EXHAUSTING DAY

What an exhausting day!!! My G-d! Surgery was not as draining as trying to recuperate at home with kids, especially a 2-year old!! I am in no condition to deal with terrible two's right now. I don't know what possessed me to think that I was. I mean, I have had help of course but being that today is Sunday, and our amazing babysitter has been caring for my little man for 11 consecutive days for 24 hours, I figured I'd give her a break. Crazy me!!!

My family came to visit me early in the a.m. and then some random visits in between but trying to keep Michael from jumping off of bar stools and not hitting his sister every five seconds can be a little exhausting. Poor thing though, he is almost two, what do I expect? He's such a little trooper. Tonight around 6ish, the phone rang and I went to answer - actually raced to answer to beat Michael to the phone and this wood platform in the kitchen just randomly falls from my cabinets onto the floor. I didn't hear anything, no crying, nothing. I just felt Michael hugging my leg and then two minutes later I see him go hug his sister, Chi Chi for comfort and a minute after that he runs to the bathroom and grabs a piece of toilet paper and crumbles it up and puts it on his foot. When I get off the phone (it was a quick how 'ya feeling phone call) I go to where he is and sit next to him and realize that he is cut on his foot. The platform board (it wasn't that big but it was heavy) had actually fallen ON his little foot and cut him. He didn't scream or cry, nothing. I wanted to carry him in my arms so badly but instead I yelled for my neighbor, who was in my living room visiting to please pick him up and carry him for me to the couch so I could comfort him. Poor baby! I looked at his foot and it hadn't completely cut it so there was still blood inside and already bruised. I felt so bad at that moment. Here is this innocent little boy who is hurt and won't even shed a tear of pain. He just looked at me trying to be all tough and brave. He just wanted a hug. That moment made all the endless craziness completely irrelevant. A little antibiotic ointment and a Sponge Bob band-aid made it all better.

They both didn't fall asleep tonight until 9p.m.!

I'm really exhausted now and slightly in pain but the good news is that there is school tomorrow and the babysitter will be back, so I have every intention of taking a pain pill and resting all day!!!

EXAMINING ROOM

MEETING MY SURGEON THE DAY BEFORE KIDNEY SURGERY








This was the examining room I was in to meet my surgeon the day before surgery:

STUDIO APT. IN N.Y.

This is where we THOUGHT we were going to stay after the operation. We were a little delusional:

ON THE WAY TO AIRPORT - 11/18/08

WORST DAY EVER AFTER MY SURGERY

After my kidney donation surgery...I am finally home! I came home last night with the kids, crazy I know! I thought I could handle having them alone at home while I get better but the inevitable rule of thumb, when you don't want anything to go wrong, it does! 

I had the WORST day ever today, worse than the operation or any recovery, can you believe that??! I got a migraine, and it was the kiss of death. I threw up twice on an empty stomach, so I started to panic. Two kids running around saying "Mommy, mommy, are you okay? Just the noise and the lights were killing me. And of course, the fact that I was throwing up bile with only one kidney left set in this inevitable state of panic. I had a family friend with us, who happens to be 16 years old. She was amazing and stepped up to the plate, but I needed our real babysitter, who takes care of the baby so well. I needed him to be taken away from the house, so I could get a grasp on things and make myself feel better. 

I had my husband calling me from New York freaking out and worried saying if I threw up one more time, I'd have to go to the emergency room. I was NOT going to let that happen. Luckily, I sent for Gatorade and crackers and little by little it made me feel better. I had a little bit of chicken broth and slept for two hours in peace & quiet when the kids were taken out of the house. Now, I just have the regular incision pain, which I'll take any day over the horrible headaches & vomiting. I'm going to try this again tonight. I feel better, so I want my kids back. I feel so bad that I am putting them through this. I need to have them with me. Anyway, I wanted to say hello and thank you again for all the support!

HOME!

The kids were soo excited when I came home it was the best feeling ever!! I missed them so much. I have never been away from them, let alone 10 days. I have to admit though, tonight was really difficult because I cannot carry anything or anyone weighing more than 20 pounds, so I could not carry my little boy :o( That was heart-breaking. He just wanted to kiss my "boo-boos." I cannot wait to get 100% better and carry them both in my arms and give them big fat squeezes the proper way, in the meantime I'm settling for what I can get and enjoying every minute.

