August 25, 2011
Today was a good day. I had an upper endoscopy, and the results were positive. Plus, I was able to meet three members of the Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) team - Richard Duerr, Miguel Reguerio, and Marc Schwartz. Marc was my first physician at UChicago before leaving to go to UPMC. We only knew each other for five months, but he remembered me and my complicated case. Miguel and Dr. Hanauer - my gastro at UChicago - are close colleagues. And Richard Duerr was the person who started the UPMC IBD group and has done signifianct amounts of research on genetics of Crohn's Disease. All three shared that the transplant program outcomes are good, and have been improving at a quick pace over the past two years since Dr. Kareem published a significant article about the first 500 small bowel transplants conducted at UPMC. That was nice to hear.
Plus we were done around noon today which allowed Amy and I to tour Pittsburgh a little. We found an adult playground called the Strip. Antique shops, funky stores, good looking food establishments and wholesale grocery stores with live lobsters, a fish market, unique meats from around the world, and street food. From there we found the Carnegie Science Center and Children's Museum, learned that we can get a library card at the Carnegie Library while we are here. (For those that don't know, Mr. Carnegie was a philanthropist who established libraries around the country. Well this is his flagship, and it is impressive! It is beautiful and has a huge endowment, which allows its collection to be incredible.)
Tomorrow is an early morning with heart related tests all day. We are leaving to head home to Holland for a quick trip, with a return to Pittsburgh on Sunday. I need to get some different clothes for the hospital. We want to see our children. And our friend is marrying a guy from Pittsburgh in Holland this weekend. It will be good when she moves here in December.
Thanks for your words of encouragement. They are so helpful and appreciated.
Hey VZ,
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize we could comment! Glad you mentioned it in today's post. Thanks for all the updates & I'm glad to hear that you've been able to enjoy some of the town. Your kids stopped by work yesterday & got to hang with 'the principal' for awhile. They are doing well but are excited to return to Holland & see you/Amy. Eric is planning on taking a week's vacation this fall to catch up on medical readings/hang out...perhaps he can come hang with you in Pittsburg. He could be your resident doctor;) Have a great day, Love Shelly
Praying for safe travels and some wonderful time with your kiddie! Much love from the Willemsteins
ReplyDeleteHey Matt. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you. It is really great being able to read up on how you're doing. It helps me be more specific with my prayers. Look forward to hearing more from you soon.
ReplyDeleteTodd