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

Henry David Thoreau

Day +14 Doctor Free Day

Monday July 30, 2012
Quail Run RV Resort Site 15
Marriott Residence Inn Room 118

 

I’m up at 6am but it's not light enough to go running so I post the blog comments that came in after I turned off my laptop last night.  I continue to be amazed at the wonderful comments from such caring people.  I put on my running clothes and when the buffet opens at 6:30, I go out and get a breakfast for David in case he wants to eat before I return. 

The run turns out to be a comedy of errors.  First the Garmin GPS sports watch I use to tell me how far I’ve run, total amount of time, heart rate and calories burned, can’t figure out where I am and find the satellites.  This is my fault because I turned it on initially in the room and it looked and looked and finally asked me if I were indoors.  I say yes, and it appears to be ready.  So off I go.  I run up to Fletcher Avenue and I can see as I’m going in that direction that the cars are stopped at the light but I can’t get there before it turns back to green.  So I run up, push the cross button and then run around in circles and back and forth across the side street crossing waiting for the light to change.  I’ll bet the folks in the left hand turn lane watching me were having some great conversations.  

FINALLY the traffic stops and I run across Fletcher to the park gate and find it locked.  It’s 6:55 by now so I run around and around and around the small entry way until 7am.  By now I’ve been running for 10 minutes but haven’t gone anywhere.

At 7:00 I get inside the park and decide to move my watch back to the data fields showing not the time of day but the amount of time I’ve run, my current heart rate, how far I’ve gone and how many calories I’ve burned.  BUT both calories and miles are at zero still although I’ve now been running for 13 minutes.  The watch has not picked up the satellites evidently.  So I shut it off, turn it back on and wait again for it to try to find them. 

I didn’t want to go into the bedroom this morning for fear of waking David so I need to stop and use the restroom in the park.  The watch STILL isn’t finished hunting for the satellites.  So with a bit of trepidation, I take the watch off and leave it outside to do its thing while I go inside to do mine.  I don’t want to confuse it all over again by taking it indoors.   My ears are on hyper alert for footsteps.  I’m not in any humor for a disappearing watch.

When I return the watch has managed to find where we are and I reset it although what good will it do me now since I’ve already run more than a mile?   But I run around the park which is a great place to run in the morning since there are few if any people here AND I am very lucky because usually the park does not open until 8am but this week there is a children’s camp and it is opening at 7am.   8:00 in Tampa Florida is too late in the day to be running IMO.   I learn just how really lucky I am on my way back when I see how much traffic I would be running with if I couldn’t run in the park at 7am.

I’m not quite sure where I am but at about 7:45 I start back toward the gate and the very same thing happens with the light.  It’s almost funny.  I’m too far away to sprint to the road and cross it but I have to run around and around waiting for the light to change again.  There is a lot of traffic on Fletcher with the poor working folks going to spend their days mostly doing someone else’s bidding.   I wonder again at how we got ourselves into this set up where you spend the best years of your life spending the majority of your days away from your family while hopefully doing something you don’t mind too much.  But usually not doing something that is just what you would be doing even if you didn’t have to.

Running along Telecom Parkway, which is actually a lovely road,  is an eye opener for someone who never runs in town.  So many cars going to work, so much auto exhaust actually makes me feel slightly nauseas and I’m glad to get back to the hotel.   I make myself a breakfast plate and return to the room.  I do my stretching and exercises although I’ve left the weights in Winnona.  Not sure how much good they are doing my flabby arms.  While we are stuck in Lodi, I should probably hire a trainer at a gym to map out a new exercise regime for me since my arms aren’t paying much attention to what I’m doing now.

David is up and dressed, has taken his temperature, his morning medications and has eaten his breakfast by the time I return.  He says he slept well last night.  No back pain, slept in 90 minute intervals and went right back to sleep when he awoke.  If he could get the intervals increased, he might get back to fairly normal sleeping.  But he seems much cheerier as a result of at least a better night’s sleep.  I wore ear plugs last night and put taped pieces of cardboard over all the electronic lights everywhere in the room to make it DARK so I slept pretty well too. 

