Tom week 2 at Mayo

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Mayo-Week 2 Posted by: "Tom " tom@... butltc Tue May 1, 2007 3:29 pm (PST) Well, now I know what pancreatitis feels like. The pain in my belly after the ERCP on Thursday just wouldn't go away. In fact, it got progressively worse over the weekend. A couple extra strength tylenol would put some water on the

fire for a little while, but not enough to allow me to sleep, and I couldn't eat much of anything. (I did feel well enough to visit the Spam Museum on Sunday. It's about a 45 minute drive from Rochester, and it's a MUST see. At the very least, it will take your mind off all of your physical issues for a while.) Finally, on Sunday night, I couldn't tolerate it anymore and headed to the emergency room at St. 's Hospital, where a CT scan revealed some mild pancratic inflammation and several pockets of trapped air. The blood tests were near normal, possibly indicating that it was starting to resolve itself. The cipro may not have fully prevented infection, but it certainly kept its impact minimal. I was admitted and started on morphine, which took the pain away and allowed me to sleep. By Monday afternoon, the inflammation had reduced and the pain (without constant morphine reinforcement) had

diminished to a point where I could be released. Like every other Mayo facility, St. 's Hospital is outstanding. They do a couple great things in particular which makes them stand out. First, meals don't come at regular times. You decide when you want to eat, and then you call "room service" and place your order. Your food is delivered within 45 minutes. I was restricted to clear liquids, but I was impressed nonetheless. Next, you get free video on demand in your room...a great idea, particularly for me, since I didn't bring any books or reading material with me. Those movies kept me occupied, thankfully. I'm still struggling with a painful gut today, but it's tolerable. I can't eat much yet, mainly because my belly is so swollen that there is no room for my stomach to expand. It's slowly getting better, and I'll be interested in Dr. Gores' assessment tomorrow. This whole episode got me

out of a colonoscopy today. I'll take care of that little project at home. The only other item on today's agenda was a meeting with the transplant coordinator, who walked us through what we had done so far, follow up procedures, and other miscellaneous stuff. Next, we visited the Gift of Life Transplant House. This 38-room facility provides $25/night lodging for transplant patients and caregivers. You can even stay there during the evaluation process. If they cannot accommodate you, they have arrangements with other hotels in the area for deeply discounted rates that are much lower than you can get on any of the internet sites. One catch: you must take a tour of the house and meet a few simple criteria to qualify. My advice to anyone coming here for a transplant evaluation: take a tour early, and then see if they can accommodate you for the rest of your visit. Had I known this, my lodging bill would

be about $1,000 less. Tomorrow is our last full day here. A final meeting with Dr. Gores is the only agenda item. It will be nice to be finished. Tom

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