A tiring day . . .

Last night I asked Phil how much information he wanted me to share on the blog. He said, "All of it. You never know if it might help someone."

After the ultrasound this morning (described below), we went to breakfast in the hospital cafeteria and stayed there till it was time for Phil's injection of radioactive tracers (11:00 a.m.). I had to wait outside the restricted area and grew more and more anxious when the procedure that was supposed to take "a few seconds," took nearly a half hour. Turns out they couldn't get a good vein so Phil was poked and poked and exhausted by the time they got it done.

We spent most of the next three hours sitting in the hospital foyer outside Starbucks. They had a grand piano and for awhile, a young man played beautiful renditions of "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Autumn Leaves," among others. We were happy to see a few familiar faces from home. We saw Lila Redd and her son Brett from Grand Junction--turns out President Lem Redd came for an office visit last Tuesday and ended up in ICU. Later we saw Lem and Lila's daughter Kathryn & her husband Rob Wilcox. Our prayers are with President Redd and family.

We also visited with Norman and Margie Lyman. Norman was there for tests which turned out great, and we're so happy for them!

Then my sister Wendy came and fetched us for a brief visit to her office in the Education Department--she works on scholarships and financial aid for med students. That was a highlight!

When we reported back to Nuclear Medicine, I wasn't allowed to be with Phil during the bone scan, but he described being wrapped tightly around the torso with his arms secured against his body to prevent movement. Phil was too wide for one scan so special accommodations (which I didn't completely understand) were made to get pictures of both elbows. Fortunately, Phil was able to sleep part of the time. Should have results by Monday.

Three down (CT scan, ultrasound, bone scan), two to go. Phil's colonoscopy will be Monday at 2:00 p.m. and liver biopsies are scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Although we're getting very homesick, and Phil is extremely anxious to get back to work, we feel very blessed to be treated at Huntsman and University Hospital.

Here's to a quiet Saturday . . .