Well, we made it to Minneapolis! Our flights were super rocky! wow!! mom and I held hands almost through the entire first flight! they didn't serve drinks or anything due to the turbulence. So since our first flight was late we had 15 minutes when we finally got off the plane to make it to our next one! so we ran! luckily we finally got to the gate to find out the plane was leaving 3o minutes late due to lack of crew! so we did get some mcdonalds and ate at the gate in between flights.

we finally got on the last flight and mom and I got to sit together but James didn't! :( Weird enough, we sat next to this guy that is a drug rep for a diabetes drug called Symlin. It is new and is used along with insulin to allow your body to not fluctuate between the high and lows. So we were talking to him about that and he was telling me how his co worker the next row behind us was type 1 diabetic. He also knew the endocrinologist in Indy we are going to see in March! oh, they were from Peoria, Il. so about halfway through the flight, the two guys switched and I got to talk to the guy with the Type 1 diabetes. he was super helpful and showed me his insulin pen and went over all the important things to know when you first start out! He actually found out when he was 21 that he was diabetic when he was in the marines, so he wasn't born with it or anything and he's had it for about 5-6 years.

So, we got in last night and ordered pizza and crashed right after! ha! we ate really healthy, Aerodyn! i'm doing great on the diet! Go team! ha! So, we got up this morning and went to see the doctor. We did a bunch of labs, which of course, they couldn't get on the first try. We talked to the surgeon and he answered a lot of questions. I was pretty close to losing it while talking about it but managed to not cry. I found out that I'll have the NG Tube (goes down your nose and into your stomach), the catheter, central Line in my neck, and this tube that goes inside the length of your incision that releases an anesthetic and antibiotics to help it heal correctly. So, lots and lots of tubes! We were talking to him about everything and then he told the resident that maybe we should do a pick line and I freaked out! I don't want to be awake and feel that stuff! he did say we'd just do the central line. the good news is that I won't have anything in until I'm put under for the surgery. I was relieved to hear that. He said i'll have the catheter and NG tube in for the first few days until I can get up and moving and then they'll come out.

The average person stays about 2 weeks and I'll have to stay up here a few days after being released from the hospital to make sure I am doing ok. I'm okay with that as long as I am out of the hospital without any kind of tubes. I have never had a central line so i'm kind of nervous about that in my neck! They'll also be giving me IV nutrients since I won't be able to eat. Oh, i also found out TODAY that I can't eat anything tomorrow! I kind of had a boring breakfast and wasn't very hungry today and now I won't be able to eat all kinds of goodies before the surgery! I did have applebees molten chocolate cake tonight, so I did have some goodies!!

I am trying to think what else they told me.... he said that I'll be on insulin for about 6-8 weeks because that is how long it takes the islet cells to start working in the liver. then they'll wean me off to see how I do on my own and how severe the diabetes will be. he did say that some people do have pain afterwards but it's not very common and I'm trying to think how. He said it'll take a few weeks before the entire pain is gone but mom and I were thinking maybe it's that ghost pain that you hear about when people get amputations and organs removed. I don't know. I kind of freaked out about that since this is supposed to fix everything and I don't want to be on any narcotics. I don't care if i would be on less. i don't want to be on it at all!!! so i'm going to not focus on that and just go with that it's all going to be gone!!! He also said to not be surprised if the surgery lasts until 8-9pm at night. some people even go to 11pm! jeesh! he said it doesn't mean that anything is wrong, sometimes it takes time to get the cells. I guess they have to give the pancreas enzymes to dissolve it! so very weird!

anyways, i've written forever I know! Dad, Rita, and Rob get in tomorrow! we spent the afternoon at Mall of America and will probably go back tomorrow to the aquarium and james needs to exchange a shirt. they have some cool stores here! there is a place called Jimmy Z's that has the cutest stuff. Shorts are everywhere even though there is snow on the ground! i hate that! i want sweaters still! not tank tops and flip flops!!

oh, I had to go back and do another round of labs after two hours for a test. I drink boost and then they do labs to see how my body handles the protein and such and they will do it everty three months for the first year and then annually and it should be able to give better ideas on what is happening afterwards before I'd even be able to tell! well, mom and I walked over and did that while james went to get the car and we're standing at the stoplight and hear this annoying car alarm. Mom goes, that would be funny if it was james. Well, we get done and are waiting forever for james and thinking jeesh, we already did the labs and talked to people, it's taking forever. so i call him and find out that he has locked the keys in the car while the car is running!! he had to call someone to help and then apparently this stupid rental car..everytime you unlock the door, the car alarm goes off! it did it again at the mall of america and you just have to wait until it stops! so annoying. so that was our funny story today!

alright, I'm officially done! Next time we post, it'll be james from the hospital!! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I definitely have started to freak out now that I'm up here and starting the whole process so I appreciate all of the prayers and sweet emails. It helps a lot to stay focused on the outcome instead of the present problems.

