Our Wedding Anniversary - 32 years

It is hard to believe we have been home almost two weeks.  Dorothy continues to improve a little each day.  Her cough has virtually disappeared but she still has a continuing need to clear her throat frequently and periodic pain in her left chest which seems to follow the shape of the bottom half of her left lung, and is usually worse after eating. She still tires easily.  However, today she drove the van for the first time since December 21 and we were both most thankful that we could celebrate our wedding anniversary yesterday by going out for a nice dinner which we both enjoyed heartily.

January 20, 2011 - celebrating our wedding day - January 20, 1979
We dined in the new Sawmill Restaurant at Franklin's Inn in Sherwood Park

 

Before dining out, Dorothy had a treatment at the clinic she attended before our trip.  One of the therapists has just returned from extra study in China so Dorothy received some acupuncture to redirect and strengthen the energy flow; and some cupping therapy to remove toxins.  It seemed more proactive than just contemplating that her conventional medical tests were "encouragingly normal".

If you look closely, you can see a few of the acupuncture needles, as well as
what are sometimes called fire cups which draw out internal toxins.
They are left on for about 25 minutes.

Meantime, we continue to have a lot of winter weather so we enjoy the days when we can look out from our warm condo and feel thankful we don't have to go outside to chop wood or feed the cows.

a few statistics of the Big Tour

Nights away from home = 52
Total kilometers added to van = 14,766
Dash home: Port St. Lucie, FL to Sherwood Park, AB
    4,849 kms. - Jan. 1 to Jan. 8, 2011
    avg. = 606 kms / day

Initial bill for Dorothy's hospitalization - Dec. 24 - 28, 2010 = $35,705.00 US 

   other bills for ER and Doctors to follow.
[So far our insurance plan, through Alberta Retired Teachers' Association, but administered by Desjardins, has been quite helpful and reassuring.  We have not had an indication from them yet that we will have a portion to pay.]
[Note: while the amounts in the bill seem large, we have no way of knowing what similar procedures in Canada cost (via our taxes)]

Testing ... one, two, three, four ...

Dorothy had the last of her four batteries of tests early this morning.  Before sunrise we were off to Edmonton.  It was -30C [-22F] with few signs there would be sunshine today.

Venturing out onto our street - "What are all these people doing out here? It's 30 below!"

The breathing tests seemed to go well.  The respitory therapist, Melinda, explained things fully and was very helpful in understanding what was going on. 

Dorothy - ready for her lung function tests

Later we had a meeting with our lawyer to advise us regarding a form we received from our travel health insurance company.  I was all set to praise him for punctuality compared to our doctor, but he was half an hour late getting back from lunch so we got to practice our waiting there too.

Then it was off to our follow up doctor's appointment.  Remember, the mid-day high today was -28C so it was not easy getting around - or breathing the "fresh" air.  It seems I was mistaken about our doctor not usually working Friday afternoons.  Actually, he does work, but not "regular" appointments - instead he is meeting with fee paying clients who want botox or other elective cosmetic procedures.  So, we had to wait while those folks were served.  From our 2:30 "appointment" it was actually 5 minutes before 4:00 pm before we met with the doctor.  However, the message was probably worth waiting for.  He said he was "relieved" by the results of Dorothy's echocardiogram tests of her heart function.  He said he was concerned they might find heart congestion but that it "appeared" that was not the case.  Blood tests and x-rays were also reassuring.  He explained some of Dorothy's chest and abdominal pains as muscle strains or pulls. He was also encouraged by Dorothy's increase in energy and improved general appearance. He will not get the pulmonary test results until Wednesday and will only call us "if it seems called for". Generally, we ae thankful for Dorothy's progress thus far - she still has a long way to go but there are some signs of normalacy returning.

We continue to be thankful for the support of our friends, as well.  A few examples are below:

Carolyn sent a "soup hamper"

Margaret sent individual meal sized Shepherd's Pie
[an apple pie did not survive long enough to be photographed]

Florence brought a gift of spring flowers.

