October 29 - Friday
Everyone knows that our trips are adventures of some kind and today's
trip from home to Idaho was no different. We were all loaded up and
headed out by 9 a.m. However! There was one small hang-up.
As we drove down Lake Tapps Parkway, the brakes on the truck started
smoking. Say what?! Bruce had them changed two weeks ago and
checked on Wednesday after we had driven them for about 600 miles.
Newer, more heavy-duty brakes had been installed this time because we haul a
trailer. Anyway, at the bottom of the hill, we pulled over and Bruce
made a phone call. Now Geri should have been afraid of something going
wrong with the brakes, right? The thing she was most afraid of was
something being wrong with the brakes and we would have to go back home.
Why? She didn't want to hear what Bruce would have to say ALL the way
home and ALL the time until we were back on the road again. He would
not be a happy camper if we had to take the FULLY loaded trailer back,
unhook it and wait 'til the truck was fixed. Yikes! As it turned out, the brakes were doing what they're supposed to do and
we continued on toward Idaho, which would be our first stop to visit Geri's
lifelong best female friend who was recovering from cancer surgery and other
complications from that.
Ann went in for colon cancer surgery on October 21. She thought she
would be in for about a week and didn't want us to come over before she was
out of the hospital, but we went even though she hadn't been released from
the hospital. The surgery went well, according to the surgeon, but her
stomach quits working when she has surgery for some unknown reason.
She crashed once before we got there, we found out later, and crashed once
while we were there and wound up in ICU. When she went in for surgery,
Ann had already lost so much weight. We all know that we lose weight
after surgery, too, especially when your system isn't processing correctly.
She went from constantly sick to near crash-cart status and back. Then
just as she was starting to get solid food, her system went on reject again
and she wound up needing the crash cart and back in ICU for a few days.
Pretty scary stuff for not only Ann but all of us who care and love her.
Ann's sister, Mary, came in to help, and she and Dennis, Ann's husband,
spent all day sitting anxiously by Ann's side hoping for any sign of
improvement. Geri offered to take shifts or cook or something but Mary
and Dennis denied the offers. We went in every day and visited for an
hour or two, depending on how Ann was doing, and spent the rest of our days
praying and thinking about our friend in need and her family. Geri
finally decided at the end of a week that we couldn't do anything to help,
and she and Ann had spent some time together. If we weren't doing
anything to help, what's the point other than Geri's peace of mind?
Ann knows we love her and would do anything in the world for her.
Unfortunately, this isn't in our hands. We gave everyone kisses and
hugs, left Ann in God's hands and pulled up stakes on November 5 knowing we
could talk with her and get updates.
November 7 - Sunday
So here I sit trying to get caught up on happenings from the past week.
After we left Idaho, we took I-84 across the northern border of Oregon.
What an absolutely gorgeous drive! The fall colors had long since
peaked, but it was still a gorgeous drive with the Columbia river laying
flat as glass on one side of us and the colorful trees and hills of the
Columbia river gorge on the other. We had no idea! A few clouds
were hanging low over the hilltops, and we imagined a beautiful princess
living on top of the mountain in a fabulous castle. On the other side
of that mountain was a land of peace and tranquility where everyone loved
everyone. Bruce said the "other side" might even be like Narnia.
Geri like the peace and tranquility thought better. Though we drove
part of that road in the opposite direction a few years ago, we discovered a
place we want to go visit again and spend some time. No wonder our
friend, Gary, is so nutso about the gorge. Gotta go back and find
Multnomah falls as well as other treasures of the gorge!
One of our favorite areas to drive through is southern Oregon, and it
didn't disappoint this time either. We imagined what the colors might
have been like a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful, we'd bet! The
colors were at their peak in northern California. Awesome reds,
oranges, yellows and golds. Very little snow on Mt. Shasta and a
way-low water level on Shasta lake. Geri popped a question at Bruce as
she was thinking how pretty that area is: If someone asked you which
area of the US is the most beautiful, what would you say? Neither one
of us could come up with one answer. We're very blessed to have seen
so many stunning places. The Pacific Northwest is definitely at the
top of the list, though.
