Yesterday (Wednesday), Jack had two appointments at the Mayo Clinic, the first with a neurologist and the second with an internist. The neurologist gave him a once-over to check for external signs of myasthenia gravis (MG). He found none. Blood test have come back with evidence of MG, but they are not manifesting and those signs might disappear with the thymoma. Fingers crossed.

The interist seemed to be in charge of tying together all these various medical threads (kidneys, hearing, MG, encephalitis, etc.) to make sure Jack is ready for surgery. She went through Jack’s file, talking about results so far and asking Jack about how he’s feeling, how he is effected by medications, and how he is eating and drinking. She seemed on top of everything and communicated much more clearly with Jack and Naomi.1

At the end of the meeting she declared that Jack is ready for surgery. He should continue to exercise. He should continue to eat a healthy diet. He should try to drink more water, especially in the days leading up to the surgery. (Caffinated drinks like coffee and iced tea don’t count.)

One remaining concern we have is about pain management. Common anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and other NSAIDs are hard on kidneys, and we are getting the sense that Jack should avoid those as his kidneys continue to recover. Another class of pain management drug are the opiods. These can have cognitive effects like muddying thinking and slowing response times, and Jack wants to avoid these. We are trying to brainstorm other options for pain management, like mindfulness or meditation techniques. If Mayo suggests anything interesting, we’ll share there.

The only Mayo Clinic appointment that remains is the pre-operation meeting with the thorasic surgeon’s team which will happen on 6 July. Jack and Naomi have hotel reservations in Rochester from July 5th to 9th. Keep them in your thoughts

  1. Most meetings with Mayo doctors have been great, with the doctor taking his or her time to talk through medical details carefully and understandably. They’ve always made time for questions, too.