Emotional Rescue

Ever have one of those days when little things go wrong from the get go? And then by the end of the day, you're ready to strangle someone? Yeah, me neither.

Our shuttle ride to the hospital was late this morning. Partly due to a driver misunderstanding and b/c several main streets were closed due to filming Batman. So obviously we were late to our first appt., which was the 6 minute walking test. Luckily, it was no big deal.

Our 2nd appt was with the head shrink. Excuse me, behavioral health. We liked this older lady. She enjoyed hearing about our pets. She's a cat lady like me so she was ok in my book.

Her job is to make sure Lee he doesn't have any emotional issues that might hinder his progress if he is chosen for a transplant.

Here is a list of criteria that are key for a successful transplant from an emotional standpoint:
1. Strong support system - we've got that
2. Intelligence - Lee certainly has it, still not sure about me.
3. Ability to laugh - I think we do alright in that dept.
4. Stubbornness - must be able to question if in doubt, know when to stick up for himself etc.
5. Spirituality - neither of us believe in God, we are not religious. But Lee's response to
her was that he believes there is a sense of mystery to life, that whatever exists is beyond our comprehension.

For good reason, Lee has been struggling with what to do if UPMC accepts him for a transplant. You might think, why wouldn't he want to get a transplant? Well, it's not that simple. It never is with decisions as huge as this one. The risks could be just too great for Lee. Without question Lee wants to get better, to feel better, to be able to walk Stella down the street, to hike in the mountains, to go swimming, to travel without it wearing him out and so many other things. But he has very real risks to contend with. The kind that could kill him. The kind that would make his quality of life...suck.

So Lee asked this question of her, did she think he should go for it. And she basically said yes. Her explanation of why she thought yes was perfect. Lee has two choices, either go ahead with the transplant given the opportunity or die. Why not try, why not take the risk. Lee needed to hear someone say something reassuring. Not stats, not percentages but an opinion. I think what she said really helped him out. But we still have 2 days left. And we have no idea what the committee will decide next week.

His last tests of the day were an X-ray, a CT scan and yes, more bloodwork.

We were thrilled to get back to the hotel. Enough crazy drivers and annoying tests to take, we'd both had it.

Unrelated to anything remotely medical, I went down to the Batman set for about an hour and a half late this afternoon. It was good for me to get some fresh air while stalking movie stars. I either saw Christian Bale or his stunt double in "the" suit. Was a too far away to know for sure. Took a few pics while the crew filmed scenes inside.

After I had my fill of standing around in the heat and waiting for the impending rain, I returned to the hotel. For the 2nd time this week, we dined at a Burmese restaurant. Good eatin'. I considered going for a relaxing swim and then hit the whirlpool but I'm just too dang tired. Plus I haven't shaved my legs.