St. Luke's Update

Spent my first full day down in the medical center today. I don't have in me a long post, but wanted to get the main points down so I don't leave everyone hanging. Met Dr. Fish for the first time, he and his staff were nothing but nice, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel rushed in a doctor's office. He say, he listened, and he made sense of all of my other symptoms and diagnoses. He told me he hadn't seen my images yet, since my first cardiologist's office sort of sucks and sent them to me (via mail, which I have not gotten yet) instead of to Dr. Fish's office. He said he wanted to confirm that the tumor was in fact a benign myxoma and not some other type of growth or tumor. So, he sent me off to schedule a heart MRI. 2 hours later, and a few phone calls to the insurance to get the procedure approved, we left the doctor's office at noon, and had 3 hours to kill before the 3pm appointment.

So, what do 2 hungry girls in downtown do with 3 hours to spare?

Find the MMM Cupcake truck. Duh.

And then went to The Cheesecake Factory (yes, 20 minutes away).

So, after a small break and some much needed food, we headed back to St. Luke's for the MRI. Got there at 2:15, went back at 4:45. Good thing there was an ipad to keep me busy. I take back all the bad things I have said about Angry Birds. When you need a distraction, those little green pigs are awesome! Finally, at 4:45 I was taken back and give an IV, gown, and fancy socks. I will expand on this later because it includes a great conversation about sex in space and a missed vein during the IV starting. Yea, I'm a pin cushion. Anyway, so the MRI itself was interesting, but more than anything else, LONG. I think I was in the machine at least 80 minutes, but probably more like 90-100 minutes. I did some breathing in and out for them, held my breath, and stayed as still as possible.

The doctors should be getting back to me in the next couple of days with some more information. I am working on getting the TEE videos up to the cardiologist so he has all the information he needs to make some decisions. I am also working on keeping it together and taking care of myself. Jessica was with me all day, and while I didn't think she needed to be initially, I would not have made it through today without her. I am lucky to have such an amazing best friend. She kept me busy, cracked me up, and bitched about work at the right times. And she took awesome notes, which I will include in tomorrow's blog, when I have more energy and am not completely drained.

Thanks for all the support and love today, I am sorry if I didn't text you back or answer the phone, I am not up for a whole lot of talking tonight. I'll be back to my old self soon though, I promise!