Sergio is feeling better. Taking all his meds and ready for another blood draw Saturday morning.

LAB RESULTS - 11/26

WED. EVENING - Just a got a call from the hospital clicnic. Sergio's initial lab results are in: his creatinine levels are down to 2.4, which is great since it was al the way up to 6.1!!! he was at 2.4 like years ago!! So this is good news. His anemia is getting better and he just has to increase his medical dosage. He's feeling a little queasy and tired but it is to be expected. Overall, this is great news!

UPDATE - WENDESDAY, NOV. 26th

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26th - Today we went back to the hospital, New York Presbyterian, for Sergio's first follow-up appointment. He saw his surgeon and was examined by his neprholgist, Dr. Crew. He said he looked well and his inicision was fine. Thankfully, Sergio does not have any of the symptoms that make doctors worry, like fever, chills, shaking, trouble urinating - NONE OF THAT! They drew blood, which is the most important part of the visit, but we will not have those results until much later this afternoon or tomorrow. These results will indicate where his creatnine levels are and how his blood (anemia) is. So lets pray for some progess.

I got very lucky as we were leaving because MY surgeon, Dr. Sandoval was standing right by the counter on my way out. I told him I was a bit worried about one of my incisions that it was getting bumpy but he checked it out and siad that it was fine. It was the way it was sutured up, the reason it's looking like that but that all was fine!!

I will keep you posted on Sergio's blood results.

WHAT I TECHNICALLY HAD DONE

From the New York Presbyterian website:

Laparoscopic Surgery – Breakthrough Technique

The living donor surgery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Transplant Institute is performed laparoscopically in all but a very few cases. It is a minimally invasive procedure, which will allow you to recover faster and experience less post-operative pain than you would with the standard open surgery.

While you are under general anesthesia, your surgeon will make two small puncture holes in your abdomen one to insert a tiny flexible videoscope, which projects the image of your organs onto a television screen, and the other to insert the instruments necessary to perform the surgery. The kidney is removed through a two- to three-inch incision below the navel compared with the much larger incision used in standard operations.

Your surgeon will hand your kidney over to the recipient's surgeon, who will immediately cool it by flushing it with a preservation solution. This helps the kidney stay healthy during transfer between the adjoining operating rooms.

Following surgery, you will go to a recovery room and then to a special transplant unit where you will stay two or three days. Within two weeks of your discharge, you will be seen by your surgeon and then return to the care of your own physician. Within two weeks following the surgery, you will be able to return to work and resume your normal daily activities. And you will be able to begin strenuous physical activities within a month or six weeks. You should have your kidney function and blood pressure checked at the transplant center or by your own physician six months following surgery and annually thereafter.

THE HARD PART COMES NOW

I have to tell you that the easy part was the kidney transplant. Now comes the really hard part. There are so many things that have to be adhered to now. Sergio, my husband, has to take over 15 pills daily, 4 times a day, check his blood pressure, check for fever and weigh himself daily after his kidney transplant (November 2008.) It's not really difficult but just the discipline of it all will be a big adjustment. It's like I told him, if you think I nagged before, you have no idea what you are in store for! 

Actually, it's going to be very difficult for me because I have to leave him. We came here just for the surgery, and I miss my kids soooooo much, who stayed back home. I worry what will happen when I leave. Not that he won't do just fine without me but if you've been reading my blog long enough, you'll know I'm a control freak. I just want to make sure that he is doing what he is supposed to and doesn't overdo it. 

Personally, I have to be really, really careful when I get home with the kids and my incisions. I still have lots of pain and am very sensitive around the four incisions. I have four, with one of them being about 5 inches long by the bikini line, where the actual kidney came out of. It's pretty amazing how advanced science is. Although I still have pain, it is incredible that I was able to get up and walk around the next day after surgery and take pictures and talk to the other couple. I am so excited about seeing my children again. 