It had rained on us off and on today but near Red Bluff, the skies
opened. We had a thunderstorm like none we had seen for quite some
time. The rain sounded more like hail as it pounded on the truck and
windshield. Bruce was amazed at how loud it was with his new hearing
aids in. ;=) He's discovering all kinds of sounds! The rain took
a break long enough for Bruce to run in to check us in at the RV park in Red
Bluff, and we were escorted to what is our spot for the next couple of days.
Again the rain hit, and we waited in the truck for it to subside. A
bright spot - a beautiful rainbow appeared off to the east, and we always
enjoy seeing those. The rain did slow, somewhat, so Geri ran to the
trailer and went inside to tell Bruce via our walkie-talkies whether the
trailer was level. Now figure this one out. Why did she bother
to dodge raindrops to go inside the trailer to tell him whether it's level
when he wasn't going to do anything about it until the rain quit?! Ha
ha, funny! She could have stayed in the truck, warm and dry, and gone
outside when he did! Duh! So Bruce waited in the truck while
Geri waited in the trailer, and the rain did quit long enough for him to
hook us up before the skies opened again. We had rain, rain and more
rain during the lightning and thunder show. We were in the middle of
one cell for a long time, or at least that's how it seemed. Man!
This feels more like Washington than California!
Geri called Ann this evening and found out that she's feeling a little
stronger with each walk she takes around her floor in the hospital.
For some reason, her stomach is still not working correctly. She's not
had any water or ice chips for days, let alone food. They are feeding
her IV, though, and scheduling her for another CT scan. As Geri
pointed out to her friend, she's out of ICU and in a private room, that's
good; she's retaining gas in her stomach now not fluid, so that's good;
she's feeling stronger every time she goes for a walk, that's good; and her
voice sounds strong, that's good. We're praying her stomach starts
working again and she's able to go home soon. It'll be three weeks on
Wednesday since she went into the hospital.
We had an uneventful and safe trip the rest of the way and arrived at the
club house to register in Casa Grande on November 11. Friend/neighbor,
Diana Harris, came running out of the pottery room waving her clay-covered
hands, laughing and carrying on to give us a hug! Ha, she's one of the
reasons we keep coming back to Palm Creek. Diana said that a potluck
had been planned on our street to greet us and to tell Al & Mary Merry
Christmas as they headed for home for the holiday. We had the typical
greeting of everyone lined up in their chairs on the edge of the street to
watch Bruce park the trailer. Ha! Whatta bunch! Then came
hugs before we finished setting up. Couldn't ask for a better group of
friends to spend five months with, and we do spend it together!
Happy hours most afternoon, and the knowledge that there are so many
wonderful people to help with absolutely anything one could possibly need.
And talk about support! Just let something go wrong! We all keep
an eye on each other in case of illness, accident, technical need or
mechanical need, etc. It's a wonderful environment.
On January 2, Geri's cousin, Howard and his wife, Lynn, pulled in with
their fifth-wheel and parked next to us for three months. Great to
have them here! This is their first time doing anything like this, so
we'll be showing them around before they get settled into their own routine
and find their way down here. Yee haw!
Fast forward to Sunday, March 6, 2011
Ann continues to do well. She hasn't gained any weight but she
hasn't lost any either. She's had a few of the "normal" challenges
that go along with chemo therapy such as an infected tear duct that took
antibiotics to clear up and the antibiotics set her back, sores on her lips
that made it most uncomfortable for her to eat. But she's percervering
and we're proud of the fight she's putting up. As of this writing, she
has four more chemo treatments to go through. We're all praying for
the best outcome for our friend and someone who's been almost like a sister
to Geri.
Bruce took off Friday morning to go to Vegas to spend the weekend with
Colleen and go to a NASCAR event there. Geri has absolutely no
interest in the dirt and noise surrounding an event like this, so she
elected to stay home and let Bruce and Colleen have some one-on-one time
together. As of this morning, they're having a ball! Bruce was
somewhat surprised by the amount of gunk that comes off the track and
attaches itself to clothing and uncovered body parts. Not Geri! ;=)
While Bruce is in Vegas, Geri is enjoying time to get caught up on some
things and was invited yesterday by Howard & Lynn to go to
Biosphere 2
east of Casa Grande. The day was sunny and warm, getting warmer by the
time we were done at the Biosphere. 79 degrees at 5:30 p.m. Oh
ya! We can do this!
