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