I go out and get him a cup of coffee and he drinks it while eating the chocolate muffin I got him for breakfast.  He’s writing again in his record book.  He has two books, one for his numbers and lists and one for his feelings, more like a journal.  The latter gets little use.  I think in future years he may be sorry since how he was feeling about what he was going through may be much more interesting to him then than the statistics and numbers at that point.

He says he’ll take a nap now and then we’ll go for a walk.  So I begin working on the blog with no pictures except this one of Nap #1 for today.  He naps until after 10:00. 

Day  14 007

By the time he gets ready to go it’s 10:30.  Pretty late in the morning to go for a walk in the heat. 

Before we go I suggest he have a little snack – multiple small meals – and he enjoys one of Catherine’s Cookies. (See I did save some for him) This is from the batch she and Jo Beth left on my doorstep when they came to visit Quail Run.  She put raisins in this batch because we like them even though she doesn’t usually include them.  I think she should start her own Label  Catherine’s Custom Cookies.    Looks great doesn’t it??

Day  14 008

We walk over to Lettuce Leaf park.  I’m thinking we’ll add 5 minutes to the 25 minute walk he took yesterday.  So when we get about 15 minutes in, I suggest it’s time to turn back.  But he wants to see Cypress Dome.  Chrome dome meets Cypress dome would be the captain on that picture.  He claims it’s “just a little bit further”.  So since I know it is just a short board walk I go along.  It is a lovely boardwalk that takes you into the swamp where you are surrounded by the black water, the cypress trees and the ferns.  I take some pictures we return on the board walk and I start to head back.  Here is where he really ignores my advice and insists that it’s so lovely and he feels fine.  He claims the visitor’s center is not too far away and he’ll get some water and rest there.  Well the VC is not close by but luckily there is a playground area with water so we stop there, he uses the restroom, has a drink from the fountain without touching it and I get to use the swing set.  There is a hawk nearby calling and I’m trying to find him.  The sky views from the swing are wonderful.

But it isn’t until we start off for the road coming into the park that I spot the hawk high up in a tree calling away.  By the time we get back to the hotel he’s been out for an hour and 20 minutes and it is NOON.   SIGH………….

Thanks to a blog done last year by the famous blogging technical guru Rick Doyle of Rick And Paulette’s RV Travels, I am testing my first slide show.  I haven’t figured out if there is a way to add captions yet or to edit the photos once you’ve put them in the slide show but just managing to get it done shows what I’ve been doing with my 90 degree + afternoon while David watches Team USA Women’s volleyball against Brazil.   THANKS RICK!!!

 

 

Amazingly he doesn’t seem any the worse for the long walk and doesn’t take a nap even after the volley ball is over and so is lunch.  Can’t wait to see what his counts are tomorrow.  He really is feeling so much better.

After the Women’s volleyball on  comes women’s water polo in which he is not so interested.  So he begins composing the latest “Update on David” being sent to his family.  On February 11, he sent out the first one telling family and friends of his shocking diagnosis.   From then on, I did them and have sent out a total of a dozen.  I ask him if he could take this over now.  I’m sure his family would rather hear from him than from me.  The only problem is it takes him hours to do what it took me 15 minutes to do which is one of the reasons I’ve always done them.  I am trying to hold fast in not volunteering to rescue him to save time. 

He gets it finished, I get it posted out to family and friends.  He does slip into a nap around 4:00 but wakes up an hour later in time to see the US Beach Volley Ball team lose to Poland.  That was the game he wanted to see.  Oh Well…..

At about 6:15 we go down to see what Marriott’s hospitality hour consists of.  Cheese, crackers, apples, bananas, brownies and wine.
No one in the kitchen to get him a brownie that wasn’t on display so we come back and I give him garlic hummus and chips as his “appetizer” while I TRY to get water to boil on the Marriott’s count top burner.  After nearly an hour the water still hasn’t boiled, it’s 7:30 and we still haven’t eaten.  I’m pretty irritated as you can imagine and then all of a sudden I see the giant electric skillet I brought from Winnona.  In about 5 minutes it has that water boiling and we’re on our way to spaghetti with mushroom sauce and fresh broccoli for dinner.   Color me UNIMPRESSED with those black smooth topped burner surfaces.

