mayo day 4: the results

We just finished our appointment with the doctor... Here are the results thus far.
1. I have a motility problem. They are trying to figure out why and where exactly. I will have a gastroduodenal manometry test and a rectal manometry test. I'm pretty sure that neither will be very much fun. Feel free to read up about what that means on the mayo website if you really want to know what's going to happen to me... it might be better for you not to know. :)
2. I have anemia. But the rest of my bloodwork looks good.
3. My small intestine is rotated, but not kinked. Kinked would actually be better because they could fix it easily. Rotated is a sign of a motility problem.
4. I had a slightly irregular neurophysiology exam. The GI doc had to review with the other doc who read the test, because there was something bizarre that she'd not heard of before. But the rest of my autonomic nervous system looks good.
5. I will have a nutrition consult tomorrow at 2:30 pm instead of on March 19. Yay Jesus for letting me get squeezed in. I did have to fill out a 7 page questionnaire about struggling with obesity and how well I manage my weight with diet and exercise. Marcus and I had a good laugh while we checked the boxes and wrote a lot of "n/a". :)
6. My mom is flying into Rochester in 45 minutes, so we are off to the airport to pick her up soon.
7. We are super thankful to be here, and have let the docs know that I'm happy to stay until they cure me. :) We are trusting that God is in and through each minute of the days that we spend here. It's cool, there are Bible verses all over on the walls, and there was even a statue of the angel of affliction, letting me know that everything would be okay. Oh, and there are 19 Lutheran churches alone in the city of Rochester. We're pretty sure that we can find somewhere to worship tomorrow night.
8. You can pray that my dizziness subsides, and that I am able to get through the tests swimmingly. You can also thank God for this place and for the docs here.

Lots of love,
brelin

mayo clinic day 4

We are embarking on the adventures of day 4 this morning. All of my appointments seem to begin really early in the morning....like 7 am.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by eating radioactive eggs, toast, and a cup of milk. I was supposed to keep them down so that they could see how long it takes for my stomach to empty. I, however, opted to throw up the majority of the radioactive treats, and I might have ruined the test. We'll find out this afternoon at 4 pm. After radioactive breakfast, we hung out at the hospital all day (from 7:30 am-4:15 pm) It was a real hoot.

The rest of the day was a bit more fun... I had a little nap, and then we went to the mall in Rochester. I ended the celebration with ice cream from Cold Stone.... Birthday Cake Remix. Marcus sang happy birthday in the mall for me. :)

Today I have more tests... I've already had a radioactive scan this morning, and I head back for a Body CT scan in a little bit. Following that, I will have a Neurophysiology Exam, checking on my autonomic nervous system, and then another appt. with the doctor, where we'll review the results of the tests so far, and then make a plan for the next week or so.

I think that's all... I will try and update tomorrow morning also!

Love brelin

mayo clinic, day one...

We arrived at Mayo today and had my first appointment. I'm seeing Dr. Locke, who seems very nice, and who seemed confident that he could help me get better soon. We have a schedule for Friday through Tuesday... I am going to remain "outpatient"... meaning I get to stay in the hotel with Marcus. (YAY!)

The docs talked with us for about an hour about what's happened in the past, and what is going on currently. For those of you new to the story, I have had fairly significant digestive issues since 1997. The most recent flare up (since Sept.) has just been much uglier than the other ones I've had in the past.

Tomorrow I have a blood test in the morning, and then nothing for the rest of the day.

Marcus and I are headed to Minneapolis/St. Paul for the weekend to hang out with our buddies, Andy & Heather.... so you can all check on Monday for the next blog update. :)

Monday I have multiple tests, and then on Tuesday, I have a bunch more appointments. I see the doctors again on Tuesday and find out all the results of my exams. At that point, they'll decide what's going on, and what other tests need to be done.

I think that's all there is to report. Please pray specifically for the tests to have clear results, and for the doctors to have a good understanding of what the results mean. You can also pray that I can sleep well... I've been having trouble with that for a couple of weeks now.

Much love & hugs,
brelin

ahhh, the frozen north...

We made it to Minnesota, and then onto Iowa, but it was all not without incident.... Our original flight was supposed to take off on Monday morning at 11 am from Seattle. However, there was something broken on the plane, and although they just needed a part from Boeing, which is located less than 30 min from the airport, the company could not deliver it... so we had to wait for another part to fly in from MN before they could fix the plane. Needless to say, we weren't going to make our connecting flight. However, Marcus had already connected with a really nice lady that works for Northwest Airlines, and she'd hooked us up onto a different flight that took off from Seattle at 3:15 pm. We got to fly first class all the way to Rochester!! It was great!!

