On the Road to Alaska
Denali from the Air
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19th
Well, we were at the Skp Resort in Wauchula until Thursday December 17th. We enjoyed our time there and were happy to be able to visit with our Chapter 20 RV buddies, Joe and Monica Behun. We will not be seeing them again until July because they are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary by treating themselves with a trip back to England in the spring. We wish them safe travels and a wonderful time.
We were also able to visit with Lynn and Mary Lord and it was a pleasure to get to know them and their new puppy. The Resort is certainly a lovely park and very well maintained. We enjoyed watching new cement driveways being poured and trees being trimmed. They have a heated pool, shuffleboard and other ways to entertain yourself.
On Thursday we traveled back up to Sumter Oaks which is in Bushnell Florida. We met up with friends Dave and Karen Long and also Tom and Jean Forney. They are fun people and we enjoy visiting and playing cards with them. When we arrived at the park Dave and Tom were installing a new awning and of course Phil needed to lend a helping hand. There are donkeys next door and cranes that walk and fly around the park. They both have a very distinct call.
Well, yesterday we spent cleaning and decorating the rig for Christmas.
Today Phil loaded our CD changer with Christmas music and we are enjoying that as well.
We went up to the clubhouse to sing Christmas Carols around the bonfire Thursday evening and there will be a Yankee Gift Swap on Christmas Eve. That can get pretty lively. Then there is Christmas dinner on Friday and a Pot Luck Leftover dinner on Saturday.
Just an update on my health escapade in November. I have been monitoring both my Medicare and HOPS Insurance sites. SO FAR the cost is up to about $83,500 for the five day stay in the hospital with MANY tests. Part of that was a $15,600 flight in the helicopter! I am sure that there will be more bills coming in as well. So far, (said with fingers crossed) the costs for most everything seems to be covered by Medicare and my supplemental insurance. I will keep you posted on this! Phil has said that my ‘uplifting’ ride in the helicopter was my Christmas present!
Well, enough for now. I’ll post again when I have something interesting to report.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
November-December 2009
Here is a short version of our travels so far. When I have more time, I will add more detail.
After I was discharged from the hospital we made our way to Tennessee for a short visit with my friend Pat.
She was heading north to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with her son Peter and family and we were heading south. We had a great visit and we were amazed at the work she has had done with her kitchen remodeling. She now has a cathedral ceiling which really makes her kitchen seem larger. The floor in the kitchen and the dining room have now been reinforced and it is all lovely.
From there we took a slow drive down to South Carolina to visit with Cathy and Larry for Thanksgiving.
We took some nice day trips to the beach and also to the bead store, so I could shop! We had a fun afternoon making jewelry.
Wendy had a good time! She made her earrings and necklace.
They have added a screen house to the back of their house and they are really happy with it.
Cathy and Larry are heading for a cruise in December. Enjoy!
The next stop on our way was at the Escapee's Rainbow Park at Bushnell Florida. We stayed here for a few days and Phil was able to wash the RV and repair my washer. Then we were good to go south again to Wauchula Florida to the Skp Resort. We met friends Monica and Joe Behun here as well as Lynn and Mary Lord.
We drove down to Englewood to visit with our good friend and former neighbor, George Graham. We had not seen him for a couple of years and it was great to catch up on family news.
We left the RV in Wauchula and traveled down through the Florida Keys to Key West. We stayed there for three days and did a lot of the typical tourist things. We had super weather and we had a great time and I posted about 150 photos on my Picasa Web album if you have time to look through them. We had to stop here, we cannot go any further south!
We were glad to get home to the RV. A couple of days in a motel and using public restrooms a lot reminds us why we like to travel with our home on wheels. We will be heading back to Bushnell Florida for the holidays before going just a bit north to Kingsland Georgia for the month of January.
I am feeling fine, but I did feel like I had been hit by a truck for a while. We are taking things slowly and we are stopping for me to get out and stretch my legs often while we are traveling. Phil put in quite a week as well. We have both been catching up on our rest. Craig arrived home this morning, we are relieved knowing that he is out of Afghanistan for good.
If you want to check out the Picasa albums this is the link Picasa.
Merry Christmas to all. Have a safe, healthy, and wonderful New Year.
November 18, 2009
We left home on Thursday and had a good trip to Bryan's. We enjoyed our trip to see John and Barb McDonnell on Friday and then the birthday party for Matthew and Emily on Saturday.
On Sunday we headed merrily on our way south. We stopped for the night in Staunton VA at Camp Wal Mart.
.