And Melisa brought groceries covering all the major food groups, plus flowers.
[Racquel (age 5) did the "Welcome Back" card

Thanks - is hardly enough - but we are grateful for all the support we have received and for how far Dorothy has progressed since we arived home.

the appointment with the Doctor

We arrived punctually for Dorothy's 3:20 pm appointment.  We shared a waiting room with 6 other people; one a 2 year old coughing with indeterminant illness, another a teenager coughing with strep throat.  After 56 minutes, we were ushered into a consultation cubicle, where, 9 minutes later the doctor appeared.  [Note to our U.S. friends, this is very typical waiting time, for an appointment. The appointments are booked every 10 minutes so that the Doctor is chronically behind.  Apparently, it is not an option to go to a longer appointment period of say 15 minutes?]
We had brought all the medical records we received in Florida.  The Doctor reviewed those quickly, commenting he would like to have seen an echocardiogram.  He used his stethoscope to listen to Dorothy's breathing.  He wrote requisitions for tests: (1) a battery of blood work, (2) x-rays, (3) an echocardiogram, and (4) a pulminary function test.  We have to look after booking the first three ourselves, a pulmonary lab. will contact us about the fourth.
The Doctor facilitated the making of a follow-up appointment with him for Friday afternoon.  [Usually, he does not work Friday afternoons.] Our time with him totalled 22 minutes.
I had two additonal questions for him.
1. Should we be in a crisis situation,such as extreme loss of breath, is there any way of including him (as the "family doctor") in the decision making process about Dorothy's treatment?
Answer: You can always phone the office and ask the staff to contact me.
2. What happens if the crisis happens outside of office hours?
Answer: I have no availability outside of office hours.

In memory of Gwen

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting with Gwen in Florida.  We just received news from her daughter, Heather, that Gwen died this past Thursday after a brief illness and hospitalization,  Gwen made us so welcome - she treated our visit as a major event - and she prepared and planned for us.  It was a disappointment for us all that Dorothy's illness began the next day after we arrived and we were not able to have those enjoyable times we had all anticipated.
Dorothy and Gwen became friends in high school and have kept in contact all the way through lives that have many highs and lows along the way.  Gwen was a warm, kindly Christian lady with an infectious sense of humour and a graceful way of making everyone she met feel appreciated.
Her sudden passing is yet another reminder that no one is promised tomorrow and that we need to make sure we savour life and the lives of our loved ones while we have those opportunities.
Gwen's memorial service will be this Wednesday - please join us in a prayer of gratitude for her life among us.

Gwen and Dorothy - two beautiful, dear ladies
December 21, 2010

Saskatoon, SK to Sherwood Park, AB (HOME)

We had a restful night and were faced this morning with news and discussion of the winter storm warnings for the area we would be driving through.  We decided to start as soon as we could.  Our advantage now is that we are on home territory - we know the road very well, and we know the various subtleties of the weather.

Not far from Saskatoon, we encountered snow and drifting snow.

We reached Lloydminster just before noon and had a nice lunch at one of our old favourite restaurants, Spiro's.  It was nice to be welcomed warmly by Spiro and his daughter Maria.  We are among people we know and who know us - it feels good.

Well into Alberta now (near Vermilion) and conditions have not improved.

Near Minburn, AB - it looks like winter driving conditions

After over 500 kms of winter driving - it's nice to see the sign for OUR EXIT.

Our street - Foxhaven Drive, Sherwood Park, AB

Home at last!

Our friend Joe was waiting to welcome us and help me unload the van.

We are blessed with so many supportive friends.  Carolyn made soup for us.  Margaret supplied a casserole and an apple pie.
I would like to thank all those who followed the blog and/or provided e-mails and phone calls of support.  We had an impressive prayer team behind us - from across the country.  Thank you all.
I will not be making daily entries to the blog now but I will update with any significant follow up news as to Dorothy's health situation.  Also, I hope when time permits to add some additional information about the places we went, what we purchased, etc. 

Now we can sit and watch the snow, knowing we do not have to load up the van and drive on tomorrow.

Minot, ND to Saskatoon, SK

Dorothy had a reasonably good night and felt a little stronger today.  Her cough was less and most of her other symptoms have improved except general weakness and fatigue, and periodic chest pains.  With an eye on the weather, we decided to push on to Saskatoon rather than stop in Regina.  We hope the weather will allow us to reach home tomorrow.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
A message from Dorothy:
"Thank you to all of you for your love and prayers."  I have been so blessed!
I want to thank my dear husband, Franklin, for his love and great strength which he shared with me.  Franklin is so strong, having the ability to keep the faith as he handled the unreal stress.  He left no stone unturned.  He got an air cleaner, and a humidifier to keep the air quality in the room just right; also bought a thermometer, and a pulse oximeter to check my heart and the oxygen in my blood when we are on our own.   Franklin took care of my personal needs each day.  He has driven from Florida, loading and unloading the van each day, so that I only needed to step into a warm van.  I can't begin to mention all the loving care I received.  Thank you my love!   

