March 10, 2023

        Three radiation treatments down, two to go.
       Finally scheduled! I have a bone biopsy on one of the lesions on Tuesday that hopefully will give definitive word on whether I have Multiple Myeloma or Smoldering Multiple Myeloma.  Preliminary results should be available by the time I meet with the Hematologist on Thursday.
       Thanks for your prayers on this.  I had waited 17 days to hear something about the scheduling of the bone biopsy.  In the 22 years I have been coming here, that was very, very unlike Mayo Clinic.  They are usually efficient in getting appointments scheduled, as well as keeping you informed.
       I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns.  After having been at Mayo so many times, I passed by the registration desk and walked up to the next desk that is the hub for what is happening with doctors and patients in the hematology department.  Desk really gives the wrong impression.  There are 4-5 computer stations often in a horseshoe. 
       A young lady at the desk noticed that I had just walked in without being called.  I asked if the doctor was in today.  She said that he wasn’t in.  I asked if he had been there at all this week and she said that he had not been at the Clinic all week, which made me feel somewhat better.  I told her the situation and she asked for my Mayo number.  I quoted it from memory.
       She looked over my chart and said that the doctor had put in the order for the bone biopsy, which was good news to me.  The bad news was that apparently the radiation department that handles bone biopsies indicated that they had tried to contact me by text but had gotten no response. 
       One of the stations in the “horseshoe” is where the appointment secretary resides.  I have found in over 22 years that the real power at Mayo lies in the hands of the appointment secretaries.  I hit the jackpot.  The young lady was the appointment secretary for hematology. 
       When she realized that I had been waiting for 17 days to get the bone biopsy scheduled, the look on her face was enough for me to know that someone in the chain will be held accountable.  She apologized over and over, which wasn’t her place to do so.  She wasn’t the one who dropped the ball.
       She asked me to have a seat in the waiting area.  Within 15 minutes she had the bone biopsy scheduled and handed me the paperwork and directions that usually accompany procedures at Mayo.  That’s why the last 17 days have been so frustrating.  That’s the way it should have happened in the first place.
       I am writing this within an hour after leaving the Clinic.  A nurse on the bone biopsy team has already called about the procedure on Tuesday.  I couldn’t help but smile.
       So, thanks for your prayers.  I don’t think I came across in any way mean spirited.  And we got the biopsy scheduled.  Two for two.
 
       Here’s a couple of points to ponder.
 
       The winter snow emergency as had been in the forecast made me think of some of the weather forecasters in Kentucky.  It ended up snowing about four inches.  Schools weren’t canceled and by noon even the sidewalks were all cleared.  Kind of like a flea to Minnesotans.
       The thermostat in my room is in a dark area.  I have been a bit hot so I wanted to turn down the temperature.  This afternoon it was 75 degrees in the room.  When I opened the curtains and could see the small print on the thermostat, the heating unit was actually on off.   I have been in this room for going on six days, the weather was well under freezing most of the time, and I haven’t had any heat, but I have been hot all week.  Tells me something about how things are built in the north.  I opened the window!
       I’ll save some stuff to share over the weekend when not much is going on.
       Thanks again for your prayers.