As most of you know we are here at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We left early Wednesday morning and drove for about 13 hrs through Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Minnesota. We had wonderful road conditions and made really good time considering the number of times we needed to stop for gas or food. We checked into our hotel around 7:30 pm (8:30 Michigan time). On Thursday morning we had to be to the clinic by 8:30 am. Thankfully the hotel offers a free shuttle to and from the clinic b/c traffic here is CRAZY! Once we had Andy all registered, we headed up to his first appointment. He had to do a breathing test to get a baseline for how is breathing is. Then we had to wait a few hours to see the doctor. He asked us lots of questions about Andy's history and his past and present health so he could get a feel for his case. He was a little concerned about why his health would haven gotten worse in the past 6-8 months all of a sudden, but thankfully he wasn't to concerned about his heart. He said that Andy would have to have a few tests run so he could have a better idea of what was going on with him. He ordered a CT scan for his sinuses and his chest (lungs and heart), an EKG, and an allergy test. All of which should be able to give us the answers we need. The only bad part is we have to stay here until Monday b/c of they were unable to get all his tests done this week and he is scheduled to come back here the following Monday to follow up with the doctor. I was upset about that at first...I guess it was just a shock to me b/c I wasn't anticipating it at all...I figured the latest we would be home would be Saturday. But the more I thought about it I realized that it had to be God's plan...He has been so faithful to us in EVERY step so far, and I truly believe He had His reasons for keeping us here. I'm okay with staying here now, although I miss my kids terribly, but I'm still really praying that we will be able to see the doctor before we leave so we won't have to make another trip back. And in a way, I am grateful that we didn't have to leave today b/c when we woke up this morning there was lots of snow and the roads were very slippery....we would have had to drive in that.
So, I guess since we are here we are just going to make the most of it. We will have to miss Easter with our kids, but luckily the Easter Bunny is willing to make an extra special trip to Grandma's house to leave the kids their baskets! Tomorrow we are planning on making the 90 minute trip to the Mall of America. This place has 4 levels and a 7 acre amusement park so we should have lots to do.Today I took some pictures at the Clinic. There is all kinds of art work, glass work, and sculptures there. They even have Mayo's first ambulance....of course it was a horse drawn ambulance.Before I go, I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. It is appreciated more than words can say, and I know they are being heard. I have felt the Lord's presence in every step of this journey. He ceases to amaze me.