Alameda Fairgrounds - Continued

Alameda Fairgrounds - Continued

Haven't updated this for a while as I said above I have been visiting the Palo Alto VA Hospital for continual testing.  Today ended the testing for now, and I have to wait a week to meet with the Hematologist to find out if the figured anything out.  Let me share some suggestions with everyone.  Testing started with blood draws, an sonogram of my stomach internals, an echo cardiogram, an EKG, and a DNA test.  So far so good and not too bad with the testing that took place other than I felt like a pin cushion with all of the different blood draws.  Let me back up a bit and explain what started this all - first of all slightly increased liver readings in my annual blood tests.  The doctor suspected anemia so I then had a B-12 test and found my iron levels through the ceiling!  And now you know what started it all.

Now for the tough stuff.  First I had an MRI on my stomach internals, did I mention I am slightly claustrophobic??  After spending over an hour in the MRI tube, I was never so glad to move on to the next test.  I went to a liver specialist and he did some sort of sonogram where the machine "thumped" my ribs and gave him a picture of what the liver looked like.  Not so bad, especially after the MRI, right??  Well, next came a bone marrow test and a sample of my bone.  I wouldn't wish this test on anyone, not even my worst enemy.  Two days rest and we come to today (October 10, 2014).  Back to the MRI tube for some more pictures of my liver - this one was easy; less than 30 minutes in the tube.  Once that was finished they started outfitting me with all kinds of heart sensors, the shoved me back in the tube (almost 90 minutes).  At the very end of the test the tube started feeling like it was getting smaller and smaller, and it was getting difficult to breathe (remember the claustrophobia?).  Toughed out the last few minutes and thankfully it was all over.  Now the waiting begins.  Next Friday (October 17th) I am hoping to find something out.  I now know what a weiner must feel like when covered by a hot dog bun!  You go completely inside the the tube shown below!

For those who do not know what

 an MRI machine looks like!

Oh, and not sure if I mentioned it, my beautiful wife (Cathy) has been on a 5 week vacation in Taiwan and I have been going through this with her support only via the telephone.  Thankfully I am going to be able to see her again next Wednesday (October 15th) and we can get together and go over everything that has happened to us during the last 5 weeks.  Just so everyone knows I am not the only one visiting doctors - Cathy took a tumble while walking our nephew's dog and she hit the ground face first and is full of "road rash".  So I think we both have had our fill of doctors.