After being in the hospital and being surrounded by so many people less fortunate than me, it only makes me appreciate my family and friends that much more. I was thinking the other night that I always KNEW that it would be ME to help him. When we first started discussing the transplant options for a few years back and I was tested to see if I was a donor. I used to joke around with him that I really wanted him to have a Cuban kidney. I thought that was pretty amusing. I was pretty disappointed that I was not a direct match. When the two other donors fell through years later (actually, two years ago,) his sister and his first cousin, I just knew that somehow, I was going to be the one to help him. As Thanksgiving approaches, I can honestly say I am sooooo thrilled that I had that power to do something. When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, I felt so helpless. Not that this case is similar but just the feeling of being able to do something good and do something to help is empowering. 

I am very grateful that my children will have their father around for much longer. He knows if he doesn't take care of himself from this point on, I will kick his ass! As I get my strength back, I will slowly begin to reconstruct all the pieces that brought us to this point, of the kidney swap and I will share numerous pictures with you as well, as I documented almost every step of the way, from the moment I took off on a plane to New York to the moment I awoke in my hospital bed. 

 Until then...live, love, laugh and take lots of pictures!

THANK YOU

I have so much to say and so much to blog about but first I must say thank you. Thank G-d the transplant went well and thank you to everybody for their positive vibes and for following along in my journey. I am currently in hospital and re-cooping. Sergio came out of the surgery very well. He was actually standing over my bed at 6:30a.m. the next day. I couldn't believe it. It was amazing. I have tons of pictures to post and tons to say but for now I want to let everyone know that the kidney swap went well and we are taking one day at a time. We are both slowly recooperating. When I get out of the hospital I will start to blog again. I've met some amazing people here, both patients and doctors (and nurses) and cannot wait to tell you all about our journey throughout this swap. Until next time....enjoy every moment!

NOVEMBER 19, 2008 FEELINGS

Scared and missing my kids sooo much but ready. Scheduled to be in the hospital by 6a.m. Operation should hopefully start by about 8:30a.m. ending around 2p.m. or so. All will be well.

THE FLIGHT

So we are finally here in NYC. The actual flight was uneventful, thank G-d. The only thing though was for the first time ever I was actually worried. Not about me but for Ser. Right before we were about to board, he got really weak and pale and looked like he was about to pass out. I'm sure there was a lot of anxiety too but he is definitely feeling the symptoms of end stage renal failure. I am very glad we are here already and it's almost time. I tried to help him out and hold his hand and tell him to breathe as we were boarding but it really wasn't helping. For a few minutes I actually thought we might not get on the plane, which freaked me out.

Luckily, after a little while and a turkey sub and Sprite, he was starting to feel better. It was hard to be focused on him when I too was feeling so anxious. It's kind of a weird scenario because we are supposeto be supportive of each other but we each have our own anxiety and worries. It's hard for me to vent and share my feelngs with him because I don't want him to feel guilty at all in anyway.

NIGHT BEFORE

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Well, this is it, the night before we leave. Everything is coordinated, planned and organized. I've been pretty relaxed now for a couple of days. Until tonight that is! The reality of getting on a plane tomorrow and saying good-bye to my kids is killing me. It's not being negative or anything, I'm just the type of person that would probably cry if I was going on vacation and leaving them. Well, no, maybe, not, This is pretty intense.

Chi Chi has been so excited too about all the great things she has planned: a dinosaur show, her first sleepover and hanging out with her life-long (short but it is life-long) friend, Sebas! Also, visiting the family, Thanksgiving feast, & visits to parks but tonight she told me she didn't care about any of that! She said if she had different parents she wouldn't miss them but since she doesn't, she will miss us too much. She broke down and cried and said she didn't want me to leave and that she would miss me too much. I have to tell you, it was very difficult not to lose it! I told her I would miss her too and that I had to go do this to help "papi" and that I would be back soon. I also told her that if I wasn't going away, none of these fun things would be happening - at least not the sleepover part! I'm still too old-fashioned for that!

It was a tough night. I don't even want to think about the drop-off at school tomorrow morning. Ugghhh, that's why my head is pounding. I better go sleep it off! Thanks for the well wishes.

Until next time...

THIS BLOG NOW A DOT COM ADDRESS

Hello Loyal Readers! This blog will soon be accessed via.com It is still MAMMARAZZI LIFE but soon you will be able to type www.mammarazzilife.com (or keep using the blogspot address.) If you would like to sign up for this blog, just click on the upper right-hand side of this page where it says subscribe here "Posts." Thanks for reading and sharing in my journey.

