Just a little over a week left until Lauren's appointment at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and a lot of progress has been made.
She spent the last few weeks in Dallas. She attended the funeral of an Uncle that she had been close to. She also went through more tests.
Both tests performed show similar results. The endoscopy showed that after fasting 13 hours, she still had food in her stomach. The Smart-Pill test showed that the main problem is her stomach. She produces no digestive enzymes and has no stomach acid. As a matter of fact, the pH level never reached a normal level throughout her digestive tract, but the doctor believes resolving the issues with her stomach may balance out the rest of her digestive tract. Her stomach just isn't moving the food through at anything close to a normal rate. I think it was a little scary to hear just how slow things were moving, but she was relieved to hear that the rest of her system was working at a normal pace. The good news in all of this is that this confirmed to the Dallas doctors that the gastric stimulator is the right way to go. There is even a strong chance that with these test results, her insurance may cover it. It will take several months to determine that though. Her doctor says he has the ammunition.
The next step is one she has been waiting for these past four months. She will consult with the Johns Hopkins doctor next week. She is a bit fearful that he may recommend a totally different course, but she is open to hearing it and more than anything she is grateful to have an option. She really likes the doctors in Dallas, but she wants to do it right and make sure that no stone is unturned when it comes to the right treatment for this difficult problem, especially before implanting a device into her abdomen.
She is, of course, exhausted due to the procedures, travel and general emotional upheaval, but she will be jumping on a plane next week and hopefully seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. She will have family traveling with her and there is family in the Baltimore area, so she won't be alone.
We will update you all when we know more about how the appointment went. Perhaps when all this is figured out, someone else who is going through this will use this blog to see what someone else did in this situation and to know they are not alone.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, well-wishes, messages, and donations. It means so much to her to know how loved she is and even though she is not directly connecting with everyone, she knows that support system is there when she falls.
If you still want to donate or know someone else who does, the instructions for how to do so are below. Again, thank you all so much!
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Donated funds go to paying hospital bills, travel bills, and their regular bills.
Ways to contribute:
You can click the button below to contribute to a Pay Pal account that is linked directly to the Benefit Account for Lauren Heredia. Lauren herself does not have access to this account, so it is anonymous to her and the funds are transferred to her bank account. If anyone wants proof of their donation, please email helplaurenheredia@gmail.com (this is not a tax-deductible donation).
You can also send checks made payable to Lauren or Fabian Heredia to:
Lauren & Fabian Heredia
PO Box 942
Carlsbad, New Mexico
88221
This goes directly to them. And you can go into any Wells Fargo location and ask to make a deposit into the Benefit Account for Lauren Heredia . It may be necessary to tell the teller the account was opened in New Mexico.
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