First night at the Cleveland Clinic Guesthouse

The Cleveland Clinic covers a large area and the streets are hard to follow. They have a one lane road on each side for cars, then a middle double lane for buses. It was very hard at night to see where your lane is when turning. Okay, I'm sick, I need a clear path. The line at the registration desk was long. Lots of people wearing head scarfs, some plain and some very fancy. A woman behind us in line told us about her friend-she had her frontal lobe removed. I felt lucky to be there without a frontal lobe problem. Yikkes. A reminder that things could be a lot worse.

The room was okay for a two star hotel. But just like the Mayo Clinic Inn there were blood spots on the inside of the bathroom door and wall. Luckily I came prepared with my Lysol wipes. Other then that the room was okay, but no internet in the room? Really? And the price posted on the web said 109 and it turned out to be 125. They said the 109 rate was for the military people-I don't remember it saying that anywhere.

Driving to Cleveland

Mom and I couldn't tell if this truck was carrying onions or large apples. Coming into Cleveland after 6 1/2 I was exhausted. Mom is 78 and doesn't drive on expressways anymore, so I drove the whole way. At the end of our trip we saw this rainbow. I thought it must be ending at the Cleveland Clinic.

Preparing for the trip to Cleveland

Mom and I went to get an oil change since we decided to drive from Chicago to Cleveland. The nice man showed my mom the air filter and it was completely covered with birdseed. She had mice living in her garage and they made their way into her car. After the oil change we drove off and within seconds her car freaked out. It accelerated all by itself. I pushed on the brake and it accelerated again. Scared to death because we were on a busy road. I quickly darted through a small opening and pulled into a parking lot. I put my brake pedal to the floor and the car accelerated to the max, the dial spun all around and the car was going to GO. I slammed it into park and started crying and hyperventilating. Imagine if you put the accelerator to the floor, now times it by 50. Like sci-fi. Oh my, I will never forget that as long as I live. We walked back to the oil change place and they totally took care of us. He drove us to the car and checked it out and then drove my mom's car back to a repair shop that was next door to the oil change place. To make a long story short, the bird seed made its way into the sensor. They fixed it on the spot because we had to leave town the next day.

Well, that took my mind off of my problems and trip to the Cleveland Clinic.

Second Opinion in a week

After the strangely unsatisfying experience at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville (valerievale.blogspot.com) I have new hope. A second opinion on my case will happen next friday at the Cleveland Clinic.

I'm a 43 yr. old woman and I have been very ill on and off for two years. A torture-like pain is in my stomach between and under my ribs. I also am all around sick to the point that I have to lay down during the day. I have no appetite and eating, drinking, moving, breathing deep make the pain worse when it is present. It disables me so much that I get atrophy. (I'm a type A and am hyper) Sometimes it goes away completely for a month or two, like a miracle. I am ill about 70% of the time. Before this problem I had three abdominal surgeries. The Mayo Clinic I feel sent me down the river too quickly-they think it is scar tissue and that I need physical therapy and pain management. Three other doctors think that the Mayo Clinic is wrong. One thinks I may not be producing enough pancreas enzymes or have a hernia.

I am looking forward to hearing the Cleveland Clinic's opinion. The best in the country.