Vacation ends – Back to Treatment

Tuesday April 17, 2010
Lithia Springs Site 11

 

 

We return to the land of many speed bumps.

 

After my morning run-stretch-weights routine and going down to get the awning pictures of the Gypsy Wife and say good bye to Kim and Gordon, we leave Koreshan.  We’re in no hurry to move on or more correctly, to go back.   It’s Sunday morning and after an easy 144 mile drive up I 75, we return to Lithia Spring park aka the land of speed bumps.  Why do this again you ask?  Wasn’t it 30 some speed bumps to get in and out of this park?

 

Well the predicted temperatures for this coming week and beyond are in the upper 80’s and lower 90’s.  In April, SIGH,  and there are June and July yet to come.  But, I digress.

 

There are pretty much only 3 parks inexpensive enough and close enough to all doctors to qualify for consideration.  Given the upcoming heat, shade and swimming are high on the list of requirements.  One park has swimming, almost no trees but great kayaking,  Another has trees, good kayaking but no swimming and the highest predicted temperatures of the 3 for this coming week.   Lithia has kayaking, the nicest shaded campground, a spring to swim in though it is getting shallower and shallower as is the Alafia River.  So Lithia’s only big draw back is those bumps.

 

Thus, here we are.

 

 

We roll in about 2:30 to find that our favorite site has been claimed at noon today for the foreseeable future. 

 

Our second favorite was taken on the 10th so it’s possible that they will leave tomorrow.  We took our 3rd favorite and set up minimally to see if they do leave tomorrow.   Since we will be here for 14 days, it’s nice to be in the most remote site you can get when the Warriors invade during the week-end.

 

Monday brings Good News!

 

Today, David picked up the replacement Pantech UML 290 broadband modem sent to us from Verizon and we are in business again.  No more dropping signal.  So it appears all our problems were due to a faulty device.  Yet to come are attaching the amplifier and antenna to see if this will create more problems or enable us to have signal in more remote places.  IF we are ever able to go to any remote places again, I think to myself.

 

The modem is today’s news.  It’s 89 degrees in the afternoon.  We turn on the air conditioner and hang out inside answering emails, writing blogs, doing business.

 

After dinner we take a walk around the campground and find that we are the only inhabitants in the first section, Sites 1-21.    There is one camper in the second section, sites 22-30.  And three in the third section 31-40.   During the week things are really quiet here and it is very nice.  We walk over to the spring and it looks extremely low.  The water does not come up as high on the shore and there are many more  “islands” than last time we were here.   I wonder if it is even possible to swim.   

 

Tuesday starts the medical routine again.

 

I begin my day with my ‘avoid doctors’ routine of run-stretch-weights.  I run by the spring and the water level looks higher.  Actually quite a bit higher.  What gives?   Guess I’ll have to ask the very friendly park manager next time I see him.  But I do think I’ll go up for  swim or a float or just a sit in the water, which ever is possible, today when those temperatures start getting close to 90.

 

Doctor visits, shots, pills, medicines begin again today for David.  He leaves at 10:00 for his appointment in Brandon to start treatment cycle #4.

 

At this point, he has few if any side effects from the treatment.  David’s back pain, the result of bulging discs, is now his most bothersome problem making it extremely difficult for him to sleep.  We’ve tried every combination of sleeping possibilities, bed, sofa, floor, chair with and without the Memory foam mattress at each location.  Nothing seems to make any difference.  He says the easiest is sleeping on the floor on the memory foam doubled over to create a large twin bed size.   And that is as comfortable as anything else since he doesn’t sleep more than two hours at a stretch without being awakened needing some sort of pain medication.  He takes two different things at different intervals.  Neither of which do anything more than dull the pain.

 

The pain doesn’t bother him as much during the day when he isn’t laying down so other than being tired, he does pretty well during the day.  Hope going back on treatment for the 4th round doesn’t change that too much.

 

By noon, he still hasn’t returned. 

 

That’s a long time.  I call him to make sure nothing is wrong and  find he’s just gotten into the infusion center.  There were 24 people in the waiting room when he arrived for his appointment an hour and a half ago.

 

After talking with him, I hop on my bike and ride around the campground to see if any new folks have shown up.  Nope

 

BUT the RV in our second favorite site did leave. 

 

Whoopee!   I pedal over to the Ranger’s station and ask them if we can switch.  No problem.   Five minutes and all done.

 

Back to the coach I go.  I call David to tell him I’ve gotten site 25 and we can move into it.  He says he’ll come right back.  I start taking down for the move.   I have everything buttoned up,  slides in, jacks up, water and electric off,  by the time David shows up at 1:00 and we move down to site #25 where we both sing fifty miles of Elbow Room (not as well as the N.C. Red Clay Ramblers in this link for sure).  This is hands down the largest site at Lithia Springs and will be GREAT for avoiding the noise and partying of the weekend warriors.

 

 

 

We set everything back up, including all the things we held back, “just in case”.  I take pictures to post Winnona’s new location and then it is time for lunch - humus, spinach and tomato sandwich and blueberry smoothie.

 

 

 

David’s preliminary reports on today’s blood work again look very good.  He is responding extremely well.  If only his back wouldn’t have decided to complicate things.  Details on the numbers to come later in the week.  Stem Cell transplant consult on Thursday.  Next treatment Friday.
Actually 7 doctor visits in 10 days. L 

So with doctors done for today, we’re all settled in here at Lithia Springs and only have to do the speed bumps when we leave.   Hmm now that I think about it, we are going to be doing a LOT of coming and going this stay.  Poor Ruby.