Rochester Minnesota is still cold but not as bad as the first two days. The weather report today is twenty degrees but without much wind. I know writing about the weather is boring, but it’s just so crippling in person, I feel like I have to let the frost shock out somehow. Right now I’m in a Starbucks with Christmas songs playing above my head and a hot tea sitting next to my right hand.

My sister and brood (2 girls and husband) went home this morning and I’m left here one more day with not much to do. My plan was to find an animal shelter and go walk some dogs but google maps failed me and I was led to an empty field. Two nice Rochesterian’s directed me a different way but when I thought I should be there a cop told me it was all the way across town. By that point, my boots were wet and I felt it was time to abort the mission.

My sister was here,  at The Mayo Clinic for two weeks and now has four semi official diagnosis: Fibromyalgia, Cronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel and Eudacaria (chronic swelling and hives that have breathing implications-I can’t find the right spelling or definition). The Eudacaria is supposed to go away on it’s own in 1-3 years. But I think that was just a shot in the dark. I’m not sure about the IB, but the three other issues are chronic and the reccomended treatment is pain management and stress reduction. Basically they have to arrange their lives the way family members have been harping on them to change their lives for years. I’m sure our mother is positively glowing with smug satisfaction, although well hidden (or maybe not) mixed with feelings of sadness for her daughter that she really does love (we think).

On top of it all Rick her husband, Samantha their 7 year old and Elizabeth the 2 year old have contracted some kind of stomach bug. I just got a text telling me that they’re puking in Tupperware while driving home. They weren’t feeling great yesterday night either when we all stayed in the hotel. I was trying not to be rude, but I just got over a three week epic battle with the flu. I quarantined my self in a bedroom and shut the door….after a few games of hide and seek. Don’t worry, I didn’t breathe in the whole time.

I thought I would have more to write about our trip to The Mall of America but, really, it was a big mall. The more interesting part of Rochester is Mayo. It’s a well oiled, positive and polite machine. All the doctors spend as much time as you need with them, the appointments run on time and tests are ordered and come back on the same day. Going to a place like that and getting back the diagnosis that Kim did is a little dishearting. There’s really nowhere to go after Mayo. Maybe they break out the sage wands and kill some poultry?