Medical Update on the Godfather: Part V

It's been a while since we've last put an update on uncle Andy's medical care at the Mayo Clinic here in Rochester. Here is what is going on since our last posting:

1. On Saturday some beautiful flowers arrived for uncle Andy from his sister Evelyn (Michele's mother), Paul (her father), and Grandma (uncle Andy's mother). They now sit on our dining room table where remarkably Veto has not attempted to eat them.
2. Monday morning at 6:00am Michele took uncle Andy and aunt Diane to the Mayo Gonda building where a PET (Positron emission tomography) scan would be performed. Check in time was at 6:15am, but a sign at the desk said the staff would not be there until 6:30am. Rummaging around the desk they found a sign in form and started filling it out.
3. Dan the nurse came in and took uncle Andy to be scanned.
4. The secretary arrived at 6:30am as well as other patients. An older man wearing suspenders, a golf shirt, and Bermuda shorts was in line. He had a huge hole in his sock. In fact, it was more hole than sock, with the hole extending all the way up to the elastic part around his calf.
5. Andy emerged from the PET scan. While Michele worked on the schedule, uncle Andy and aunt Diane went down to get a soda in the main atrium. They finally saw the elusive piano woman with the large glasses. According to Diane, "I have seen car windshields smaller than the glasses she was wearing!' Uncle Andy dubbed them the "Tweety Bird Signature Series Spectacles."
   
6. At 11:30am they went to see the hematologist Dr. Aneel. He claimed he wanted to palpate uncle Andy's lymph under his arm pit. He did so in such an aggressive manner, it almost seemed like he was trying to remove it with his bare hands. All that was missing was some chanting and it would have been like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom. As a result Andy was unable to raise his arms for the rest of the day. All kidding aside, Dr. Aneel is a great doctor, but unfortunately he will be out the rest of the week. Not to worry, he talked to his colleagues and they all agree...it should be the head of Mayo's department of hematology who sees Andy then. And thus it shall be on Friday. Dr. Aneel also talked to surgery about getting a sample to biopsy.
   
7. After seeing Dr. Aneel, they all went down to the floor where nutritional info is. Aunt Diane saw the most beautiful bouquet of roses. When she tried to smell it, there was no aroma. She then realized they were fake.
8. They then went to the urology department. The new residents have started, and a herd of them went by wearing their new suits from Men's Wearhouse and shiny new shoes from DSW.
   
9. After waiting in the examination room for 40 minutes, the urologist finally came in. Without any explanation for such a long delay, he glanced through the papers. He then scribbled a picture of a stent placement on a piece of paper and tried to hand it to uncle Andy, behaving as if it were a van Gogh. Andy tried to decline it, but the urologist insisted he take his artwork. Five minutes after entering the room, the urologist left.
   
10. The three then went to see the surgeon. A fellow (above a resident) was telling them that they could not get Andy into surgery before the end of the week. Then the consultant came in. She looked at the PET scan, turned to uncle Andy and said, "First thing tomorrow, your my first surgery. One way or another we will get a good biopsy so we can get a proper diagnosis so you can start the appropriate treatment."
11. They headed home, we ordered pizza for dinner from Nick-N-Willy's. It's strange out here...there are pizza places where you order pizza, you pick it up...and when you get home you still have to bake it. But it was good pizza.
12. Tuesday morning at 5:45am, Michele brought uncle Andy and aunt Diane to Mayo's St. Mary's Hospital. There was an admitting desk with 3 stations...and a sea of people all to have surgery that day.
    
13. At 6:30am uncle Andy was taken into pre-op. They him put in a room...in a bed...in a sea of beds (roughly in 4 rows of 8).
    
14. Meanwhile Michele and aunt Diane took over the waiting room. The secured the only two reclining barcaloungers, turned on Fox news, and settled in. They watched Tony Snow's press conference.
15. At 8:30am uncle Andy went into surgery. The surgeon looked in his neck first, but said it wasn't cancerous so she had to go to the groin where she was successful getting a sample
16. At 11:00am while uncle Andy was in recovery, the surgeon called aunt Diane. She told her it would take 5 days to get a proper biopsy due to the number of stains they needed for the right diagnosis (needed to prescribe the best suited treatment).
17. At 11:30am uncle Andy went from the recovery room to a hospital room. He slept for many, many hours. He did not take a leak for a very, very long time.
18. At 1:30pm Michele has to leave aunt Diane's side to start her shift.
    
19. At 5:30pm uncle Andy was able to discharge urine. As a result the hospital was able to discharge him.
20. At 6:05pm, Paul and Sammy picked up aunt Diane and uncle Andy from St. Marys and took them home.
21. At 11:45pm Michele got home from work. She was surprised to see everyone (except Sammy and Paul) still awake.
    
22. At 12:15am Sammy woke up everyone. Paul stumbled down the stairs and provided him with some milk. Sammy slept the rest of the night.
    

Next steps:

• Thursday - Echo cardiogram, a stent will be "installed" between his kidney and bladder, and an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of uncle Andy's spine.
• Friday - meeting with the head of Mayo's department of hematology.
  

Sometimes it is a very good thing...
...to work for a premier medical facility...
...that has a lady with massive fishbowl glasses...
... who plays the grand piano in the lobby...