The Rest of the Past, Everything Else Goes Forward

The rest of this story moves incredibly fast. Choosing to walk in faith was choosing the happy path. The path where everything just kind of falls into place.

Ellen called me back several days later saying I was approved and what day did I want to have surgery. Ellen is great, but a little absent minded... I reminded her of the remaining appointments and that since I didn't have a spare $45,000 lying around, I figured I'd follow through with the appointments.
Ellen: "Hmmm... That's weird Aetna never approves without that. Hmmm... Ok. Well call me when you finish each appointment."
Me: "Ok. You got a deal."

I made all of my appointments that day. In 3 weeks I would be able to ride this gastric bypass pony! Yee Haw!

First one up to the plate was the sleep study (this one scared me most of all for some reason) it was for that Friday at any time between 6 PM and 8 PM. I left work at 7:30 PM. It was directly across the street, so that should be time enough. Sooo... here's the problem with 7:30 PM in March. The time had not yet changed and 7:30 at night was still dark. Very dark. And my night vision rivals the day vision of a vampire bat -- I see very little at night. If/when you see me on the road find another way to get home. (LOL... but no I am serious get out of my way.) This night, I drove across the street safely, got to the parking lot, and couldn't find the building, nor a parking spot. Why in the world are there this many people in the medical complex at 7:30? (Or 7:45 as it now was?) And you KNOW how I feel about a good parking spot. Oh you don't? Next time ask the chubbiest person you know. They will tell you. Then come back and read this again. I drove round and round looking for some clue of the location of the sleep study (and prime parking) with no luck. I heard my own voice say inside my head -- to heck with this, I am going home! At that very moment my phone rang.

Strange New Voice: "Hi Ms. Abrams this is Tracy. I am calling from Memorial Hermann Sleep Study. Are you coming tonight?"

Me: "Um... Huh? Uh? (With my inside voice. I had made and canceled this appointment 10X over, what made her call me this time? But with my outside voice I said...) Yes I am coming tonight. I just can't find the building. I have been driving around what I think is your parking lot."

TracyL (No longer the Strange New Voice:) "Oh no worries. I can get you here in less than 2 minutes."

And she did. And I went. I forgo the desire for prime parking. God was getting interesting in working with me, and I wanted to see how this was going to go.

So it went with every other appointment I had. Even when I ran in to trouble with finding a way to pay for the psych eval with my Medical Spending Account. The doctor called me and said. "Hey meet me at a sifferent location and we can get you all taken care of." And since I am the antithesis of a GPS. Actually I am an 756 - I can get lost in a box. My dear friend Donna took me.

God wasn't playing. Despite myself. In spite of my fears. Regardless of the best efforts to get in my own way. He cleared the path. He made the way. And I did my part by continuing to move forward.

P.S. When you look at the photo you may think to yourself. Dayem! She looks unhappy. You would be wrong for 2 reasons:

1. Tracy (the strange new voice, who quickly became just Tracy?) was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She made the experience an incredibly easy one.

2. I had a better night of sleep than I could ever imagine. I don't know if it was the Tempur-Pedic mattress (now they should pay me for an unsolicited shout out! And I need it because I am thinking I owe some other folks...) Or maybe it was that they kept the room at a frosty 65 degrees (which I can never do at home, who has enough to pay the electric company for 65 degrees?) or maybe it was the comfort in my soul that I knew I was doing the right thing, at the right time for me - but my sleep that night was good.

And at the end of it all I don't know if I have/had sleep apnea, because I never got the results. Isn't that some BLEEP!?

So that's the rest of the beginning. That was it. Now what's left to tell is what's left to live. See you in a few more days. I think I will talk about my follow up with the cutie pie Dr. Primomo.