Whew! That was a day!

What a day today!  Of course, I was at Mayo again, my home away from home.   I fit so many tests in today.  I'm so thankful to get them all over with at once!  Patrick and I woke up early this morning here in the Mission's House.  This time we brought along Elisabeth and Micah to Jacksonville.  Shortly before we left, Micah and Beth woke up to start their day.  We waved goodbye and headed to the Clinic.  I had so many appointments!  So, here's a brief (or maybe not) rundown.

~Usually at the lab we don't wait very long. They usually call us back within 5 minutes.  This time we waited and waited.  I decided to check in with the front desk to make sure I really had checked in. They told me it could be a while because I have a huge order and they are preparing it.  After an hour they called me back.  There were two nurses there ready for my blood.  Seriously!  One nurse said that the most vials she has taken was 42, so I shouldn't worry, I wouldn't be setting a record today... I'm only having to do 38.  Wow!  And I thought the 17 or so last time was a lot!  So, two needle sticks and an hour later, I was done with that appointment.  I was just disappointed I wasn't offered a cookie!

~Then, I had a stress test.  It's not much fun to run on a treadmill on an empty stomach.  I haven't done much activity in the past 7 months.  Since I have been sick I haven't really done a whole lot of anything.  The treadmill was difficult, but they were able check the differences in my heart before and after with the ultrasound machine.

~I ran to a few different floors and had a few more visits done.  I'm so thankful they are being thorough!

~Between two of my appointments I had a 3 hour wait.  I had 4 pulmonology appointments scheduled for October.  Every time I called to see if I could move these up and get them done this week, there were never any sooner appointments.  I sent some messages to my praying friends and asked them to pray God would open the door for me to go on standby to get these appointments over with.  God is so good!  I went to the 7th floor and asked if I could try standby for some of those appointments.  They looked at the half full waiting room and  said, "Sure!"  After 30 minutes, the nurse called me back and said, "I think we can squeeze all 4 of these appointments in."  And we did!  There were a lot of breathing tests.  They told me I don't have asthma.  I knew that already.   Then, I did an Arterial Blood Gas test.  That is where they take blood from your artery on the side of your wrist.  Not from the vein like on a normal blood draw.  The nurse started by saying, "I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt!"  Wow!   What a way to start.  She told me to think of something happy.  So, I started thinking of my precious kiddos.  I sure do love them.  The nurses laughed at their span in ages.  And in the midst of this, God calmed my nerves and it really wasn't that bad.  God answers prayer!  Thank you dear Lord!

~After 9 hours of appointments,  my awesome husband picked me up, bought some to-go Japanese for me, and I went straight to a warm bath.

I'm thankful all those appointments are out of the way.  I'm praying they will be revealing to what is causing my pain.  As I was reading my Bible this morning, the Lord, once again, gave me exactly what I needed! 

Psalm 16:8,9, 11 "I have set the LORD always before me:  because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:  my flesh also shall rest in hope.  11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life:  in thy presence is fulness of joy;  at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."