After some fun people watching in the parking lot we had a light supper things went downhill FAST. I started having difficulty catching my breath, I tried lying down, but that did not work. Within less than an hour I realized I was in trouble. Phil took me to the closest ER but I was really breathing hard and gasping for breath by the time we were there. Phil said that my lips and hands and feet were blue by the time we were there. They were suspicious of a pulmonary embolism but they did a CAT scan and did not find one.
So.....they airlifted me by helicopter to University of Virginia Hospital CCC Unit. Since being here I have had ultrasounds, cardiac cath, multiple X-Rays, TONS of blood and urine tests......
They have NOT been able to make a definitive diagnosis. They have ruled out the pulmonary embolism, major heart attack. etc....They were thinking it was coronary arterial spasm, which is what I had 15 years ago. Problem is no one has an answer as to why this happened either then or now. They don't understand why this came on so quickly and also how I recovered so quickly. I am out of bed today and feeling and breathing better. However, I do kind of feel like I have been hit by a truck.
They poked and prodded me until Friday. They still do not have any answers. I was discharged with no changes in medication or restrictions. I will see my own doctor when we return home.
I will thank you all ahead of time for your prayers and your concerns. I will let you know when there is more news. Hopefully the next installment will be on a happier note! Both Phil and I send our love to all.
After I was discharged from the hospital we made our way to Tennessee for a short visit with my friend Pat.
She was heading north to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with her son Peter and family and we were heading south. We had a great visit and we were amazed at the work she has had done with her kitchen remodeling. She now has a cathedral ceiling which really makes her kitchen seem larger. The floor in the kitchen and the dining room have now been reinforced and it is all lovely.
From there we took a slow drive down to South Carolina to visit with Cathy and Larry for Thanksgiving.
Wendy had a good time! She made her earrings and necklace.
The next stop on our way was at the Escapee's Rainbow Park at Bushnell Florida. We stayed here for a few days and Phil was able to wash the RV and repair my washer. Then we were good to go south again to Wauchula Florida to the Skp Resort. We met friends Monica and Joe Behun here as well as Lynn and Mary Lord.
We drove down to Englewood to visit with our good friend and former neighbor, George Graham. We had not seen him for a couple of years and it was great to catch up on family news.
We left the RV in Wauchula and traveled down through the Florida Keys to Key West. We stayed there for three days and did a lot of the typical tourist things. We had super weather and we had a great time and I posted about 150 photos on my Picasa Web album if you have time to look through them. We had to stop here, we cannot go any further south!
We were glad to get home to the RV. A couple of days in a motel and using public restrooms a lot reminds us why we like to travel with our home on wheels. We will be heading back to Bushnell Florida for the holidays before going just a bit north to Kingsland Georgia for the month of January.
I am feeling fine, but I did feel like I had been hit by a truck for a while. We are taking things slowly and we are stopping for me to get out and stretch my legs often while we are traveling. Phil put in quite a week as well. We have both been catching up on our rest. Craig arrived home this morning, we are relieved knowing that he is out of Afghanistan for good.
If you want to check out the Picasa albums this is the link Picasa.
Merry Christmas to all. Have a safe, healthy, and wonderful New Year.
November 18, 2009
We left home on Thursday and had a good trip to Bryan's. We enjoyed our trip to see John and Barb McDonnell on Friday and then the birthday party for Matthew and Emily on Saturday.
On Sunday we headed merrily on our way south. We stopped for the night in Staunton VA at Camp Wal Mart.
.
After some fun people watching in the parking lot we had a light supper things went downhill FAST. I started having difficulty catching my breath, I tried lying down, but that did not work. Within less than an hour I realized I was in trouble. Phil took me to the closest ER but I was really breathing hard and gasping for breath by the time we were there. Phil said that my lips and hands and feet were blue by the time we were there. They were suspicious of a pulmonary embolism but they did a CAT scan and did not find one.
So.....they airlifted me by helicopter to University of Virginia Hospital CCC Unit. Since being here I have had ultrasounds, cardiac cath, multiple X-Rays, TONS of blood and urine tests......
They have NOT been able to make a definitive diagnosis. They have ruled out the pulmonary embolism, major heart attack. etc....They were thinking it was coronary arterial spasm, which is what I had 15 years ago. Problem is no one has an answer as to why this happened either then or now. They don't understand why this came on so quickly and also how I recovered so quickly. I am out of bed today and feeling and breathing better. However, I do kind of feel like I have been hit by a truck.
They poked and prodded me until Friday. They still do not have any answers. I was discharged with no changes in medication or restrictions. I will see my own doctor when we return home.
I will thank you all ahead of time for your prayers and your concerns. I will let you know when there is more news. Hopefully the next installment will be on a happier note! Both Phil and I send our love to all.
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