Sharing Mayo Clinic - December 2009 Archives

As a life-long Minnesotan, I look forward to winter. No, I don’t like bitter, below zero temperatures, and I am definitely not a fan of shoveling anything more than a couple inches of snow. However, I do enjoy other aspects of the season -- going cross country skiing, seeing snow on the branches of the evergreen trees, watching children and dogs romp in freshly fallen snow and sitting in a warm location, drinking a hot chocolate (or a mocha) and watching big, fat, lazy snowflakes fall to the ground. When I talk to people from outside the Midwest about what a nice place this is to live in the winter, I'm usually met with a fair amount of skepticism.  They have heard the stories in the news about bitter cold, below zero temperatures with even colder wind chills. They have seen pictures of thermometers located in International Falls, Minn., the Icebox of the Nation, at -35 below (and that’s not the wind chill). They have heard stories about blizzards that can bring a city to a standstill. They have seen the pictures online of cars almost completely buried by snowplows on the streets and cars and trucks stuck in the ditches. And, they have watched countless videos clips on TV of people walking (or more likely waddling like a penguin) from their parking spots to their places of employment that were so bundled up that only their eyes were visible. Yes, this is what Minnesota can be like during the winter. But it’s not the norm. Below zero temps for the daily high typically last for a few days, if we have them. Blizzards and snowfalls of over a foot in the area are rare. In fact, there have been winters, where we didn’t get our first snowfall until February and our first 3 inch snowfall until March. Unfortunately, December 2009 seems to be one of those strange and unusual winters when it comes to snowstorms; one probably headed for the record book.

It's always exciting to see someone graduate from school -- whether it's a high school graduate embarking on life or a college graduate who feels liberated from ...

This story was submitted by Ron Reffitt Jr. In this photo, I'm holding my ...

Ah, the holidays a time when most people have added chaos in their lives. Between stressing over finances and the best gifts to buy, fighting ...

My name is Walter Cannon, and I am 66 years old. When I was nine years old, I had an accident at school that lead ...

Editor's Note: Mike from the Minneapolis area sent us this message on the day after Thanksgiving, as he wanted to share his gratitude for the care he received at Mayo Clinic earlier this year. His story is below; here are options for how you can share your story. Hello my name is Mike, and in March of 2009 I had a mechanical aortic valve (and some other stuff, ha!) installed by Dr. Hartzell Schaff. I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and I always knew it would need to be replaced at some point. Age 45 became my some point and thus the reason for the surgery. I am very fortunate to live in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area because there are significant options for quality health care in the area. Faced with the fact that I needed to have my valve replaced sooner rather than later I started to research my options regarding the location and surgeon. I found many that I’m sure I would have had a good experience with but when it came down to it, it seemed to me I should visit the Mayo Clinic because I heard they are the best and my research proved that out. So I scheduled a clinic day for March 17th with the help of Donna Stucky who was wonderful to work with. My day of testing couldn’t have gone smoother, everyone was so professional, competent and complete in their area. My wife came with me and by the end of the day we were both in agreement, this was the place for us! The uneasy feeling of the unknown wasn’t gone but it had diminished greatly. I also happened to meet a couple of Dr. Schaff’s patients during the day and they explained he is the absolute best surgeon – one of the best in the world. By the end of the day I was set for surgery with Dr. Schaff and his team one week later and I was looking forward to getting on the road to recovery. I didn’t know what to expect going to the hospital that morning in March, as I’ve not spent a lot of time in hospitals and haven’t had any significant surgeries prior to this one. Thinking about it now, I’d say my experience was so positive and life changing it’s impossible to put into words, but I’ll try.