Houston, here we come

Actually we are already here, in Houston, since Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday I had the CT scan of the chest and abdomen. Today in a few hours we'll meet with the doctor and get the results. I am scared, stressed, numb , in denial, hopeful, all it once. I will try to post a short update in the afternoon to let you know what happened.
We have been trying to make the most of this trip. We had not flown in an airplane, just the two of us for 7 years!!! It was nice to just sit, look through magazines, doze off on Dan's shoulder. I was worried about my ears, because my left ear had been clogged for 4 days or so, and I feared what might happened if I could not equalize the pressure during take off and most importantly during landing. But thankfully it worked out well, I could actually equalize the pressure and started to hear again, yuppieee!
On the way from the airport to the hotel, we went through some interesting neighborhoods, lost our way a few times, but finally made it here. We are staying at Sheraton Four Points. The reason I chose this hotel (other than the fact that it was the cheapest) was the fact that it is between the MD Anderson Medical Center and the Central Market. Pretty close to both of them. You may wonder what the heck Central Market is.. It is a supermarket, definitely upscale.. but they have great food, an awesome salad bar, bunch of cooked dishes, best selection of breads, sandwiches aaaaaaannnd sushi made with 12 grains rather than white rice. I actually think it tastes better than white rice and plus I can eat one of my favorite foods with no guilt.
As soon as we checked in an put our stuff in our room, we went their for our dinner (and the only meal of the day). I gave Dan the grand tour, we bought sushi, salad, olives, bread, some yummy tasting goat cheese, etc. Sat down at their little seating area and had a wonderful dinner. Dan was pretty excited about the place, and that made me very happy, too. It is nice to share the joy :).

Then yesterday we got up really early, and went over to the hospital - my first appointment (to give blood) was at 7:15 am, we checked in at 7 am. During the wait times, we went over the grades for my classes and actually changed a few of them (all for the better). The CT scan it self wasn't bad at all, drinking barium before hand was not very pleasant. When the time got closer they took us inside, had me change into scrubs. The funnies moment of the day was when a nurse saw me dancing in my room (it was cold I was trying to warm myself up) and thought that I had to go to potty! She had a worried look and tone in her voice, was ready to grab my hand and take me to the restroom. She was relieved to hear that it was only my attempt to get warm, so she offered a warm blanket (really don't you love those warmed blankets at the hospitals, they are the best things, who ever thought of them must have been a patient, him/herself at one point) aaaand another bottle of Barium. I was disappointed, after drinking the first bottle I thought I was done, not so apparently. Anyway, I chugged that one down also. They take a regular chest X-ray before the CT scan, I have no idea why. The real thing took maybe 10 minutes, the iodine that they inject into my system for contrast makes you feel warm, not a pleasant warmth though, also you feel like you are going to pee in your pants - I promise it didn't happen.

Once we were done at the hospital, we had lunch and then went to the fine arts museum, for the exhibition of King Tutankhamen. It was nice to visit the museum. The exhibit was in Denver in the Summer of 2010 and we had talked about going then, but just had not found the time then. After the museum we got back to the hotel and took a nap!!!! I cannot tell you how nice that was - when I was a kid I do not remember taking any naps, what I remember is that I never liked taking naps. That changed when I came to grad school, I sometimes would sneak to the couch on our floor and take a half an hour nap, boy that felt good! But ever since the kids were born my naps have been very scarce - sometimes I did sleep with them during their naps, but a lot of times I had felt like it was my chance to get things done while they were not up and running.
So after the nap we got up and went to a seafood restaurant. We sat at the counter rather than at a table - another thing that I always wanted to do.. The food was fine, but I think my changed diet habits prevented me from enjoying it fully.. No tears please, I did not go hungry..

After we got back from the dinner I run downstairs to the fitness room and exercised (by the way I had never exercised in a hotel before this trip in my life). It was nice to use the elliptical machine, different sets of muscles in use compared to our stationary bike at home.

The night went fine, we slept OK, although there was a cat somewhere near and we heard it meow a few times. Woke up early, without an alarm. Dan went back to sleep, and I am typing this. OK, I better get up and take a shower. I will do my best do update the blog later today. Hopefully, we will fly back home tonight. The girls will be asleep when we get there, but it will be so nice to see them again and kiss their big heads :). They have been doing fine with their grandma and aunt.

Cheers everyone, keep the prayers coming...