Our Mother of Marble - aka Mayo Clinic

"It's a clinic named after one of the best condiments ever!" says my eldest son. "How could anything go wrong?"


Well, I'm not sure how to wade into this so I'll start by going around the edge. I'll tell you what I know about Rochester at this point and what I know about Mayo Clinic. First things first, the big building on the hill is a nunnery. Our friends John and Sue (who just had cancer surgery here....Sue not John) took us up there today. I did not see a nun so I can't say with 100% certainty but it looks pretty sister-like.


I know you can sit in a green space in the middle of downtown and eat Moussaka and I  know that you can buy a good Chicago Italian beef sandwich from a street vendor at the foot of the Marble Mother herself. I know that there is more marble in one city block of Rochester than I've ever seen in a mile of any other city. I know that a falcon can snatch a pigeon right before your eyes on a busy street and I know, while we are on the subject of birds, that if you see a flock of starlings you should quickly roll up your car windows because the rain on your roof is not rain. Mike had a deposit left on his left thigh.

I also know that one Dr John B Gebhardt will be doing some 5 hours of pelvic reconstruction on me tomorrow morning bright and early. Seems I've had some pelvic demolition going on. So, He and his crew will be going in to fix 'er up. I say He, with a capital, because He has shirts with his monogram on the cuff, right next to his initialed cuff links. He's big time. He's the best of the best this Dr John B Gebhardt.


I'm going to spare you the details of exactly HOW they did the tests to find these things out. Suffice to say: 1) I feel like I'm peeing razor blades tonight and 2) I know what the inside of my bladder looks like. I was able to see the beautiful web of veins that supply blood to my bladder AND I got to watch my ureters at work. Not for everyone I know, but I was gonna have something for the discomfort. After all the testing we had a mini conference with Dr G and his team and the day, date and time was set.My blood work is done. Mike and I attended a pre-surgical class on what we will just keep a secret for an upcoming blog.


One last thing I know is that the entire Mayo experience has been so vastly different from any other clinic visit that I've ever had I can't help but feel secure. I'm  confident of my surgical team and confident I've made the right decision. I have Mike at my side and he has been and will be my strength.


See you all on the other side.


Peace and love to you all,
Karen