NOTE: Your blog's new address is http://www.mammarazzilife.com/. Since it takes time for this new address to be available all over the Internet, you can still get to it at http://mammarazzilife.blogspot.com.

The new address should work for everyone after at most 3 days. At that time we will redirect readers from the old address to the new one.

TECHNICAL STUFF - KIDNEY DONATION

Now that I am getting closer to the actual day of the operation (5 more days!) I figured I'd share a little technical information with you, so you know what's going on or better said, what's going to happen. "surgical approach to living kidney donation is called laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and involves the use of small cameras and instruments inserted through the abdominal wall. During this procedure, the kidney is separated from its surrounding structures. The operation is performed using TV imaging. Once entirely separated from its surrounding structures, the kidney is removed through a small incision usually in the mid portion of the lower abdomen. The operation can take from one and one-half to four hours or more depending on the complexity of the surgery. After a kidney donation, as with most major operations, the patient is monitored in a post anesthesia care unit or recovery room. Blood pressure, heart rate and temperature are observed as are oxygen levels and wakefulness. The level of pain is also monitored. Most donors will come from the operating room with a Foley catheter draining the urinary bladder and with at least one intravenous line allowing fluid administration in the early post operative period. Patients are not permitted to eat or drink anything until they are fully awake, and until they have no nausea and vomiting. After the immediate recovery period, the donor is transferred to either an intensive care/monitored bed, or to a medical-surgical ward. In either case, post operative pain control is ordered and may take the form of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), or epidural pain management. Usually, the PCA technique, which the patient can control by pressing a button, is used for the laparoscopic donor surgery and epidural pain management is considered for the patients having an open donor nephrectomy. All patients are encouraged to begin walking within 12 to 24 hours following surgery, and self-care including routine hygiene such as showering, shaving and brushing teeth can begin very soon. As a rule, the intravenous fluids are discontinued when the patient can drink or eat food by mouth. The Foley catheter is discontinued when the patient is walking and beginning self-care. Some treatment plans related to prevention of post operative complications are part of the post donation protocols, just as they are part of patient care for any major surgical procedure. Compression stockings or elastic hose are applied to the feet and legs to prevent blood clots from forming, and small injections of heparin or a similar drug may be given at eight- or 12-hour intervals to also address prevention of abnormal blood clots. This is important because one of the major complications that can occur following kidney donation is a blood clot traveling to the lung (pulmonary embolus). This infrequent, but well known, complication can be life threatening and measures to prevent blood clots traveling through the body are standard in all hospitals. As activity and walking increase, these preventive measures are stopped. As the first day or two passes, most kidney donors begin to return rather quickly to the usual activities of daily living. 

Food and fluid intake resume, less pain medication is needed, and patients begin to anticipate discharge from the hospital to their home. Usually, the only discharge medication required is a standard pain medicine taken by mouth; it may contain some amount of narcotic. Pain control, therefore, may be accompanied by advice not to operate a vehicle, power tool or other machine. 

Further, most surgeons recommend patients do not drive until they are entirely comfortable with operating a vehicle. Patients are also instructed not to lift any object heavier than approximately 10 pounds for a three-to-six-week period following donation. This activity restriction is to prevent the occurrence of hernia in the incision. 

Usually, discharge planning is completed, and the patient is ready to go home on the second, third or the fourth post operative day. "

Whew!!! I am ready!

READY TO GO

My hubby is back from New York. I picked him up at the airport last night with the kids. They were so happy to see him. The only bad part is that now Michael has a cold and has to stay away from him as to not compromise his (Ser) health and the impending surgery. According to Sergio and what they told him up there in New York, all is a go. They are just waiting for my latest results (the 12 tubes of blood episode!) So I'm confident enough now that I'm ready to book my airline ticket to New York today! Whew!

I rcv'd this in the mail from the hospital. It's the letter that states you are scheduled for surgery, Thursday, Nov. 20th plus all the directions. How's this for reality? Turn your head slighty and catch a glimpse!

