Bye Bye Rochester

After 3 months of Mayo Clinic schedules and what have turned out to be successful procedures, Judi and I are finally leaving Rochester for home today. Having lived through many Midwest summers before moving to the Pacific Northwest, the last thing we would have thought we'd be doing is spending an entire summer in southern Minnesota, but that is what we have done. Heat waves and torrential thunderstorms not withstanding, we did our best to find fun and pleasant things to do in Rochester when we weren't trapped in clinic buildings or too tired to budge. However, as the weeks dragged on, there were things we knew we would not miss about Rochester:

The jam-packed clinic schedule that changed almost daily.

And the waiting rooms that schedule required us to hang out in, no matter how nice.

Not to mention, waiting in the inner sanctums for the parade of health professionals to question us.

Queuing up at the Charlton Building passenger drop off every day.

Then queuing up to get into the parking ramp.

Lugging a day's worth of food, supplies and entertainment because you never knew if you'd have time to go back to the motel room or even to a cafeteria.

Wheel chairs ready for use at every turn.

And the ubiquitous Purell bottles.

A skyline full of cranes and their blinking red lights, and the general noise of a busy downtown city.

And graphic displays of body functions.

Mayo fashion accessories like Judi's chemo pump.

And the high percentage of people for whom this is normal attire.

Most of all, I will not miss surgical masks and having to carry that sweater with me everywhere every day because of how freezing so many of the clinic rooms are, and having to peel it off again once outside...

...the 3-note concertina-like alarm when the infusion pump was done (9 straight weeks of that).

and barf cups usually in use thereafter.

Thank you, Mayo Clinic, for how you helped my friend, but oh, we are SO done with you!