A thank you to our dear daughter, Carylanne.  She was checking with us from a skiing resort in Utah.  She and her friends, a doctor who is chief of staff in Kingston Hospital, and his wife, an emergency nurse, checked the medications for us.  Carylanne has given us her medical knowledge and support along this strange adventure.  Thank you dear!  We love you.   

A thank you to my brother, Al and Anne for checking in with us each day. Their support was much appreciated. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you Dorothy.  As all of you know, she is sweet and generous.

Now a few pictures from today's travel.

We noticed some snow at our hotel in Minot, ND

Now, a few scenes from along the way:

It's beginning to look like home - near Portal, ND

Back in Canada

Canada is a land of law and order

Welcome to Saskatchewan

Thank you to all.  With a little more Help, we will be home tomorrow.

Fargo, ND to Minot, ND

We opted for a shorter day today (just over 400 kms) as Dorothy did not have the best of nights with some chest pain.  We had a good journey. There was fog along a lot of the way as we transitioned from -13C to -3C.  We are having a more relaxing evening tonight.  We will see how we feel in the morning as to how much we attempt tomorrow.

We noticed there was more snow this morning in Fargo, ND

An Editorial:
   Here are a few comments about topics raised through correspondence over the past month or so.

Stress: Since December 22, we have had before us several times the possibility that Dorothy might not survive this episode.  We have talked about it a few times when things were down, other times we didn't need to talk about it.  We have made a number of "leaps of faith", including our decisions to institute a moratorium on the medications, and then to try to drive home; both of which were serious risks, whichever way we decided.  There have been many encouraging and discouraging turns along the way but so far we think we have chosen correctly.  Of course, a rapid downturn might change that.  We also have the reality that should I, or the van, or the scooter, break down, our gamble might well be lost.  Yes, there is some stress but the prayers and encouragement of our friends have helped us recognize our situation and, we think, move in the right direction.  There is also our faith that God has got us this far - and whatever happens - we must believe it is part of a larger purpose.

Fly home:  This sounds like a simple solution until you actually think it through.  There would be the problems of obtaining tickets, selecting airlines, getting direct flights, standing, waiting, walking, waiting, going through security, having pretzels for lunch, waiting, deplaning, replaning - over a period of at least 24 hours non-stop - to get home - to what? (See below)  This whole process compares, I think, unfavourably with our process where Dorothy has a chance to rest, wash up, and only needs to walk a few feet to get in a heated van where she can rest relatively comfortably.

Get help driving: Again, we have had to adjust to the reality that Dorothy has been only able to handle about 5 hours of travel before her symptoms worsen.  We have tried our best to listen to this.  For example, we could have driven much further today but neither Dorothy nor I would have been in as good a condition as we are.

It will be great to get home to our doctor and health care: Well, Dr. Fisher is one of the better family physicians we have had but at the end of the day all he does is write prescriptions and refer to "specialists".  [We have been asked innumerable times who are family doctor is.  All this seems to do is fill in a space on a form.  There is no attempt or expectation that he will be consulted or will be part of the decision making process.  Ideally, this would happen and he could input his understanding of Dorothy's unique make-up to improve the decision making process.  This approach doesn't seem to have been conceived by anyone in the medical establishment.]
I have made an appointment for Dorothy to see Dr. Fisher next Tuesday.  [I knew that if we waited until we got home to call him, we would be told "he had nothing open until a week from Thursday ...".]
As for prescriptions - we know that part of Dorothy's problems stemmed from how her unique physical ecology reacted to the inundation of medications she received. It is not a case of the textbooks determining whether drug A contraindicates drug B, it is how drug A or B interacts with Dorothy. 
As for specialists - Dorothy has seen several over the past few years.  We have found 80% of them generate no sense of caring or personalized treatment.  Some of them don't even have much expertise.  [Many of you have heard of our adventure with an eye "specialist" we waited 8 - 10 months to see.  After floating in without introducing himself he asked whether Dorothy was taking drops or gel.  When we said "gel-drops" he became frustrated - showed us a tube and a bottle - and asked us which one - again we said, well, gel-drops.  Soon Dorothy had a cursory "exam" and was told "we live in a dry climate." Only as we thought about it later did we realize that this great "specialist" did not know of a common product on the market call "gel-drops" and had concluded we were not worth his "valuable time".
Dorothy has already been told that should she experience severe shortage of breath that lasts more than 10 minutes, she should head for an emergency room.  Our (recent) experience would suggest that if we
did this we would wait 2 - 3 hours among the drunks and druggies in the general waiting room.  Some people are so sick they lie on the floor although we did see a few blankets being handed out to make lying on the floor more comfortable.  Then one might get into a more exclusive waiting area, and finally 5 or 6 hours along - a curtained cubicle where a doctor could appear.  There would be no way of knowing what expertise she or he might have but we would be sure they knew nothing about Dorothy.  And then what?  A medication which, chances are, would cause more problems than it solved and a recommendation for some test or specialist months in the future.
All of this doesn't really inspire one to rush to the finish line thinking that that will put everything right.