BLOODY ROLLERCOASTER DAY

So this afternoon, Monday, I finally go see a doctor. Not that I need one but I want them to know my face so when I come back from NY, they will be able to do follow-up on me! I wait almost an hour for "the doctor" only to be told he's running late - duh! "Well, would you like to see the nurse practitioner or wait for "the doctor," they asked me. At first, I insist that I'll wait for him, then when they tell me how long, I decide never mind! While I'm waiting Sergio calls me from NY hospital and tells me all the tests he's done and how they drew blood. He said he had never had so much blood drawn ever before - 18 viles of blood! I freaked out over the phone! Whoah! That's crazy!" "I have to go draw blood too after the doctor appointment I tell him."

We said our good luck's, I love you's and hung up as we each continued with our medical dramas. All went well with the friendly "family nurse practitioner." Now you know that would've never flown by a few years back. Right? I mean really, you go to see a doctor, you want to see a doctor. A nurse is a nurse. I don't care how qualified you are, there's a reason the doctors go to school all those years and get paid the big bucks but considering I have no major physical dramas right now, I saw her and it went well.

Then I was off to the lab for my testing. This one is my local lab. Mine, like I own it! No, it's the neighborhood lab, you know a Quest. Anyway, I've been there so many times recently that the girl who draws blood knows me already. Really nice Cuban lady who can totally relate to me when I say "Ay Cono!" when she sticks the needle in my arm. She knows I hate it and can't look. So she tells me to sit down and I ask her to use the arm that is not sore from the I.V from last week. Remember my little CT Scan drama? That I.V.! Anyway, I sit there and she starts chit-chatting with me. I tell her we are getting closer to the final date. She ask me how my husband is doing, so I explain where he's at and what he's doing. "Can you believe he had 18 tubes of blood drawn today?. I tell her. She's talking, asking questions, I'm cringing, not looking, wondering when it's going to be over. Then she's says "ya." I turn to my right and look down at the table and see a shit load of tubes. I'm like, "Are these all mine? "Where did they come from?" "Yes, She says. She got me all distracted with the chit-chatting, and she drew 12 tubes of blood. The most ever for me! Eek! I was doing just great until I looked at those damn tubes. She wished me luck and sent me on my merry way. Well, my merry way was looking more like I was going to faint away. So I reverted back to my old ways and snuck into the pharmacy across the hall and binged on a diet coke and Large-size "Snickers" bar. All was well again.

Just in time to go pick Chi Chi up from school and take her to gymnastics.

As I'm sitting in gymnastics my cell phone rings and it's Sergio. I tell him all about my large blood draw and ask him how the rest of his day went. I can tell there is something he needs to say when he says, "Well, I spoke to Joan." (Joan is the transplant coordinator.) "Yes," I ask. "Well, they might have to change the date of the surgery." he says. "To when," I yell. Silence or cellular interuptus. Then he says Friday. "Which Friday?! "This Friday," he says, Nov. 14th but it's not confirmed and I won't know until they call me again and tell me for sure."

Can I tell you that at that very moment my heart stopped and my eyes filled with tears. How can I leave the kids in two days without any of my plans in place?

The next half hour was from hell as I wondered what in the world I would do. I called my grandmother in Tampa and told her of the possibility and she talked me through it. She told me to have faith and that it would work out no matter what. So I finished watching Chi Chi as she walked on the beam and jumped off a bouncy board for the first time. When she finished I gave her the biggest hug ever. She thought I was weird for hugging her so much at gymnastics in front of everyone.

Thankfully, by 5p.m. Sergio called me again and told me that the Nov. 20th date was confirmed. So I can go back to my original worrying and planning now.

FREAKING OUT

4:30a.m. -I'm lying awake in bed freaking out. What in the world am I going to do? I am alone with the kids, as Sergio got a call on Friday afternoon that he had to be in New York Presbyterian on Monday morning 10a.m.! I let the kids sleep in bed with me. I know, mistake right? Spoil them right? I DON'T CARE!! I loved it! Cuddling with them, hearing Michael say "Mami te amo" right before he drifted off to sleep. Chi Chi just asking me if she could just hold me (she knows.)

All these wonderful things are what bring me to the computer when I am so stressed. I know all these things that worry me are only temporary. What will I do with the kids? How will I handle not holding Michael, not playing around with them for a while, not driving for weeks? Not driving Chi Chi to school or gymnastics, not going to Publix, the bank and the post office. All those boring tasks I took for granted.

