Heather Seaman with something to write about

Testing

May 29, 2010 at 4:51 am (Uncategorized)

I saw an amazing man, Dr. Hurt, in internal medicine.  No, I didn’t spell his name wrong.  :-)  I think he’d have more luck if he changed his name to Dr. Fix it, but than again he isn’t doing too bad for himself.  Every department I go to, when seeing his name as my primary physician, goes on to tell me that I have the best.  For that I am extremely thankful.  He scheduled blood work, x-rays, consultations, a neurology appointment, and then some.  He listened well and talked better.  He gave his best, professional, opinion and then sent me off in great hands here at Mayo.

The system is phenomenal.  They could accomplish in a month what it’s taken me 7 years to do on my own.  Instead of advising you of the next step or direction to take and then you returning home, finding Dr.’s, calling places, scheduling your own tests a few weeks out, and then trying to get the correct reads and results back to everyone, taking all the info you get and figuring out how to apply it to your life…  You just walk down the hall where they have already put you into the system.  Everyone works together to utilize your time most efficiently and everything is quickly inputted into one computer system so it’s accessible by all.  It’s also nice that the Dr.’s here seem to trust one another instead of my own experience where I find my many Dr.’s in competition.  It seems like this is the way it’s meant to be, and not an easy feat I’m sure, considering there are over 35,000 employed.

Anyhow, I spent one of my days, after x-rays and blood work, at the center for pain management and chronic fatigue.  I had the first appointments, of about 6 scheduled, with 2 different nurses over there.  I spent some time with my neurologist today, got injected with radioactive material, and had a bone scan in the Nuclear medicine department… Fun!  The schedule has been grueling honestly.  I’m physically exhausted, in pain, and at an emotional loss.  But I am also a step farther in my journey and so have to look at the joy in that.  The nurses, the bus drivers, the Dr.’s, the receptionists have all been amazing and that helps as well.  This place is with no doubt a class above and I feel blessed to be here.

I see Dr. Hurt again today for a follow-up before leaving after he gets all the new test results and reviews from other departments.  He will lay a final diagnosis in my lap and then help me set up a treatment plan.  A couple very long and weary days are behind us.  They have been helpful, but not always what I hoped for… encouraging, though not always what I “wanted”.  Isn’t that so much of what this life is?  It has been a step by step, conscious decision to remember that my final hope doesn’t fall here, but with the Lord God almighty.  I want to cry, kick, and scream for someone to change me.  And I want to shout, dance, and sing, because I have Jesus Christ living inside me and together, we are going to make it.

It’s hard to know where to go from here, how to live, what to do.  The truth is, that no matter how much you prepare for the best or the worst, you’re never quite ready.  We’re human and so our emotions and feelings are real.  We are vulnerable beings and even if we want to be strong, we are indeed weak.  Praise God that He is strong and knew these days and the following ones long before I have.

^{2 Corinthians 12:10}That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.