LIFE: racing past and then suddenly in slow motion

I've caught up with our comings and goings up until New Year's Day. I never took the time to make any resolutions or set goals for myself as I usually do every year. I think the fact that I was alive and well were enough.

Things began to slowly improve in January and then mid-February found George with a nasty head cold. Since being in Florida, we've missed celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and then Valentin'es Day flew out the window.

February found members of our New York RV group staying at Elite Resorts and good friend, Charlie, at Thousand Trails down the road. We didn't get to do too many things together due to my foot and George's illness, but the few times we did, food was usually involved and we always had fun.

Dinner out with some of the Hudson Islanders, sans George.
Starting on the left side and up like a “u” we are:
Walt and Fran, me and Charlie, Tony and Doreen and Kathy and Ray.

I was continuing the slow recuperation from my bunion surgery and looking forward to each accomplishment along the way. I went into a boot with crutches, then bearing weight on the boot and crutches, then to a cane, and finally into an orthopedic sneaker and crutch.

I rushed myself along the road to recovery (what's new) and put the cane in a corner way too soon. I have taken it back out and use it anytime I need to walk more than a few dozen feet. The foot is still swollen and painful. My surgeon says June should be the month that will show less swelling and more progress. Keeping it elevated and wearing a compression sock helps quite a bit. As we creep closer to June, we shall see how I progress.

A deadly wolf in sheep's clothing.

The middle of March found the world faced with an unimaginable health crisis. COVID-19. This acronym was soon to become a household word, and life, as we knew it, was a thing of the past. Even when the diabolical virus' threat is reduced, I don't believe we will ever live our lives the same. We will all be changed in ways yet to be determined. Some changes will be for the better and some will be for the worse, but I choose to face this enemy steeled with faith and hope.

Finally, a holiday meal where
I wasn't in the hospital!

A perfect break in he global crisis found us quietly celebrating Easter with a home-cooked dinner. Here we had many friends around, food to eat, but we all ate separately.  

My next blog will begin my documentation of what we are doing, how we are doing things differently and why I make it a conscience choice every day to find joy in little things.


Deep thought for the day:  Be sure to stop and look when you smell the roses. Don't run by too fast. Experiencing them using both senses envelops you with their true magnificence. Life is kinda that way too.

A December to Remember

The month of December arrived as I continued to recuperate from my sinus infection. The previously scheduled surgery on my foot was postponed until I finished taking the full course of antibiotics. The new date for surgery was the 10th. I convinced myself that I was well enough to proceed with the surgery (I really wasn't) while George told me to reschedule it again.

I had a method to that madness of proceeding with the surgery, because one year ago I had booked a week in Key West at Blue Water Key Resort and I needed a 15-week recuperation window. The week delay was now cutting into my timeline.

The surgery went well. I left the hospital the same day with a plate, two brackets and six screws in my foot, as well a a pin in my second toe that had needed to be broken and reset. I was placed on the same, strong antibiotic that I had taken for the sinus infection, and was given a powerful drug for pain. Now, all I had to do was sit back and let my bones mend. It was one of my more painful surgeries.

Good friends had lent me a wheelchair, but entering the RV was a tremendous challenge. One that caused me to almost re-break the broken toe! Neighbors far and wide heard my scream. Weeks later, a woman came up to me while I was sitting outside and she said, "Oh, you're the poor woman who screamed." I guess stuff like that gets around fast in a small community.

Life was spent in the RV being cared for - expertly - by George. There was very little I could do without his assistance, and he was always patient and caring. I counted my blessings (along with the days we would be swimming in Key West). 

About ten days later, I visited my surgeon who sent me to the ER with a note, indicating I was exhibiting signs of a DVT - deep vein thrombosis, including chest pain and difficulty breathing. The night before, I actually considered calling for an ambulance due to how badly I felt.

My original diagnosis in the ER was a lot of fluid in and around my lungs. I heard doctors saying, "congestive heart failure," "possible heart attack" and "thrombosis." I remember not feeling panic at this point, just a feeling that I wanted to go to sleep and wake up from a bad dream. I was weak, tired and in pain. 

On Christmas Eve, after about a week at Celebration Hospital, I was discharge after having a total cardiac work up. Gratefully, all my tests came back negative. The only explanation for all that fluid was that it probably developed from the original congestion of the sinus infection and made worse by the anesthesia from the surgery. 

Okay, this issue is behind us now and it's time to go home...but, getting released posed a huge problem. Part of my cardiac workup included an angiogram that was performed through my wrist. This prevented me from being able to hoist myself up the stairs into the RV.

Prior to being discharged, my mind raced with options and fortunately, I remembered that our friends owned a house nearby and had a spare room. After a quick call, we found out there was "room at the inn" on Christmas Eve for all of us, including Lucy. As it turned out, we had their whole home to ourselves since they were out of town. To make things even easier, we had a key to their home. 

Throughout the entire medical issue, I hadn't cried once, however, as George wheeled me into their home, tears of gratitude slid down my cheeks. I was overwhelmed by the situation and the bag full of new medications we had just picked up from the pharmacy, but also feeling so blessed to have friends who moved a huge obstacle out of our way.

Someone thought this was a
special chair just for her.

