Quick Trip
September has gone by too quickly. Inspired Woman Magazine hosted their first conference in Medora the beginning of the month, and TIah was all prepped to head out for the Wednesday – Saturday trip. Mayo had other plans though, they called us on that Tuesday evening to let us know we had appointments scheduled first thing Thursday morning. The short notice was unfortunate, but thankfully Tiah already had things worked out at church with her plan to be gone those days.
We had a long day driving and were a little uncertain how to get to the places we needed to be, but we quickly acclimated. I had more tests done, we chatted with more doctors, who scheduled more tests for Friday, and even more for Monday. We had packed for the possibility of a multi-day stay, but really didn’t want to stay the weekend just for a few appointments on Monday.
An early start that Friday got us a jump on what was scheduled for Monday. We are so thankful that the staff at Mayo helped us squeeze into the schedule and get it all done Friday, which enabled us to get back home that weekend. That left us with a brief time at home to look ahead to our next Mayo trip while I work on the status of my short/long term disability insurance and Aflac claims.
What We Learned
While at Mayo it was confirmed that the remnants of the tumor should be removed, and they scheduled that surgery for the second week of October. They also chatted briefly about some potential options related to infertility and how the surgery could impact that, we also have a consultation for that on this next trip. Mayo has the ability to do what can be described as a video x-ray, that confirmed their suspicion that my diaphragm has weakened over the course of the last few months. It seems to be getting better, but will likely take some time to get back to normal. They also suspect that I might not have had pneumonia at all, but not being witness to me at the time, can’t say for certain.
Pre-Op
So today we are headed back to Mayo for more consultations and some pre-operation checks and scans. We have a better idea what this trip looks like before we leave and are still hopeful we can race back in time to see Oktoberfest. I am very thankful for the way the schedule has dropped everything into place the weeks before and after the Steer Banquet. It’s a great organization that I have been privileged to help the past several years. I grew up in a family involved with them, and while I can’t be involved as a farmer or rancher now, my technical skills can be used to help further the mission a couple days of the year.
Is The End Near?
As we look ahead to what is hopefully the final stage in this journey, please be praying for safe travels, wisdom for the doctors, and an easy recovery. They’ve described what the surgery entails and I can only imagine how frustrated I could get in the weeks following it as my body heals and every movement tugs at something. Thus far my surgical experience has been minor, but I’m not sure you can describe something that involves moving organs out of the way a minor surgery. Tiah’s family will be coming out for a couple days as well, so I hope she won’t sit there worrying too much.
Here’s to the home stretch!