Spouse at first or last Mayo appointment?

I went alone for a week long appointed workup in February.
I found there are shops and enough things to do that my wife might have enjoyed for two days. I’m an active and independent senior so I walked around from my hotel a half mile away. The subway and skyway are all weather activities. Some good meals as well.
If I go back I’ll have her come for a couple of days of edification.
My specialist is a popular researcher and department head so very busy.
As a result she could not do my exit telemedicine visit until 2 weeks at home.
My wife is a retired nurse and she asked more pertinent questions
than I at that visit. I was of course anxious to hear my neurologists interpretation of testing and prognosis. I was fortunate to have caring support even with an OK report.

Hi. About 3 years back I had to travel to Mayo AZ for one week for an evaluation to be added to the liver transplant list. My wife was my main caregiver and came with me. She attended all appointments with me. It was helpful to have two sets of ears present and to ask questions. She was also my main caregiver for the actual transplant. We have also have had zoom calls with Mayo since we got back home after the fact. They worked well. I understand having work or travel issues etc.. I would suggest having a second person for whatever you can. Whenever you cannot take good notes. Not a huge difference first or last appt but I guess last would be preferable if you can only have one. Best of luck.

I will also be visiting Mayo Clinic (Rochester) in August for a procedure. I am fortunate to live a short drive away and my wife will be joining me throughout my stay. My wife was with me on my two zoom calls when we discussed 2 separate and different treatments (for the same illness) with 2 different expert individuals who would be performing the two different procedures. Through various research, I was well prepared for my appointments as was my wife. While I was the lead at our end, my wife would step in with questions that I may have missed and asked questions I had not thought of. It worked extremely well. I have always believed, in times of important or serious medical appointments it was always important to have someone by my side and vice versa! Good luck with your strategy and with your appointments!

Welcome, @civilmoose15. You ask a great question!

I agree with others commenting so far that having your wife participate in appointments will be beneficial. Having said that it could be in person or you can use your phone to include her.

I have had experience having my husband participate both ways, in person and via phone. I am not sure what type of appointments you have scheduled, but I can say my preferences have varied depending on the specifics and how I was feeling at the time, physically and emotionally.

I do have one suggestion and that is to call the provider’s team who is coordinating your care. They are used to people coming in from all distances and will be able to address all your concerns. You will be processing quite a bit of information and planning a second set of ears will be beneficial.

You initially ask, spouse at first or last Mayo appointment? I am not totally sure what you are trying to figure out. If you are comfortable sharing more about your visit it may help others know how to comment. What location will you visit? What brings you to Mayo what does your schedule look like?

@jlharsh great idea using the phone, never thought of that! I’ll try that the next time my bride is not able to be there with me. Thanks!

Thank you everyone for your responses. She was able to get approval to work remotely and will be joining me for the appointments.