Love to all- Nicole

So, nothing can go smoothly for nicole. We were on our way to the airport and found out that our flight was cancelled. So I quickly called AAA to see if it was even a possibility to get out tonight since United was saying we couldn't fly until tomorrow. Well, i found a flight with Northwest flying out at 6:41 so we booked it! it was $600 per person for a one way flight!!! UGH! so, we were leaving our house at 5:40 to try to make it to the airport and get on a plane in an hour! luckily we made it! Now, we are sitting at the terminal, when our flight should have left 20 minutes ago because a part of the plane is leaking all over a seat. We are supposed to land in detroit at 8:05 and take a connecting flight at 8:55 to land in minneapolis at 9:40. so we're already 20 minutes late and haven't even boarded yet. they said we could make it hopefully but if not, there is a 10:30 flight so hopefully we'll be there before tomorrow morning!!! So we have our thousands of suitcases and now waiting to head out of Indiana! We'll keep you posted on what happens!!

So, it's my last day of work today! I went out with everyone in the office and went to Hirosaki, the japanese steakhouse, in avon. It was really good!! Thanks guys for getting my mind off the surgery!

I have pretty much packed all that I need to! I was watching the super bowl and packing last night! I have so many sweats, sweatshirts, and tank tops!! I want to make sure that I have enough clothes for the whole trip! I think I worked our washer and dryer to its limits this weekend! I have a few outfits for this week when we go to Mall of America and stuff, but other than that, I'll be living in sweats and sweatshirts. That's how I like it! I really hope I can wear normal clothes and not the annoying hospital gowns.

So, it's definitely starting to get close and the nervousness and fear is definitely incrasing. I think once I get up there and step into the transplant clinic that I'm really going to freak out. I got really stressed last night trying to pack and not forget anything. It's just hard to plan for three weeks. I really want to get out around 8 days and be able to fly home with James.

Oh, I forgot to add that it was so nice to see everyone on saturday night for Lori's Birthday. I was hoping to be able to see all of you and spend time with you before I left! I am going to miss you all terribly while I'm gone!! I was joking on saturday that i'm going to wheel myself to people's houses when i get back from being so bored!!

Alright, I better get back to work. Oh, Kelly-thanks for the 100's of DVD's that you are letting me take with me! that will be so helpful in the hospital!

SURGERY DATE CHANGE

Hi all!! I have some bad news. Last friday night, I got a phone call informing me that my surgery had been rescheduled until February 8th. I will now be leaving on Feb. 5th. Unfortunately, the guy and I had to switch appts due to him needing the surgery quite quickly. I am sorry for all the inconvenience it has caused anyone. I'll keep you all updated whenever I have anymore information!

Love,

Nicole

OK, I emailed Dr. Sutherland's assistant this week because I hadn't received any paperwork about the surgery. She emailed me today and told me I should have been contacted by another woman to schedule my endoscopy on Wednesday. I wasn't! So does this mean I don't have to have it, I hope?! I don't want to be under anesthesia on Wednesday and be in the hospital that day too. So, I'll be in the hospital wed. at 7:45 with Dr. Sutherland for all the pre-testing and stuff, but possibly not an endoscopy. Then on Friday, I'll be admitted bright and early at 5:30am. I'm sure surgery will be at like 6:30 or something. They usually prep you for an hour or two. I'll be in surgery for 12 hours and she said that Dr. Sutherland will come out and talk to the family when they are "dissecting" my pancreas to get the cells. She said procedure, I say dissect. Anyways, that's the latest on everything.

FLIGHTS

Ok, Mom, James, and I are flying out on United at 6:50pm. We will be at Chicago Midway from 7:12-8:00p and finally land in Minneapolis at 9:32p. We are staying at the Radisson Inn right across from the U of Minneapolis Hospital where I will be staying. At least I can enjoy a comfy bed for a couple of nights! I've listed the addresses below for you. I don't know the hospital room number yet, but will add it as soon as I know!

Radisson University Hotel
615 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-8888
Rm #?? Under Tara/Dave Lawrence

right now all i know is the transplant clinic information for the hospital. I'm not sure how you can get to the room information and such, but I'll update this when I get up there. for right now, here's what I have:

516 Delaware St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Dr. Sutherland's Office # 612-625-5609

I am going to be making my plane tickets today. Dad is coming up on Thursday night and then James, mom, and I will fly up on Tuesday night, hopefully. I emailed the doctor today because I haven't received any of my paperwork to know what the plan is for the days before the surgery. The only thing i know right now is that i have to be there on wed. at 7:45am for a lot of blood work and an endoscopy and stuff, so I'll be under anesthesia that day. She said I'll probably have to fast and stuff before, but will someone let me know for sure?! Not sure if I'm ready for all of this. I had a rough Christmas thanks to the pain, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to be in more pain to get better. Quite scared of that.