Maybe it wasn't the LWP (little white pill)

Approaching the building from the parking lot you might think that it is a low key motel or condominium resort complete with patios and fountains.


But the front entrance looks a little more institutional than you'd expect from a condo. Still it does have a "homey", comfortable look.

The fact that the room numbers are in braille doesn't mean much since that's a requirement for many buildings now.

But the final clue is all the equipment surrounding Carolyn from her head

to her feet.

Yes, she's gone and done it again. Carolyn is again in the hospital.

Not satisfied with the diagnosis she received in the emergency room a couple weeks ago, Carolyn insisted that her doctor order more definitive tests including an endoscopy - where a tube is threaded through your nose, down your throat, and into your stomach. She was scheduled for this exam on Tuesday afternoon. It was more definitive, all right. The gastroenterologist found a significant blockage of the exit from Carolyn's stomach which explains both the severe reflux and frequent need to vomit that she was experiencing. He took several biopsies to determine what sort of tissue the blockage consists of and attempted to determine the extent of the blockage. That was made more difficult because her stomach is distended to 2 to 3 times it's normal size.

The doctor wanted to hospitalize her immediately but she asked for a delay until Wednesday morning so that she could wrap up some work items or at least warn her colleagues what was up.

This morning she was admitted to the hospital but due to a hospital screw-up the doctor wasn't notified so nothing was done with her until 2:00 this afternoon when she threatened to walk out of the hospital. She really could have used the extra time to tie up things at work.

So now she is hooked up to an IV so that she can get adequate nourishment while her stomach is pumped empty and allowed to shrink back to normal size. We're also waiting for the pathology reports on the biopsies taken yesterday which won't be available until Thursday or Friday. At that point the surgeon will make a decision about what and how to cut. We won't discuss best and worst cases until we know more.

Meanwhile, Carolyn (who is bored as can be) can be reached at 916-973-5878 or can be visited at the Camellia Building of the Kaiser Hospital on Morse Avenue, Room H11A. Calls and visits should be kept short because of the difficulty she has talking with a hose in her nose.