Unfortunately, our bags didn't join us in Minnesota until the following afternoon (Tuesday)...but it all worked out. We finally got all of our bags, and drove down to Iowa to visit our superfun friends, Andy & Heather. We enjoyed frozen custard shake thingys from Culver's and got to catch up on everything!

I had a pretty rough night last night... much more vomiting than normal, and it was very painful too. We are really looking forward to getting to Mayo tomorrow, and hoping that they can find something, fix it right away, and send me happily on my way, eating and digesting. :)

Thank you for your continued prayers. We're asking for prayers specifically for the Mayo team of docs that will be working on me. For clarity, wisdom and discernment for the docs and for us too!

Much love,
brelin

happy valentine's day!

The last couple of nights have been really bad, pain-wise... I have a new trick where I get a sharp pain in my stomach, and it goes all the way up to my shoulder and down my arm. It's one of those tricks that should include a warning, "don't try this at home".

I ventured out into the world to attend Lenten Worship last night. It's so refreshing to sing the songs of Holden Evening prayer. The services are at 7 pm during Lent at Sammamish Hills Church if you all are interested in going.

I continue to trust that God's presence is in and through each medical nightmare...knowing that His arms are wrapped around my ever-shrinking waist, I am confident that He is here with me through each pain, through each tear, and through each bout of vomiting. Yay God!!

hugs,
brelin

one more week to mayo!

The past couple of weeks have been fairly rough. I struggled with a virus and fever for 7 days, and then began coughing up bloody mucus. That's not good. So the docs put me on anti-biotics, and I seem to be doing a bit better.

My vomiting continues multiple times per day(any time I eat or drink anything). I had to go off my pain meds on the 7th for my appt at Mayo, and since then my pain has been pretty ridiculous. I'm trying to be tough, and some days are better than others. Yesterday, for example, was terrible, but today has been a little better.

Marcus and I leave for Mayo next Monday. We get to visit our friends, Andy & Heather for a couple of days, and then my first appointment is on Thursday, Feb. 21. Lots of people ask what will happen while we're there. We really have no idea what to expect. We are pretty sure that they'll run a bunch of tests, and then based on their findings develop a short and long term treatment plan for me.

I think that's all I have to report.

good news from the doc

We went to see the doctor again today, and he reassured me that I just have a nasty virus of some kind... My fever finally broke last night (I was up to 101), but am back to 98 today. Praise God.

I still have a really sore throat, and it seems that the vomiting is a little worse than normal...but God seems to always provide just enough strength to get through, so I'm counting on Him for that right now.

We're still looking forward to the trip to Mayo. Just a couple more weeks!! yay!!

Hugs,
brelin

ahhh, the ER.

After a rather momentous 4 hour adventure to the ER with my friends, Kristin & Rebecca, I learned that I have a virus. It's possible that there is something else wrong, so the ER doc encouraged me to follow-up with my primary-care physician in the next couple of days--I could have a blood clot in my left arm, without any symptoms but pain, but they're hoping I'm just sore from the virus. They checked me for strep throat, which came back negative, and I have fluid in my ears and a red throat too. My lymph nodes are swollen in my neck and throat also, so that's fun. I am still running a fever, have a sore throat, am vomiting, dizzy, and exhausted (even more than normal). I also have a fascinatingly symmetrical rash that the doctors were intrigued by.

They told me that they'd never seen anything like it, and if they had a digital camera, they would have photographed it and sent it into a medical journal. I love being the "medical mystery" patient. Please note my sarcasm on that one. :)

The ER docs were incredibly kind and helpful this evening... which is nice. :)
That's the end for me today.
Hugs,
brelin

another fever...?

I started running a small fever on Friday. It has gone away and come back twice since then. Today I woke up and it's now 100. Not terrible... but since I usually am 96 or 97, it is not so good.

My throat is also hurting horribly (which I thought was from vomiting, but maybe is from being sick), so hopefully the fever is just from the throat and not something else more important. I have a call into my doctor this morning, so I will keep you posted on what they decide to do with me. I'm hoping I don't have to miss the superbowl. :)

I'm still vomiting a lot. Sometimes I can keep down a small amount of clear liquids, but if I try to introduce anything else then I throw up a lot. Shoot. The doctors here have exhausted their good ideas, and so I'm just in a holding pattern until we make it to Mayo. The next step in Seattle is to open me up and see what's going on in there, remove some scar tissue, and put me back together. I'm hoping that the doctors at Mayo will have a better idea. The docs here are more than happy to work with the Mayo docs, which is really nice. :)

It's Feb. already, and I'm really excited for them to find an answer that is nice and flowery... like, "We have this medicine that will cure you in 1 hour, and then you'll never throw up again ever!!" You can pray for that if you want. :)

Until then, you can pray that my fever goes away. :)

Thanks,
brelin