He catches up on the blog starting at Day +10 while we wait for water to boil.  He’s further behind than any of my commenters.  HA!  And it’s really the This IS Your Life David Boyd blog at this point.

Time for another walk after dinner but a short one this time since it is so late.  We go out at sundown and walk until after dark.  When we come back for the first time in WEEKS, David does the dishes and I read to him from The Secret Life of Bees.  Life is slowly returning to a new version of normal that has at least some of the elements of the old one in it.   Let’s just hope there is no set back in the near future.  He has definitely had a lot more energy today.  I wonder how high his counts will show up to be tomorrow morning when we return to the outpatient clinic at SEVEN AM!!

Day  14 049

26 comments:

  1. Here's hoping his counts will be good, and you're on your way to some semblance of normal.

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  2. Very encouraging progress! And since David did the dishes, you know he's getting better. :c)

    Seems that he is getting better sleep without all the interuptions he had in the hospital. That was some walk, good for him, better with every step.

    Nice slide show, I'm a'skeered to try it, I might lose all my pictures. Looks like I could use some hands on tutoring with you Sherry. I even pay in Almond Joys!

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  3. Yeah you had a great day!! Praying for super fine counts tomorrow. So glad he is sleeping better. His energy sure picked back up fast sure hope he's not too tired tomorrow from all he did today. So glad the back pain is gone sure hope it stays gone!!

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  4. Wow, what an improvement already! And, he's still looking bad-ass (oops! can I say that?) in his new no-hair.

    Is the cooktop an induction heater? If so, the water pan may not have been the "right stuff."

    Ninety minutes sounds like he's getting a full cycle each time, which is good. That will help him feel more combobulated.

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  5. Wow, what a difference a day makes! I just love the way you think, Sherry. Not only would I not have cardboard and tape with me, but it wouldn't occur to me to cover the small lights. DOH!

    I loved the slide show. I have a couple of "bird amps" on my phone. I was listening to a bird over on James Island when I was there recently with my daughter and I recognized it as a tufted titmouse. I put the song on and was holding the phone and sure enough a tufted titmouse landed right on my phone. Unfortunately, he startled me and I startled him back and off he went.

    When I take Jack for his short walks (Susan has now taken over the long ones to the nature center when she can get here) I put the bird ap on robins or cardinals or blue jays, and it's amazing how it gets the birds going! I know. Small things amuse small minds! LOL

    I was so happy to hear that David slept better. I'm convinced that your healthy lifestyle has sent him through transplant with flying colors--that and his tenacity (I won't mention yours).

    I'm glad you get to run in the morning. I was afraid the 24/7 thing was going to prevent that, but I remember that Rich always used to say that he didn't feel the same if he didn't get his run in.

    Well, here's to another good night's sleep. Maybe the intervals will increase with each night. Fingers crossed.

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  6. Wishing great counts for David tomorrow, as well as continuing energy and feeling good.

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  7. Increased energy, increased sleep, and no back pain -- this is all excellent news!!! Praying that it only continues to get better!

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  8. I'm really excited about David's new energy. I too am looking forward to hearing what his counts are. And I too really like his no hair, hair cut. I wanted to ask you, is it safe for you to be running alone in the parks around there? Just wondering. Thank you for the update.
    Betty

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  9. Great slide show. And, so nice to see you guys out and about in the woods again. Does our hearts good. Our friends in Garden City have one of those stoves, you have to start an hour before if you want to boil water. They clean up nice though :)

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  10. Glad to wake up to better news this morning! Smiling that David wanted to walk even further..and wash dishes :) I'm sure a bit of 'normalcy' helps his mood too. Hoping for a good report this morning for him on his numbers.

