I have spent the last two days at the famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. To make a long story short, they live up to the hype. They are consistently ranked #1 in hospitals/outpatient clinics. If you live nearby or as in my case, a ways away, and have need of their services, do not hesitate. Don’t let the cold winters scare you off, either.  The entire town has a network of underground walkways that will take you from one building to another. It’s kind of amazing.

I’ve been staying in a hotel that is across the street from the Gonda Building, Mayo’s Cardiology Building. The hotels are incorporated with the clinic buildings, which span several city blocks in all directions. In other words, I have been surrounded by sick people. Even in the clinic buildings, it can be hard to tell who is sick. Frankly, I expected to see a lot more wheel chairs, more people with walkers, and more people on oxygen. I saw these things, but really, not very frequently.

A concept in the game of Poker is “the tell”. A “tell” is a facial expression, mannerism, etc., that provides information to other players. I saw a lot of people at the Mayo Clinic who did not look sick. There was, however, a “tell”. The tell was the gauze wrapped around the crook of the arm. That gauze was put there after blood draws as well as after the removal of an I.V. port.

I was frequently surprised by the wearer of the gauze. They didn’t look “sick”. I don’t look sick, either, nor do I act sick. I learned at this visit that my heart attacks were caused by Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), a condition that causes coronary arteries to twist. They aren’t supposed to look like old style phone cords. Twisted arteries can dissect, which means that they can tear. Then blood can escape from the inner layer of the artery into one of the surrounding layers. Blood can pool and cause blockage. That can cause a heart attack even in someone like me, who has never smoked and has normal blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, etc. To most, even cardiologists, I look healthy, well except for the HEART ATTACKS! Mayo Clinic has been doing research on SCAD since 2010, now. Prior to that time, they saw 10 cases a YEAR. Now they see 10 a month. This means that I was able to see a cardiologist who has reviewed records for hundreds of SCAD patients. She knew what the “tells” are for this particular condition.

There is so much we don’t know about each other as a casual observer or even as an astute observer, who just has no frame of reference.

This seems like a life lesson to me.

Peace friends,

Elizabeth

 The Mayo Building

 

The Gonda Building  It is connected to the Mayo Building. Cardiology is in the Gonda Building. This was a familiar scene from my visit.

Hey, these are Chihuly! A little art from home.

L

This is the line-up for blood draws at the Conrad Hilton Building. It was like the DMV except faster and friendlier, even accounting for the needle stick.

Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. The Healthy Living Program resides here and is open to everyone. There are programs for employees, patients, and drop-in services. They have a full service spa, which I very much enjoyed. I was lucking that the only openings they had for the week, fit into my schedule.

Following a devastating tornado, Dr. William Mayo was approached by Mother Alfred Moses, founder of the Sisters of St. Francis, with a proposal to build and staff a hospital. This was 1883.

I told you that the blood draw area was like the DMV.

 

The piano is located in the atrium of the Gonda Building. It was donated for anyone to use for up to 30 minutes with guidelines to play “something soothing”. The woman in the first photo was singing opera. She was approached by two Mayo physicians. If my eaves-dropping skills are intact, they were happy to see her because she is a physician they trained in the past. The woman in the second photo was singing Billy Joel and I later saw her performing at the Rochester street fair.


This charming historical building appears to be the original Mayo Medical School. It is now a student center.