Methodist Hospital -- Karl receives his heparin injections and has diagnostic testing done here.
Gonda Building -- Absolutely beautiful. Marble floors and walls, ornate woodwork. All Mayo buildings have lots of artwork and music in the belief that it helps the healing process. Most of Karl's physician consultations are in this building.
Dale Chihuly chandeliers in the Gonda Building -- This sculpture (all 13pieces) weighs 6000 lbs, spans 45 feet, and comprises 1375 pieces of glass. http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/pdf%2F7611%2F7611amc.pdf
St. Mary's Hospital -- This photo doesn't do any justice to the size of this facility. This is where the surgery will be performed.
We are blessed enough to be in a very nice part of town, about 3 blocks northeast of the main Mayo buildings and across the parking lot from the Mayo Civic Center. Good housing, we have learned, is difficult to come by in Rochester. There are plenty of extended stay hotels, but they offer little more than a microwave and refrigerator in a slightly larger room. A few weeks ago I had searched for three days. I was becoming pretty frustrated. I waited a week, prayed for help and then, bingo, found the place in which we are now staying which has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. We were informed yesterday that we received the last available apartment in this building. There is now a waiting list. Again, I have to bear witness. Praise the Lord!
This is the view of the Mayo Civic Center from our suite.
This is the view of downtown Rochester from our suite.
Of course the highlight of Rochester, according to Karl, lies just outside of town. It's the ear of corn water tower. We aren't sure why it's an ear of corn. The Mayo High School mascot is the Spartan. And I always thought Iowa reigned as the corn capital. Regardless, he thinks every town should have some kind of "theme" water tower. You know...Adrian should have a maple leaf-shaped water tower, Tecumseh should have a...okay, we couldn't think of anything. But here's a picture just in case you have a difficult time believing it. I know we did at first!
Monday was a busy and tiring day for Karl, but the procedure to put in his Inter-Vena Cava (IVC) filter went off without a hitch. At 8 a.m. he had an MRI at Rochester Methodist Hospital and at 10:15 a.m. he reported to St. Mary's for the IVC filter "installation." We got back to our suite around 4 p.m. local time and Karl napped until the grogginess of the ativan, versed and phentenol wore off. We then had a nice grilled steak dinner with fresh swiss chard that I brought from my garden along with new potatoes and peas. He really enjoyed it and ate well. After he receivied a few "best wishes" phone calls, we headed out to Walmart to see if we could cause some trouble there.
On July 15th we're not sure what will happen. The itinerary calls for a 10 a.m. heparin injection at Rochester Methodist, a 1 p.m. meeting with Dr. Yaszemski at the Gonda Building and a 2:30 meeting with Dr. Sawyer, a general surgeon, at St. Mary's. But there's nothing scheduled after that. We were told a month ago there would be a pre-surgical procedure and that he'd be admitted in the evening so they could begin surgery first thing July 16. Because we think he's going to have a procedure, Karl won't eat anything after midnight, which means he's going to be pretty hungry. But, it's better to be safe than sorry.
I'll keep you posted.
Peace,
Kerry
If you make the Most High your dwelling --
even the Lord, who is my refuge --
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Psalm 91:9-12
No comments:
Post a Comment