Sunday, April 22, 2012

Many Thanks, Mayo Clinic & All!!!

Well, had my surgeries and am now recovering.
The best news is that the tissue samples from the uterus, ovaries, and lymph nodes all came back benign!
My white blood cell count has continued to go up so have a few more things to work out with my blood, but things are looking good!
The surgeries, the transfusion, and the infusions all went very well!

Hard to believe that we won't have to go back up to Mayo for several weeks.

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville became our home away from home for the last few months.

Let me tell you, it is an amazing place!

Have such gratitude and appreciation for the dedicated staff at Mayo Clinic.
The medical community there is so professional, progressive, and knowledgeable, but more importantly, they are so kind and compassionate.
Their holistic approach to medicine is unmatched.

They were not only wonderful to me, but to my entire family!

Just feel very blessed that I had the opportunity to receive care and have surgery there.

Here are some fun photos of the boys enjoying their time while I was getting care at Mayo Clinic.

Am not including photos of myself, as I did not look too pretty with an oxygen mask, IVs from every place, and a splint on my nose. Papa and Grandad are in a few photos, but Grandmom, G, and Dear Hubby missed being in the photos, although they were all there for much of the time too.
Here are the boys having fun at one of the most caring and compassionate places in the world.

Boys having fun at their home away from home, Marriott Courtyard, Mayo Clinic Campus.

Boys playing jump the lasers with the hideous albeit entertaining carpet at Marriott Courtyard, Mayo Clinic Campus.

Boys riding a statue at St. John's Crossing, a nice shopping area near Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.

Boys by the pond at St. John's Crossing by the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville.

Little Bro having fun with a wax sticks kit that they gave to him at the Montana Grill near the Mayo Clinic.

Little Bro enjoying the pool at the Marriott Courtyard, Mayo Clinic Campus.

Big Bro having fun climbing a tree at the Marriott Courtyard, Mayo Clinic Campus.

Lake Mayo. Mayo Clinic Campus, Jacksonville Florida. A big thanks to the Davis family for purchasing the land and making the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville possible. I passed this little lake and fountain each and every time I had to go to the Davis Building. Actually cried both the first time and the last time I passed it, as it was so amazing to be at Mayo Clinic and to finally get my health issues resolved. Just an absolutely amazing place!

Passed this gorgeous wall hanging so many times going in and out of Mayo. It is just so lovely! It takes up a big section of a wall in the main hallway of Mayo. Made of hand carved wooden pieces and metal too. Would like to say thanks to the artist, Emily Wilson, for making something so pretty to look at each and every day. I would like to make or else possibly purchase a mini version of this for our home.

Boys climbing one of the many trees on the Mayo Clinic campus.

Boys having fun walking on the safety pylons outside Mayo. Papa is in the background, watching the boys.

More tree climbing fun at Mayo Clinic! The Davis Building is in the background of this photo of the boys in the tree.
Big Bro having fun at Jax Beach.

Little Bro at Jax Beach.

Here are the boys having fun in the Atlantic Ocean at Jax Beach, Florida.

Another day at Jax Beach while Mom was at Mayo...

Grandad and Little Bro were a team on their strawberry picking day. Thanks to Grandad and Grandmom for taking them to St. Augustine during one of the many trips to Mayo Clinic.

Big Bro and Grandmom were a team for strawberry picking. They got some wonderful strawberries that I got to enjoy when not in the hospital at Mayo...got to eat them on the ride back home!

Boys at the produce stand getting some snacks following their fun field trip day with the Grands.

Thank you so much to Dr. Dinh, Dr. Bolger, Dr. Rivera, Dr. Yamani, Dr. Thiel, Dr. Hutchinson, Dr. Silvers, Dr. Safford, Dr. Patton, Dr. Broderick, Dr. Patel, Dr. Flipse, Dr. Sears, and all of their respective staffs. Thanks to all of the excellent nurses and medical assistants too.
Nurse Danielle and M.D.,  you two were so awesome! Thanks to all of you for my wonderful care!
Thanks also to the staff at Marriott Courtyard Mayo Campus. It meant so much that you held an Easter egg hunt for our boys and the handful of other children who were staying at the hotel while their parents were being treated or having surgery at Mayo. The boys had a blast climbing the trees, searching for plastic eggs, and hanging out with the others at the hotel. Thanks to Bianca who went above and beyond the call of duty in the cafe by always looking out for the boys and our family. You were so nice to us and made us some great meals.
Thanks also to the staff at Wingate Hotel by Wyndham. On a few of our many visits to Mayo, you had rooms available so we got to check out your facility too. The boys loved your pool, as they thought that it was super cool to be able to swim underneath the plastic wall divider to go from the inside to the outside. We also liked the free breakfasts you had for us there, as some days, we did not feel much like driving.  
Thanks to Grandmom, Grandad, as well as Papa and G for coming along to Mayo with us on our many trips there. 
Thanks to the boys for being troopers through it all!
Love you boys!
Best, Best, Best as we like to say!
Think that both Big Bro and Little Bro could draw a map from our home to Mayo Clinic featuring all of the landmarks on the way, as they know the route by heart now. Little Bro always knew that we were getting close to Mayo as we approached the blue lighted bridge.
He and Big Bro got into the routine of reading the signs as we approached the Mayo Clinic Campus.

Thanks to my Dear Hubby, who had to pick up the responsibility of not only working full time and being the daddy, but also all of the things that I would normally do with the boys.
Thanks for caring for me, for the boys, and for G when she was visiting with us.
Thank you for trying to keep a positive attitude, and for being an amazing hubby too!
Love you so much! Kiss kiss!

Thanks to our friends and neighbors who sent meals, text messages, emails, FB posts, Twitter direct messages, and gift cards, as well as all of our friends and family who sent cards, prayers, and well wishes.
It really meant a great deal to us.

Well, hope that all of you are enjoying your weekend!
We are enjoying it here.
The Grands are visiting us now, and that has been so nice!
They watched the boys last night so that Dear Hubby and I could have a mini date night!
Had been so long since Dear Hubby and I had gotten to do something as a couple like that so it was really fun!

Finally, thanks to my blog readers.
Appreciate that you have popped by and have read this post.

Thank you to those who left comments or sent emails to let me know that you are thinking of my family and me. It was a long road, but we are on the path to recovery now and that is a wonderful feeling!

Hope to get back into the groove of posting on a regular basis but might just take it easy for a little bit longer.
Hope that you will pop by my Pinterest boards, though...have done loads of pinning, as it was a great way to pass the time in the hospital and in the car, going to and from Mayo!

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