If I have missed any person, product, or process that makes the scenario above false - please let me know.

Jeremy helps Dorothy rest as we travel along

Omaha, NE to Fargo, ND

Some encouragement today.  Dorothy was very weak this morning but brightened in the afternoon.  She had her first real meal since December 20.  However, our day was a little long (almost 700 kms).  There are fewer cities in this part of world.

Dorothy had her first real meal in over two weeks at the
Cracker Barrel restaurant in Sioux Falls, SD

After our initial encounter with Cracker Barrel restaurants, in Indiana, when we didn't quite know what to make of them - they have become something of a favourite - especially on this drive home.  We found a few menu items that Dorothy could tolerate a little of, and that menu is consistent from place to place.  We have been dining at Cracker Barrel almost exclusively the past week (except, of course, for our breakfasts at Holiday Inn Express).  It was disappointing that this restaurant, where Dorothy enjoyed here meal, will be the last Cracker Barrel we encounter on this trip.

Our first sight of snow in over two weeks (it seems much longer) was this morning in Omaha, NE

Later, there was much more snow - here we are heading north in South Dakota???

It is nice to be back in farming country.

Greetings from the cockpit of Pontiac Montana SV6
Thanks to all our friends for the support and prayers.

Warrensburg, MO to Omaha, NE

No photos today.  Dorothy had a very rough night.  After the experience yesterday of severe shortness of breath, and a feeling of increasing "tightness" in the chest, she felt she had to do something so took a Mucinex tablet last evening.  Unfortunately it brought back a lot of the bad symptoms: headache, queasy stomach, and a shaking inside Dorothy experiences when her thyroid system gets out of balance.  It was pretty discouraging at 3:30 this morning to think we were going backwards to the way it had been.  She got almost no sleep overnight. 

Again, we had to decide this morning on resting a day or carrying on.  The bright sunny morning helped us to carry on for a shorter day today (only 435 kms).  We stopped at a CVS pharmacy to see about getting a nebulizer for at home use.  They were out of stock, but after considerable delay they located them across the street at Walgreens.  However, they could only be obtained with a prescription, which would have meant going to a walk in clinic, which would have meant contacting the insurance company again.  We decided to get in the van and go. 

But first, the van needed fueling.  We have found this can often be a problem.  Just about all places are "pay at the pump" but if you use a credit card, you are asked to key in your billing zip code to verify. Since we are from Canada, we have no zip code so I have to scooter in and either prepay by guessing how much it might take (usually that means not filling up) or leaving my credit card, going out and fueling, and then going back in to complete the transaction ( assuming there is access not blocked by today's tire sale).  Some gas pumps accept debit cards so, that, I've learned, works better.

It remained a sunny day, we took it easy, the roads were better, and Dorothy's symptoms began to improve.  She was able to eat a little food at the Cracker Barrel in St. Joseph, MO.  We reached our hotel in Omaha just after sunset.  Most of the symptoms have eased except the coughing, overall shortness of breath, and thorough fatigue which she has had for two full weeks now. 

As we were checking in, two people, a staff member and a guest, recognized something of our situation.  They invited us to sit in the breakfast room and got some juice drinks and fresh fruit for us.  It was nice to have their company for a few minutes.  We have received many such acts of kindness along the way.  It inspires us to do better, when we can.