Luckily, and hopefully I will be well again and up and about in 2-3 weeks, I think to myself and then I get strong again. But really I'm fading here! I don't know how I'm going to keep blogging and optimistic when I'm getting more and more stressed and overwhelmed. Yeah, sure I can be strong but really I'm doing this alone. My husband will be under the knife, and then has to stay away for 2 months, my mother is not around and my grandmothers are too old at this point to really hang out with me, so I'm kinda feeling like I want to pout a little. I guess maybe that's where you come in - you are there reading serving as my mental therapist, even if you don't know it.

I have moments like now when I'm typing that I'm like, WTF did I get myself into?! Then most of the time I am excited and thrilled about this challenge and this journey. I am really excited to be able to do something worthwhile with my life. Although, I must say, the most worthwhile thing I've ever done (for me) is having my wonderful children, but aside from that, I guess this will rank.

TESTS

Talk about the pressure being ON! I got a call from the hospital - all my test are cleared!! Looks like things are moving along.

PLANNING

So many people who know me are asking WTF? Why didn't you tell us you were doing something like this? I'm sorry. I actually did not tell anybody probably b/c I did not want to get any grief from anyone as I got from my dad & brother - but then again what can I expect - they worry about me! It's not like I haven't considered every possible outcome, risk, and my children every step of the way. Some agree, some may not but regardless, my decision is made and I am moving forward.

The hardest part for me in all this is the kids - obviously. If you don't know how close to me Chi Chi is - well, she is! She freaked out just when I left that one day and a half last week. I don't even want to imagine for 10-12 days!! I know it's a little bit of an overreaction. Some say, she's spoiled and too attached to me, but what exactly is too attached? I mean really, do we know how long we are all going to live? No! So, then enjoy every damn minute and spoil your kids and let them sleep with you and kiss you to pieces because soon enough it will end. Huh! How's that for dramatic?

I'm still not sure what to do with her (Chi Chi.) I think I have decided to make Minerva's (the babysitter/surrogate grandmother of sorts- in absence of the real ones!) house home base. Michael, our almost two-year old, absolutely feels comfortable with her and Chi Chi pretty much does too. The thing is she will also want to be with her big sister, Lauren when she (Loli) returns from Texas Nov 23/24th. In case you missed it on a previous posts their older siblings, Jason, Aaron & Lauren are all going to a family bar-mitzvah in Texas that has been planned forever. It's a good distraction for the older kids but not for my little ones!

Chi Chi of course wants to take up the offers we have to stay at her best friends house and somewhere in the picture I figure my dad & brother will step in but I really don't want her moving around like a gypsy! Even her amazing Kindergarten teacher from last year has offered to take her home with her, which I have no doubt she would love but I really feel I have to keep my kids together.

I think my real problem will be when I come home and have to re-cooperate. I cannot deal with the kids then because I have to be resting and cannot do any heavy lifting. Can you imagine, I cannot carry Michael for almost 4-6 weeks. That's heart-breaking! I'll deal with it but its heart-breaking.

So if anyone wants to "crash" over for a few days we'll have a slumber party. LOL! Well, not ANYONE!!

We'll see how it all turns out! I work best under pressure.

PURPOSE OF LIFE

A quote I read from "Simple Inspirations" right here in my very own blog:

The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away.

WAITING

So all my tests are officially done. I finished the last one today at the new GYN office. I also got a call today that my mammogram results came in. That was good news, which is a welcome relief considering the family history. Now, we are just waiting for a call from Columbia Presbyterian to see what the results of all my other tests are (ie: blood, kidneys and abdomen etc..)

Lets hope it all works out. They say the 3rd ones a charm and this will be the 3rd attempt for Sergio on the donor drama!

MY MEDICAL TRIP TO N.Y. - PRE-OP KIDNEY DONATION

So where do I begin? What angle should I approach? The everything went well approach, (my tests went smoothly) or the I puked my brains out, couldn't get on an airplane home, I was scared shit less angle? Hmmm, why don't I just give you the straight facts on how my trip went step by step? Well, I said my good-byes at home and got to NYC on Sunday night, Nov. 2nd. Smooth flight. You got to love Jet Blue with those awesome TVs and comfy seats. 

