Day 1 on 14 East...

It was May. It had been 2 months that I had been struggling with my symptoms. All I wanted was some relief and to know what it was that had been going on with my body. I was at Northwestern to see a specialist who focused on GI motility issues, Dr. Hirano. When I'd see him, I wasn't sure, but I felt better that I was at Northwestern to begin my care.
I began the day re-telling my story to Dr. Sarah Peterson and her medicine team of students and Dr's in training. After that hour passed as I re-told my tale, I was waiting for the next wave of Dr's to come into evaluate me and hear the story as well. So a few hours passed, and Dr. Hirano appeared in Room 1404. So here we go again. I re-told my tale for the 2nd time in a matter of hours, and Dr. Hirano takes careful notes about the past 2 months, in addition to the last 28 years. After that evaluation, I was seen by a DR who would become a great friend, Dr. Michael Roth, and Dr. Buckman, another GI on the Northwestern staff. They asked me the story again, and then began to order some tests that we'd start with preliminarily to see if we could find an answer. The next day I'd be under-going an Endoscopy (i'd go on to have 9 of these in the next year) and another key decision was made as well. Given the fact that my nutrition levels were extremely low at this point, while I would under-go many more tests in the coming 30 days at Northwestern, it was vital that I begin to be re-nutritioned. So, while I was sleeping during the endoscopy, they put a temporary feeding tube in my nose. Feeding tube ??? What ??? I was confused and overwhelmed and it was only the beginning...