Christmas Day was going to be a relaxing and quiet day.

It wasn't.

I'll skip the unpleasant details, but I ended up heading back to Celebration Hospital by ambulance. This visit was a six day stint consisting of a battery of tests for gastric issues. The cause of this new problem was due to all the antibiotics and additional pain medications that I had been ingesting since the end of November.  It wreaked a bit of havoc on my insides.

We ended 2019 with hope and prayers that 2020 was going to be a terrific year. After all we had been through, how could it get any worse?

Meanwhile, as we were hoping and praying, Wuhan, China was to become a place that would go down in history as the epicenter of "COVID-19." Not until March 11th was it officially labeled "a pandemic" and people started to pay attention. Unfortunately, it would take thousands of deaths before most people started to take  it seriously.

My next blog entry will document, at least for my future reference, what it is like living in 2020 with a compromised immune system during a pandemic.

Deep thought for the day: "Good morning, good morning! It's time to celebrate! Good morning, good morning to you!"

This song's music was composed by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics written by Arthur Freed, for the 1939 film, Babes in Arms. It was performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.

This is the song I sang to my boys as they grew up and now, I sing it to my husband. All three hate/hated it, or perhaps just my rendition. I'm not sure which, but I do know that I loved and still love singing it, because it's always a "good morning" when we wake up, have a place to live, clothes to wear, food to eat and love to give and receive... So, good morning, good morning to you! ~ vc

Ketchup post. Lots of catch up.

I decided, after the long absence from our New England Adventure, that I needed to document how life has unfolded since then. After a brief check of the photos on my phone, it seems like I neglected to keep the chronicle of my life up to date, which is the only way I can guarantee I don't forget the special "days of our lives."

Savannah with 2 sets of grandparents!

 In mid-September we headed south and made a stop in North Carolina to celebrate Savannah's 11th birthday. We had a great time visiting and got to have a spectacular birthday dinner together. This lucky girl got to spend it, not only with her immediate family, but with both of her grandparents!

Even a rainbow to celebrate a special girl!
Good grief, Charlie Brown, she will be taller
than me before next birthday!

Dessert caused a bit of havoc on my insulin reserves, but it was well worth the sacrifice. I was unable to upload a video of her breaking the pinata, but believe me, it was a sight not worth missing. 

We don't often get to spend birthdays, watch plays or musical or dance performances with them, so anytime we visit is special and was worth the risk of extra insulin and running "high."

My fire cracker getting ready to break
her chocolate pinata!

We only arrived in Florida a couple of weeks before getting on the road again to spend Thanksgiving in St. Pete's Beach, FL. There, we would spend the holiday with three of my grandchildren and their mom, Meily, who would be flying into the area from snowy Colorado to spend the holiday with my ex's family. As usual, we were invited and welcomed with open arms to stay and celebrate the holiday together. As Meily worked in the Tampa office of the company she works for, I was able to take the girls to the pool or beach and spent some quality time as we enjoyed perfect weather. We went out for dinners as a group, got sand in our suits as a group and shared germs as a group!

Love this one with sisters holding hands.

Lola looking happy and beautiful.

Nina enjoying watching the boys stare at her.

Me with three of my five precious girls
on Cousins Aaron's and Karen's boat.

Confident and a cutie, Emma with Uncle Gregg.

A sunset from the balcony of the condo at St. Pete Beach, FL

Boston Market Turkey Dinner

The night before Thanksgiving found me with the start of a sinus infection that required a trip to an urgent care facility and a script to knock it out of my system. George ended up picking up my prescriptions along with two turkey dinners from a Boston Market. We were thankful for many things despite missing celebrating with family.

The next day we headed back to our Florida "home base" where I could recuperate and not infect anyone else. I missed out on "apartment hunting" with Meily, who is seriously considering relocating to the Tampa area to be closer to family!

I ended the month of November sneezing, coughing and miserable, but I had already finished my Christmas shopping on-line, had it all wrapped, boxed up and ready to ship out by December 1st. I tend to always be a step ahead, just in case!

Valentine Card Boxes for Lola and...

Emma. Early, but promised last April.

The extravagant Valentine Card Boxes were part of their Christmas gifts. I made them after seeing the ones they had used the year before. I promised I'd make them real pretty ones for next Valentine's day.

Almost forgot to include my new car!

Decided to buy after leasing two prior to this one.

Geo

As soon as we had arrived in Florida in November, I needed to trade in my Nissan, Sentra. That Sentra had been my second lease and I liked the car so much I decided to go ahead any buy this one.

George and I decided that December would be better. Bunion surgery, that was originally scheduled for the 3rd needed to be rescheduled to the 10th so I could recuperate from the sinus infection. After that I'd be spending the rest of the the year just resting and healing. Poor George would have the honor of being my caretaker. Life (as we knew it) was good.

Lucy, feeling bummed out after realizing
we didn't have apple pie for dessert on Turkey Day!

Deep thought for the day:  "Go ahead an make all your plans you like, but never forget that we are just pawns on the chess board of life." ~ vc

While this was written after the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, I had too much information to document leading up to this devastating time in history. Once we hit my "surgery" date, the story gets even more complicated before we reach the point of "LIFE AS WE KNEW IT."