!
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

May, Dr say May-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Duh, Dr St Mary say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh, Dr say duh

(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

Come, Mr. Mayo Mon, belly make better
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
Come, Mr. Mayo Mon, belly make better
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)

May-o, May-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)
May, Dr say May, Dr say May, Dr say May, Dr say May, Dr say May-ay-ay-o
(Daylight come and she wan' go eat)...


I am still laughing!!!

~~~XXXXX~~~
This posting
is private,
and if you will look above you will see who I chose to share this with
.
Some people I simply do not trust.
Some never come to my blog anyway.
Some are just nosy.
Some have contact with others that I don't care to have knowing I am gone...

In all seriousness, and although we have waited a LONG time to get CaseyAnne to Mayo, I don't mind sharing with you that I am scared sh*tless for what will happen now.
My own godawful fear of the unknown if you will...

It is this fear that has kept me from including Casey in this missive. That would go against any positive thinking that she needs right now.

I have heard nothing but good things about Mayo.
We will share our own version as it unfolds.

Oops.
Hmmm....
At this point in time I can truthfully say that I have no idea where my darn laptop is.
(Hopefully it is in the bedroom closet where I usually keep it)...

She is to be there on the 22nd.
I left the extra day to reserve for any possible car malfunctions, anxiety attacks, and anything else that might throw a wrench into her appointment.
It is too important to miss
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They told her to plan for at least a 3-5 day stay.
Speaking with a few others, they said to plan for about 2 or 3 weeks.

Like I said, "the unknown"...

The Punkster will be going with us.
Miss Milly will remain here; with Randy and Miss Kelli to keep an eye out every day.
...And I have wonderful neighbors too.
Family made them relatives; luck made them friends as well.


I will be checking in as often as possible, even today- I still have much to do before we leave.
Packing.
Cleaning.
Packing.
Cleaning.
Packing.
Laundry.
Packing.

And a trip to Petco too as Miss Milly might be needing her food before we return.

And life goes on I suppose.

Hopefully you have seen the new pictures of Big Sam on Miss Marucks blog... (Link is the first link shown).

I am so glad to have Marie in my life and in my heart. I can leave town a bit more peacefully knowing that he is in the most capable and loving hands.
She sees Master Gabriel a lot too.

I'd better close for now. (Did I mention that I still have to pack)?

Please wish Casey well.
And keep those prayers coming...

Love to all.

XOXO
Anne