And, we are receiving many incredible offers of help from our friends back home.  It has been a source of support to see how many true friends we have and we extend our thanks and appreciation. 

Memphis, TN to Warrensburg, MO

Medical Update: A rather uneven day.  Dorothy had a good rest overnight but persistent cough through the day.  Had an episode of serious shortness of breath when we stopped for supper.  The trip today took longer than we planned so we are going for a shorter day tomorrow with some extra rest.

Ready for another day of travel - Memphis, TN

Travel moments: We were soon out of Tennessee, crossed the Mississippi River and then across Arkansas.  Before long we saw open fields, and grain trucks and it began to look like home.  Then we crossed through the Ozarks and got on a lot of twisty secondary highways.  Dorothy's brother Al has been calling us every day on our On Star satellite phone in the van.  Yesterday he called us just as we entered Alabama.  Today, we were actually reading the "Welcome to Missouri" sign when his call came through.  He has a talent for catching us at the border. Carylanne also reached us in the van as they are now home from their snow boarding vacation in Utah,

It's beginning to look like home - near Jonesboro, Arkansas

Ravenden, Arkansas has the world's biggest (you guessed it) raven.

Entering the Ozark Mountains in northern Arkansas

The Ozarks carry on into Missouri

Sunset in western Missouri

Some of you have been kind enough to compliment my photos.  As you can probably tell, most are simply snaps, taken from the moving van, usually through the windows.  I don't have my sophisticated photo editing programs with me so all I can do is crop them up a little.  I'm glad, despite this, some of you have found some of them worthwhile.

Valdosta, GA to Memphis, TN

Medical update - A rather uneven day - Dorothy had a poor night with breathing problems from adjusting to the drier air.  She strengthened through the day but the cough returned with a vengeance tonight.  It is probable that we drove too far today although she did travel well and we enjoyed the sunny afternoon.
Our journey today - It was +17C with light rain when we left Valdosta.  It gradually cleared and became cooler as we drove along.  It was a brilliant sunny afternoon and became a clear starlit night.  By the time we reached Memphis tonight it was -3C.  Today we crossed much of Georgia, all of Alabama, a corner of Mississippi and about 4 kms of Tennessee.
Some history along the way -
We came through the area of Georgia where Jimmy Carter had his "peanut farm" years ago. [Actually, there are no small peanut farmers.  It takes a lot of equipment and resources so that "peanut farmers" are actually fairly large business operators].

Peanut field - resting

B. Glee checks out a P. Nut farm

We were near Montgomery, Alabama - home town of country singer Hank Williams who I remember singing on the radio when I was a child.
We passed through Tupelo, Mississippi, birthplace of Elvis Presley, 76 years ago next week.  I didn't realize until I drove the road tonight that the distance from Tupelo, where Elvis' life began, to Memphis, where it ended, is the same distance as from Mannville, AB to Sherwood Park, AB.  [What about that, Gene?]

Main street - Doerun, GA

Pecan orchard - central Gerogia

Churches come in all shapes and sizes - but they all seemed busy this Sunday.  A couple of examples below:

And finally, many houses in the south are low risers with no basement.  An example below:

getting out of Florida

The day went quite well - Dorothy was reasonably comfortable in the jump seat we made for her so she could keep her feet elevated.  We have accumulated a lot of "stuff" so the van is full and more. 

We stopped for a bite to eat about 4:30 in Belleview, FL at the Cracker Barrel.  Dorothy ate her first (almost) meal in 10 days - 2 eggs over easy, half a cranberry muffin, some yogurt, and a small glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.  It was nice to see her recovering her appetite and sense of taste.

One of several Florida Citrus Centers where you can stock up on all kinds of fresh fruit.

We were exited to enter Florida, but even more relieved to exit it.

As we got toward northern Florida, we began to see a few hills and some "normal" trees.  We had had more than enough of the flat, swampy environment of the last 10 days.  By evening we entered Georgia and soon after a heavy rain that continued until we stopped at the Holiday Inn Express here in Valdosta, GA.  I got an early start on my shower unloading the van in heavy rain but it was +16C so "no worries".  Dorothy had traveled well and as we turn in tonight we are glad we made a move today.

Once again, Happy New Year to all our friends.