Supporting my mom who is going to Mayo Clinic

Sounds like an awesome plan. Happy to hear that you will be there with your mom and that you will be staying in a hotel.

When I entered Mayo Clinic almost six years ago, I really had no idea what to expect except I knew this was the place to be. With my first step thru the doors at the clinic a feeling of such peace came over me along with GOD telling me in my heart that this was where HE wanted me to be.

I came looking for answers why I was losing the use of my thumb. You could of knocked me over with a feather when by the end of the week I was speaking with the neurosurgeon to discuss brain surgery. I never worried or stressed about my diagnosis or surgery. Everyone at Mayo has your back. I can’t even put into words about the care I received there. You have to experience it to understand it. I can feel “the needs of the patient come first” in the atmosphere. It still moves me to tears every time I think about my care there. I look forward to my annual checkups.

Your mom will be at the BEST place to be along with the BEST doctors there are. Everyone at Mayo absolutely ROCKS!!

Ok Mayo family! While my mom and I are at Mayo it will be here birthday, which this year falls on memorial day. So we will have the day off from the clinic. Assuming she feels up to it, any suggestions or ideas on fun things we could do for her birthday? She outdoorsy, loves camping etc. It will depend on how she feels but I want to do something for her birthday even if it isn't on the day.

2 things I did in Rochester while I was waiting for appointments were to look at the art, especially around the Gonda building. Beautiful glass sculptures in the lobby, and there's a Mayo history exhibit to see as well.

Something I read somewhere, was a news article that says that Rochester MN has more wheelchairs than any other place. Take a walk and count all of the empty wheelchairs that you see. I did that one day 🙂

Here it is, it was on npr
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/10/24/358306749/in-minnesota-abandoned-wheelchairs-are-just-part-of-the-landscape

Quarry Hill Nature Center might be a nice place to visit if your mom is up to it - https://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/quarry-hill-nature-center/2465

Here are a couple of sites with suggestions
- 21 Ways to Spend Two Hours in Rochester MN: https://rochestermom.com/rochestermn/things-to-do/things-to-do-rochester-mn-free-time/
- Explore Minnesota - Top Things to Do in Rochester, MN: https://www.exploreminnesota.com/article/top-things-to-do-rochester

Wheelchair counting sounds fun! HAHa

It's something I learned from my college friends, who live in Rochester. Wheelchairs are everywhere, when you stay in a hotel, there will be chairs in the hallway, just left there. From the article, in 2014, there are over 1000 wheelchairs

Mayo Clinic has 1,180 wheelchairs in its Rochester fleet, largely for patient transport. It loses up to 150 chairs each year, says general services manager Ralph Marquez, who oversees patient equipment.

At $550 each, that could be as much as $82,500 a year.

"Yes, it's a financial burden to us from that standpoint, but it's also a service we provide,"

Hi, @tiffdavidson I was just thinking about you and your mom today. Since you mentioned her birthday is on Memorial day and she'll be at the clinic, you two must be getting close to making the trek to Rochester. Any last minute questions? You can always pop onto Connect when you're there and ask away...

Wishing you and your mum a safe and productive trip to Mayo. I hope she finds some answers and gets on the road to recovery. You're an amazing daughter! As a mum myself, I can tell you the huge sense of comfort you're bringing to your mom by going along with her. Take care! Lori

I just read your old post and wondered how they can tell you expect 7 to 10 days when they have no idea yet on the test results or treatments? Sorry for being a downer but I was just wondering

Hi @dave You bring up a great question about scheduling with Mayo Clinic and the open ended visits. 7-10 days seems like an odd request when you only have one or two appointments scheduled.

Mayo is quite unique in their approach with patient diagnosis and treatment.
With the initial appointment, the doctors and their specialized teams will review any documents sent with the patient. By doing so, they have a basic idea which medical area of expertise this patient will be directed in consideration to their illness. The interdepartmental collaboration with all Mayo doctors is outstanding! I’m a patient there and have experienced this first hand!

Once you’re in the clinic and evaluated, that’s when the miracle of Mayo starts happening. Tests and procedures are scheduled in a time-frame unparalleled in other medical facilities. The speed, efficiency and flexibility of this clinic allows appointments to happen fast, sometimes within hours or the next day.
In this case you inquired about, they’ve given the woman an approx time of 7-10 days. Each result might bring the need for more clarification with another test or procedure. They want the patient to be there and available for however long this might take. Often patients travel huge distances to be diagnosed so this saves repeated, inconvenient trips for them and also aids in the continuity of the testing phase at Mayo.

Mayo Clinic doesn’t have to send out for results to tests as it is all done in-house. Blood tests are done at lightening speed, imaging and X-rays are read immediately, and biopsies or other procedures performed ASAP without having to go home and wait to be scheduled. That is why they have an open ended time frame for initial appointments. Once all the input data has been read, the teams get together and come up with a game plan and course of action.

The staff at Mayo are committed to patient care and are relentless in the pursuit of finding a cause and cure. They work with the patient’s local doctors to have treatment continued in their hometown if at all possible.

Does that help give you a perspective on the open-ended schedule? I know it feels unreasonable at the time but it’s a system which works amazingly well.

Hi @tiffdavidson Wondering how everything turned out with your mom and evaluation visit to the Mayo Clinic. Was she able to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan?
I hope everything is well with her and that you both had a positive experience while in Rochester. Is there anything we can help you with?

Thinking of you, Lori