Over the river and through downtown, to University Hospital we go . . .

Mike has been to the ER twice in the last 5 days and spent all of Tuesday afternoon in the endocrinologist’s office. It seems his body is slowly but surely getting worse, endocrinically-speaking (I made that term up). Mike’s blood sugar is slowly creeping up and trips to the hospital have been for headaches so severe he is vomiting and hefty spikes in fevers. The neurosurgeon asked Mike to go to the ER last night fearful of meningitis, which Mike does not have (he’s had that test . . . shocking, I know). We are thankful he does not have this. During our trip to downtown UC last night, we met Dr. John. Now this is confession time. In April, when Mike had his gall bladder removed, I developed a slight “crush”, if you will, on Mike’s surgeon. He was the first doctor in a very long time that took Mike’s symptoms seriously, went after them aggressively and helped Mike to feel better (despite tests results that showed everything was fine – you’ll remember Mike’s gall bladder, upon removal, was very infected despite negative test results). I developed a slight “admiration” that day, and last night was “admiration” number two. This is boding fine for marriage, don’t you worry. Mike’s fully aware of my crushes for these doctors who are a breath of fresh air, who sit and listen, who think outside the box, and who are willing to put Mike’s quality of life concerns above impending appointments and ER-filled rooms. Tonight, Dr. John spent some amazing time taking through all of Mike’s three-year medical history, asking questions as we told our story. It was cathartic for someone to listen, truly listen. Turns out Dr. John is the chief of staff – imagine the chief of staff spending extensive time in an ER patient’s room and truly caring about them! At the end of the evening, Mike was admitted to rule out a possible heart infection. Yes, this is new. I will know more as the day progresses and will update you.
Bless you, longsuffering friends, who have not forgotten us in your own sufferings. We are eternally grateful.
Becka