For my first visit, I flew in on Sunday and out on Thursday. Though we had someone to care for our kids, because we were both gone, we didn't want to leave them for a full week.

For my second and third visits in December and January, I went for a full week (flew in on Sunday and out the following Saturday.)

For my fourth visit, I flew in for only one appointment and lab test, but I thought that this would be the most important appointment and test of my life -- and I was right. (If interested, see my other post about Cytochrome P450.)

For my August 2016 visit, I flew in on Sunday and was supposed to fly out on Thursday, but they asked me to stay an extra eight days because they needed to run tests in order to see if I needed surgery. Normally, I would have had to wait three months for these appointments, but another patient had cancelled and they immediately gave me their appointment slots. I ended up staying a total of 12 days, and as a result, I am scheduled to have the surgery only five weeks from today instead of in December or January.

Here's the cool thing though -- be sure to ask about their "checker" system. If you have any appointment scheduled in the future -- whether two days or three months away -- you can just show up at that department and tell them that you want to be a "checker." If any other patients cancel or no-show, and the right type of specialist is available, they will give you that person's appointment time right-then-and-there. The checker system works for me at least 75% of the time.