Changing of the Guard

At 7:00 AM I received a bedside visit from my Gastroenterologist, who informed me that he had modified his schedule, so that he could perform an Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) at 11:00 AM to determine where the bleeding was coming from. The EGD procedure utilizes a small flexible endoscope introduced through the mouth to check for problems in the upper digestive tract. The procedure is performed while the patient is under sedation. It went very well and he determined that the bleeding had already stopped and was most likely the result of some esophageal verices due to excessive pressure in the common bile duct which had become blocked. The Dr. relayed his finding to my friends. He told me at a subsequent appointment that I had the most awesome friends he had ever met.

I woke up just in time to say goodbye to Aaron, Bobby, Mark, & Peter who were headed to the airport. The weekend was nothing like we had planned, but it was wonderful to have their loving & caring support during this traumatic time.

A few minutes later, my Mother arrived from Portland, Oregon. She dropped everything to get on the first plane to Tulsa when I asked her to come. She arrived just in time to get me some food from the cafeteria, as I was cleared to eat for the first time since Saturday morning.

She was quickly brought up to date as almost all of my doctors came to the room to discuss the new findings. We visited until almost 11:00 PM, when she checked into my outpatient room at the center. CTCA is set up great for visiting family members as they provide accommodations at the treatment center.