Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Catching Up

Wednesday February 1 -Friday February 3, 2012

 

I’m so far behind on this blog but I want a record
so I’m going to try to quickly catch up to the present.

 

This first week of February has been a difficult one
with the news of David’s cancer.  
Wednesday February 1st  was the day
he got the full diagnosis and other than that
and a trip to the nearby Whole Foods Market,
we were doing research on the disease
and the test results and the cost of the medication.


Thursday we began serious work looking
into finding some sort of financial aid for the $7000
a month cost of the drugs he needs.

We also have a couple problems with our
car, the clutch master cylinder and a return fuel hose.
So we spent time on the phone and on line trying
to find someone other than a dealer who
could get the parts and install them.
Found a place to do the cylinder but not the
gas line.   No one can figure out what the
part number is.

When it rains it pours.

 

Friday the 3rd,  our friends Gin & Syl pulled in to
a site just down from us.
We were really glad to see them and make
some plans for some great times while they are here.


We spent time, as we have daily over the last several weeks,
reading The China Study aloud
and have changed our diet completely as a result
of  Campbell’s medical research. 
We both worked for over 25 years in Medical Research
and know what sneaky things can be done with Statistics
and how it’s done.


David was a statistician in medical research. 
We also know good research when we see it.
I worked on the data for the Dr. Barry Marshall
who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005.
We know drug company motivated research when we see that. 
And we  believe Campbell is both an excellent researcher
and an honest one.

 


Nearly all of the criticisms I can find of his work are
either by those who have not actually read the
entire book or the research publications from which it was written.
Or they come from sources which have an agenda of their own
and sponsorship by groups which could potentially
lose revenue if we all changed our diets as he suggests.

 

But some the most fun we had this week
was watching the Blue Boy Parade.
Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture of our neighbor
who started this off.  We didn’t realize it would
become an EVENT.


The neighbor made 4 trips at a minimum on this scooter
pulling his Blue Boy.   After the fact, we got a picture
of him taking his trash on it.
He seems to use this scooter rather than walk anywhere,
even to the bathhouse.   Except when he’s driving
his red thunderbird convertible.   :-)

Sorry you have to imagine the blue boy on
the back of this.  It really was a RIOT as he went
back and forth and back and forth and…….

P1020373

Here’s the rest of the parade.   Each of these
folks made at least 2 and usually 3 trips.

E.G. Simmona Ruskin, FL Site #65 022

 

E.G. Simmona Ruskin, FL Site #65 024

 

We don’t have a blue boy and have no intention
of getting one even though we will now be staying
in one place much longer than ever before. 
We have seen how long it took these folks
to make their numerous trips, it took them 2 or 3 per tank.
In much less time we unhooked, unleveled,
dumped, returned and rehooked.



Saturday the 4th we went on a kayak paddle with our friends.
It was great.  I’ll post about that next.

16 comments:

  1. I hope and pray there is financial aid available for David's monthly drugs..wow...and now car problems on top of everything else..the internet is a wealth of information..very helpful in this case. As for the Blye Boy Parade event..I can only imagine the image of him lugging it along behind the scooter..take care....

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  2. I am so glad you still have your wonderful sense of humor! The blue boy parade sounds so funny!

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  3. I second Karen! Your sense of humor seems to be intact :)
    We would never consider a blue boy either but a parade would be a hoot!

    Sherry is the drug charge after insurance? I do hope you find relief. I've heard of programs offered by the drug companies to help. Just a thought.

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  4. Boy, when it rains it pours is right! We're praying that the sun starts shining brightly on you very soon!

    The blue boy parade sounds like a riot! We don't have one for the same reason as you. We figure we can unhook and dump in the same, or less, amount of time.

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  5. Hoping all the research will help you to find some answers.

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  6. We're with you on NOT having a blue boy!! That was too funny;o))

    So glad you still have your great sense of humor. You know what they say about "Laughter being the best medicine!!"

    This retirement thing is looking pretty cool. Notice it is 6am when I am commenting, not 4am. Really nice to sleep in;o))

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  7. Hope the financial aid comes through ... I find the cost of so many of these treatments so incredible. I get that a lot of research went into them, but $7000/month ... and that's for just one patient. Stay strong.

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  8. David is in my prayers every night..with you too. Hopefully something good will happen soon.

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  9. Car troubles...just what you need right now.

    I hope you can find some help for the prescriptions. That's a lot of money.

    Since you're going to be staying put, I hope you'll be able to find a place with full hook-ups so you don't have to worry about hooking up to dump the tanks.

    Take care.

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  10. See if you can find a juice bar near you. Green juices and wheat grass will help David get his body to an alkaline level.

    And it's good if you have cut out the dairy. All you have to do is look at the Chinese since they've added dairy and fast food to their diets - they're getting fatter and unhealthier.

    I got a little cold over the weekend (too much sugar and too little sleep) so I drank a lot of green juice and knocked that bug out in less than 48 hours. It works.

    You are both in my prayers.

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  11. I am all for a healthier diet but don't give up the cherry pie- at least until we meet up and I get a piece. I tried the blue boy thing and came to the same conclusion you did- way more trouble than it is worth. Our thoughts are with you guys.

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  12. You two are a great team to get the best possible information and care for David. I admire your research talents and efforts! My sister found a program offered by her drug company for her thousands of dollars a month eye shots for macular degeneration and it got reduced to a couple hundred. Hopefully, there is something out there to help David's costs.

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  13. Your sense of humor will help you both as you go down the treatment path. The blueboy parade must have been funny. We have one and have used it a number of times. It's been worth it for us! Continued prayers and thoughts are being sent your way...

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  14. Really hope things work out with the drugs. Very funny story about the blueboys. We haven't had the pleasure yet.

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  15. Hang in there, where there is a will there is a way. I have to admit that I have never thought of those lines of blue bomb tanks as a parade, but I will from now on:)

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  16. The blue boys certainly were humerous - it took me all the way to the end of the post to realize what they were...lol. I hope dad is eating A LOT of good foods - I know he loves to eat and now is a good time to do just that :) I am thinking there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel; I believe that will be the case for this story - hope so!

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