End of a long day!

Our day started in traffic...LOTS! It took probably 45 min. to go 11 miles. We got to NIH and unloaded suitcases, laptop, etc. to go through x-ray machines...just like an airport...we passed, items passed, & car passed. We drove on up to the front of the BIG main building...used their free valet parking. We got there five minutes before we were supposed to be there...but at that point things stalled out. It took 1 1/2 hours to get Woody registered...computer software problems. It meant that we missed our meeting with the social worker (so I still have lots of unanswered questions). Woody saw a nurse, got x-rayed, EKG'd, & 13 vials of blood drawn. We ate lunch and then went back upstairs to see two doctors, a Fellow and an Attending Physician. The Fellow really knew Woody's case...he was a very good communicator.

The Fellow left us to go review the CDs of scans that we brought with us. When he came back in, he brought the Attending Physician and a research nurse. Remember me saying that they review all the cases the following week and then get back with us...well, when they walked back in they were discussing surgery (ummmmm what about being approved by all the docs on Monday?)...this wasn't future surgery...but they were going to try to schedule surgery this Thursday (as in the day after tomorrow!). Once they discovered that Woody was the driver, they sort of changed their minds and suggested that we could put it off till...NEXT WEEK! So probably Woody will be having one of his tumors removed next week if all goes as we left it this afternoon. They still had to check with the surgery team (they were in surgery...what a novel place for them to be!) The Fellow is to be contacting us tomorrow...tentatively the surgery day is next Thursday.

Once the docs were finished with us, we were free to go. But had one stop to make before leaving the building...we were issued picture id badges that are good for a year (those papers were given to us early on in the day...looks to me like they knew all along that he would be approved!). So we should have an easier time entering the NIH campus after this...supposedly no car inspection, etc. We will see...all too soon.

The doctors said the reason they don't have to wait till next Monday for a decision is that there were just NO signs of a "show stopper" at this point.

After we got the badges issued we got our car and headed on down the road toward TN. We travelled 200+ miles before stopping just a little north of Roanoke, VA for the night. I will explain more tomorrow about what Woody will be facing...not an easy road ahead for him.