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  11. I am happy to see he has energy to get out an explore. Hope all goes well tomorrow.

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  12. I find that the more I stay around the house without doing much, the more tired I am, so perhaps getting out in the fresh air was what David really needed to boost his sagging energy. Fingers crossed for continued improvement.

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  13. I could hardly wait for your update yesterday and was so glad to hear David was going so well. I can't imagine how he was able to walk so long in the heat and humidity. I guess he needs to keep up his tan, huh?

    We had one of those stoves and I hated it, because I could never get the burner to turn down enough to only simmer. It always wanted to boil. I think there is a problem with your stove.

    I'll bet David won't need to be at the Marriott to much longer. :)

    Can't wait to see those numbers for today. The WBC is coming up very nicely, isn't it?

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  14. It appears that you micro-vacation from the doctors did you both some good. The slide show worked great and I noticed that you did get a caption in with chrome dome. (I always wear my hair that way) Grin. With all that you HAVE to do, I'm glad you find time to keep your blog going. You are an amazing couple and I'm glad that you are letting me and so many other get to know you.

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  15. Awesome day! Anxious to hear the numbers today...loved the slide show, good job!

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  16. What a nice day you had yesterday.- Looks very pretty.

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  17. Nice post! Enjoyed the slideshow and the detailed story of your run (although I am sorry the watch was such a headache). Should Dad even be touching the signs at Lettuce Park?! Just kidding - it is GREAT that he is sleeping better and his energy is increasing - can't wait to hear what his numbers are today :) And, happy to hear you got such a good walk in - so much nicer to see outdoor pictures, rather than all hospital pictures. So, so glad that after all this life is creeping slowly back to more normal. Yes, yes, yes!

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  18. Congrats! Great to hear David is doing so well and looking forward to hearing more good news.

    Great job on the slideshow and thanks for the nice words!

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  19. SO glad he is feeling better. A doctor free day is always good:)

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  20. Great to see David's energy returning. Nice slide show - lots of pretty pictures. We have quite a few hawks near us - I see them hovering frequently. Looking forward to another good report today.

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  21. Excellent progress! David is impressing all of us with his resilience. Hope today brings even more progress and that you both slept well last night.

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  22. I have been reading your blog for a few months now but have never posted. When I read that David was sick I told my husband about it & told him this one more reason we should not put off our plans to become full-timers. We are not promised what tomorrow will bring.

    Anyway, I just wanted to leave you a comment ( since you love them so much) letting you know that I love your blog and am so glad you have decided to share your journey with all of us. You two amaze and inspire me everyday. Y'all are in my thoughts often even though we have never met. I continue to hope for David's speedy recovery & continued patience for you when dealing with all the doctors.

    Amy

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  23. The Fighter is bouncing back!!! Really glad to hear that David has more energy and things are turning toward the positive side!! Keep watching that Beach Volleyball. Bill said, "Nothing bad can come from watching ladies in bikinis;o)" We got out on a hike the other day and thought of you both several times. It won't be long before you can go with us to hug and smell trees for yourself:o))) Just know we think of you both everyday!!

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  24. I have been reading your blog for a few weeks and did read back a few months. You are an amazing couple, both so very courageous. You yourself seem to be handling things very well and I just wanted to send you hugs, your role in all of this is not at all easy.

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  25. So exciting to read that David has a little more energy. That isn't a small thing... that is a big thing. Hopefully, this is just a taste of what will come in the future... a return to a more normal life. I know you both can't wait for that. I am hoping for another good day. David looks more cheerful in the photos today. Such a challenge for both of you... always have you in my thoughts and hoping for better days ahead... SOON!!!

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  26. Kevin & Marybeth Hare Cousins..July 31, 2012 at 5:59 PM

    Hello Sherry and David,
    What a beautiful job you've done on this blog..
    So good seeing Cousin David doing so well as we all know he will..
    Sent you an email Dave...We're wishing you the best.
    All our love
    Talk soon

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