I arrived too late to go anywhere or do anything other than to go to sleep and get ready for an early morning. I stayed at Sergio's cousins house (with Dave & Angie who are just wonderful!) The next day, I woke up early and got ready for my appointment. Angie, Dave's wife thought ahead and ordered some hero sandwiches (a.k.a. "subs") for the long day that awaited me. What deli is open at 7:15a.m. I wondered? But hey, she found it and sent Dave off early to pick them (heroes) up and made sure he arrived with plenty of yummy food for me later that day after my fasting was over. I was told I needed to fast for 12 hours prior to my testing - the blood test and the CT scan that I had to do. Mind you, I cannot survive without a cup of coffee in the morning but I followed the rules and had NOTHING! OF course, before leaving the house I had to take some pictures. I was nervous but I HAD to take pictures! 

  ME & ANGIE GETTING READY TO GO: DAVE & I:

WHERE I STAYED: ALONG THE WAY: I arrived with Dave, Sergio's cousin at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at 8:50a.m. Right on time for my 9a.m. appointment. I re-iterated to Dave that he should not stay with me because it was going to be a LONG day but he insisted! 

 There were so many buildings at Columbia but the one thing that caught my eye was this one:

And so began my medical day. 9:15a.m. - I got called in to take my blood. Have I mentioned that I'm petrified of needles? How I'm going to get through all this I don't know, especially without me being able to complain who I usually complain to - Sergio! I'm a real baby when it comes to these things. The girl who was to take my blood was in such a rush I had to actually say, "Whoa! slow down you are going to hurt me!" By the time I cringed and looked away, she had drawn 8 viles of blood! "Quick Draw McGraw," I called her, or probably Garcia! This was me trying to put on a brave face before getting the needle in my arm. I know what a wimp! I couldn't fake it very well! THE VILES THAT INTIMIDATED ME!! After the blood, I had my vitals checked, weight, height and urine test done, all rather efficiently I must say. 10a.m. - By ten a.m. I was being interviewed by Wienerschnitzel! 

Here I was all nervous about an interview with what I thought would be a psychologist, thinking I would have an emotional meltdown as I talked about my children with someone who could relate to what I was going through emotionally and INSTEAD, I got a psychiatrist right out of a Mel Brooks movie!!! Honest! Weird as can be! My name was called and I followed this tall lady with absolutely no introductions, into this little room and we sat down. She had short curly hair, with bottle cap glasses and was missing a bottom tooth and her last name was Weiner something. She had an accent like Klinger from Hogan's Heroes, really! I was so amused when the interview began (more like inquisition) that I was extremely tempted to snap her picture. I had my camera laying right there on the table as she took notes, I did too. Probably made her nervous. 

It was quite the experience, but I passed with flying colors. 

12 Noon - Okay, so now it's noon and I'm officially starving. I was scheduled to have my CT scan at 12 noon. We walk over to the CT Scan department in radiology, which for some strange reason was in the Babies Hospital. The pediatric unit. Great right? Just what I need, to see small children suffering as I'm missing my own. Actually, it made me realize how extremely fortunate I am. So, I sit down with Dave and we start waiting and waiting and waiting. 

By 1:45p.m. I'm a monster and ready to bite someone's head off. I don't do well when I'm hungry. I had a 2:45p.m. meeting scheduled with a doctor, so I'm stressing that I will miss that. I still also had to get a chest xray and cardiogram done and a 3:45pm with a social worker. 

THE AREA I WAITED IN IN THE PEDIATRIC UNIT:

