Hi Babyblues 262,
RUN DON'T WALK TO MAYO. The care at our local hospitals in Michigan has gotten so bad that they don't listen to one thing said about issues I face. They want to do it their way to use me as a human guinea pig and do not care in the process if I live or die.
I got on the computer and searched for heart surgeons at Mayo, and specifically looked for any with expertise for doing multiple open heart procedures (as this would be my third), and one that worked with seniors. I found the doctor I wanted and called to see if there would be any problem getting into him and told them my artificial aortic valve was failing and I cannot do the valves that go up through the groin because I would have to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life and I can't take them. They shut down my entire digestive system. I was called two days later with an appointment for 3 weeks later with Dr. Juan Crestanello. There has never been a kinder, more caring, skillful and thorough doctor that I have ever known. That man deserves more then triple A's or 5 stars. I never expect to meet another like him in my lifetime.
Why I say run don't walk -- I went there alone at 69 years of age, but never once did I feel alone. I was scheduled for testing over a 4-6 day period and if I was having a bad day with walking or trying to get from one side of that hospital to another, all I had to do was ask for a wheelchair and there was someone there shortly thereafter who also provided plesant chatter as we breezed acrossed that place. When they were done with testing they knew everything about me and if I had a hangnail they would know, they are that thorough. They tested me for allergies to antibiotics, something no one esle ever did. They just let me suffer the hives and Urticaria that had me burning from the tips of the toes to my hair follicles. Mayo knew exactly what antibiotics could be used, because my system had to be flooded with them for three days to make certain that there was no systemic infection to get to my heart during or after the surgery.
I have been in two hospitals locally and at Cleveland Clinic and I can tell you for a fact, I have NEVER been treated more like a human being that mattered, then I was a Mayo. I was checked on all the time. This was in 2018, and while our healthcare, locally, continues to fall to the bottom of the peg, my greatest wish would be for Mayo to bring a facility to Southwest Michigan, as I would be one of the first patients to walk through the door for my follow-up care. HERE, it took me two years to get a doctor to put in a pacemaker when my heart rate fell to 38-42 for a resting heart rate.
I would have been at Mayo in a minute, but it was during covid, and this is Michigan!!! There was no one at Mayo that I can say a bad word about. As we age our electrolytes are sometimes hard to keep balanced and I asked one of the nurses if there was Gatorade I could get anywhere in the hospital. She called the kitchen but it wasn't offered. She went down with her own money on her lunch break and bought a 6-pack of Gatorade and brought it back to me.
Never have I ever seen such thoughtful or caring doctors or staff anywhere I have been, and my PA sent me everywhere trying to get that Pacemaker. That would have been taken care of instantly at Mayo, in fact in follow-up questionnaires I'm sent every couple of years from Mayo, one of the questions asked, was if I had to get a pacemaker. I now send them annual echocardiograms to keep then apprised of how I am doing. When they stop they will know I was called to go home and there will be no more follow ups.
Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to speak up if you don't understand or you want further information. They will provide it in a heartbeat. When making reservations for a hotel call the front desk at Mayo and ask them for a referral to ones there that provide transportation. The bus at my hotel was waiting at that door at 5-6 a.m. every morning and did it's trek dropping patients off wherever they needed to be dropped off and you call when you are ready for pick up and they come to bring you back to the hotel. They left, I believe, every hour, so everyone knew to be there that had to be somewhere for appointments. My hotel (Soldier's Field, I believe) had a breakfast nook and a restaurant. After covid who knows what businesses survived. They also pick you up at the airport and if you have a day off from testing you can take that bus to the Mall of America, which they also have two set times for picking you back up to take you back to the hotel.
They knew I was there alone. They let me know when others called the desk to inquire how I was, so I could call them. What I love about Mayo is they are open to alternative therapies, and they are open to listening to you, and they will answer every question you have so go armed with all that you need to know.