2:50p.m. - I get up and go complain. "Why haven't I been given that nasty chalk liquid to drink yet?" After all, I have to wait one hour after drinking it. I'm going to be late for sure. I know it. Five minutes, later, this technician guy comes out like he's serving margaritas or something with six bottles with straws. Two for each of us waiting - yeah, you do the math silly. It was me, an older lady and another 40-ish lady all anxious to get this over with. He explains. You have to drink each bottle in half an hour, after one hour, then you will have your scan and be injected with more dye for contrast via an I.V. Okay, so here starts my real anxiety. Instead of calmly drinking my chalk-like drinks. I'm hungry, I'm thirsty and anxious so I pretty much inhaled those nasty drinks in a heartbeat on an empty stomach as I dashed for another building to try to do my chest xray and cardiogram in that one-hour span. All I can say is it did not work out as I planned. It all went down hill for me there, physically speaking. That chalky drink gave me the worst stomachache in history. Remember the scene from "Dumb and Dumber?" That's all I have to say. By the time I got back to actually do the scan it was almost 3:45p.m.!!! I was afraid I was running out of chalky stuff inside my body and would have to do it again. Luckily, this was not the case. Once inside, the worst part for me began and the anxiety. I was strapped down my legs anyway, I had an I.V. put in my arm to inject more dye, which burns like a mother f!#@$% and the scan unit had Mickey Mouse stickers, Ariel the Mermaid and all kinds of cutie stickers to remind me of my kids. Meltdown in progress..... Once I finished this horrible procedure (at least to me anyway) I felt like I was truly going to faint. It was 5p.m. and I had no food in my system since 9p.m. the previous night plus lots of nasty dye. 

So, I come out looking like death and Dave says, "Why don't you have a bite of your hero?" Good idea I thought. A bite, I inhaled that sucker!!! It was soo good. It's actually called a "Godfather Hero" and it was!! So now, I'm off to meet the doctor, two hours late with two bottles of chalk substance in my body and a huge combo of deli meats!1 Oy! I'm feeling pretty gross right about now. 

5p.m. - We hurry to the next building to see if by chance the doctor is still around. As I walk into the room the Dr. is coincidentally asking the receptionist if he knows what happened to me. I say, "Are you Dr. Cohen?" "Yes, I am," he answered. And I lucked out! I got a lot of my questions answered and he asked ME a lot of questions, similar to those the shrink did but I stuck to my story. LOL! 

What I didn't know is that he was going to examine me!!!!! Oh, I can't even tell you how my stomach was at this point. Please don't touch my stomach, I kept thinking. Please, please. But that he did, my stomach, my kidneys, my heart. Lucky for me & him...no catastrophes. 

After that meeting I said to Dave I'm done. I didn't care if I still hadn't seen the social worker. I wanted out of there. And so ended my medical day at 6p.m. By now all the stomach pains, stress, dye, hunger and everything else had creeped up on me. Still, I said yes to going to a Greek restaurant. Conclusion - I got so sick I could not get on my flight that night home, even though I had promised Chi Chi (my 6-year old daughter,) I'd be there in the a.m. to take her to school. It broke my heart, but it would have been a disastrous plane ride. 

As soon as I got back home (their home) in Long Island I put my head on the pillow and waited until the next day. All in all, it went well. At least until about 2p.m. or so. Everything else is just me being a baby. I'll have to wait until the end of this week for all the results and if it's all fine, the surgeries are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20th.

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ELECTION NIGHT

Congratulations Barack Obama!! Now PLEASE steer us in the right direction!!!

IN NEW YORK

I am in New York and ready to face a very long day of testing at Columbia Presbyterian tomorrow. I prepared for my fasting by pigging out as soon as I landed by eating sushi and chocolate cake! I guess you can say between the stress and PMS I am entitled, right?

Saying goodbye today to the kids was just a glimpse of how hard it's going to be when the time of the operation comes and I have to leave for a few weeks - probably more so for me. I'm the adult and supposed to be the strong one. As Chi Chi hugged me today and cried that she would miss me, I got down on my knees and hugged her too and shed some tears. Tears because I will miss her, tears becuase I know how horrible it is to want your mom and not to have her, so every minute that I am away I feel for her but then I am reminded that she is six and oh so easily distracted! Her big sister took her to Wanna-Do City for the afternoon as I was preparing to leave, so I know that at least there was some major distraction for several hours. My lil'man was coaxed into what a fun time he was going to have at the babysitter's house, so that goodbye was not as rough. Although, I made the mistake of calling when I landed and he knew it was me on the phone and started to cry "Mommy mommy, hello, hello" because he wanted to speak with me. He got on the phone and said "Te amo Mami" and I melted and cried. How am I going to do this? How I am I suppoes to keep it together when I cry at every whim? Lets just hope it's the hormones or the PMS. That shrink is gonna have a field day with me tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes.

Until tomorrow....