Tuesday, April 26, 2011

...been awhile since I stopped by last.

Good morning all - been off line for awhile - so I  thought I  would keep you updated as to what is happening - while I can, (thanks to Karen for the typing). These last few days have not been my best and that's going some towards an understatement for me. I have been released out of ICU back to the telemetry floor. So, I'm on my way out the door. That said, crawling those last few feet to the door seems to be harder than everything up 'til now.

Just to let everyone know what's happened to date. I was admitted on 14th April with what appeared to be a gall bladder attack. It quickly became apparent that the gall bladder was the least of my issues. We discovered I was losing platelets to some unknown cause, becoming critically low which meant my clotting functions were heavily impacted. Once they started working on that and the infection from the gall bladder a CAT scan revealed a Pulmonary Embolism in the right lung. So now I have an impeded clotting function whilst throwing clots and needing medication to break down my clots...Go figure!


So we have been balancing these acts for a few days and in the process have lost a great deal of strength and control that allows me to stand up and perform daily functions on my own. What a mess! I am doing my level best to be as big a pain in the ass as I possibly can  whilst trying to recover. I've got Maur and Jim down with Sam; we had  Lucille, Janet and Bob and Margaret Brittain and her daughter Emma this past week. The place has been busy, especially with all the cousins the week before. it has been grand that all the visitors have made the efforts they have made even if I haven't always been as spritely as I should be when you get hospital visitors. So now I am relearning old tasks..how to stand, walk, sit, basic puppy commands. I'll probably get through this pretty good.

There's tons of other things to tell you but I think for now we will leave it be and hold you in suspense. I have loaded some pictures of the visitors... what a handsome crew.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Dictation... never could do it...

Hello all. Again this is Karen. Lei is still in the ICU but much better and is getting out of the woods.She is fighting eating the hospital beef  broth so I know the fiesty Lei is on her way back. I am hoping she can dictate a message as she doesn't like to be out of the loop ! I know she feels very privileged to have such a supportive network of  and family and friends who are always there for her.She said as much yesterday.  Love to you all wherever you are in the world.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Positive thinking

Dear all followers
Karen again.
Far be it that I be a drama queen because Lei sends a message that she is fine. All I will say is that she is in the intensive care unit. Please send her all your prayers and positive thoughts... I'll let her tell me off when she gets better.
She still owes us all a Cousins' blogg for Texas. Watch this space

Friday, April 15, 2011

Take a minute.....

Hello everyone...
Karen here and I am sure Lei will be ticked off with me for this! The fact is that she is in hospital. We called 911 yesterday even though she was protesting overmuch. She has a fever and had a lot of pain which was unbearable. At present she is still undergoing tests but is now in the right place. Please take a minute or so and give her your thoughts as I know she will benefit. At present she is ok. I will keep you posted as I am sure when she feels better the Cousins' Reunion will get its rightful coverage.

Monday, April 11, 2011

...is anybody out there???

Have you ever traveled for mile after mile and not passed another car, seen a house and other than the occasional cattle or antelope grazing not a living thing?  If your answer is YES - then you have been to New Mexico.  Just kidding - but not exaggerating.  We have spent the time traveling down the state - from Santa Fe to Roswell and probably passed 100 cars during the 200 miles or so.  It was a lovely trip - even if a bit baron...

Nothing ever goes exactly according to plan - and traveling across the Southwest in a motor home is no exception.  We had originally planned on staying for awhile in Santa Fe, take in the atmosphere, get some spa treatments , etc... but of course - we got hit with the delay in leaving Denver, then the wind in Raton delayed us again - before you know it - we are down to 2 days instead of the planned 5 or so - and all of the great suggestions everyone made went out the window (sorry Logger, never did find the spice shop - perhaps  there is somewhere you can order it on-line?).  We never made the spa - although for sure - Karen would have gladly agreed to forgo some of the things we did do had we the time to book a treatment.  We took in Galleries, historic buildings, churches, a little shopping and generally meandered around the historical district and watched the characters who inhabit this bohemian town including what I call Squirrel Man.   

We managed to figure out their public transport system - although as usual - we sat and waited for almost 30 minutes for a bus that is suppose to come every 15 min - then as soon as it does arrive - there is another one directly behind it.  We attracted a slightly inebriated gentleman on the way home who felt that he had something in common with Karen as he had visited Germany once so he tried his entire repertoire of the language consisting of 'guten tag' and something else that I could not make out on her and wanted to know what was 'scottish' for good day.  When Karen explained that 'Good Day' was Scottish for good day - I don't think he quite got it - but seemed satisfied with the answer non-the-less. 



We are now in better temperatures - For the past few days it has been hitting in the mid to high 70's - and I can only say how much we are enjoying it.  We have been disappointed in that the RV parks that we have stayed at have not opened their pools yet for the season.  I find this a bit strange as the weather is definitely hot enough.  If they were in Michigan - it would have been opened 2 months ago - but I guess in New Mexico - 75 isn't hot enough yet...

Arrived in Roswell - where we put up for the night.  Decided to take our chances and maybe get abducted by aliens...no such luck.  We toured the UFO museum, questioned a few locals as to their thoughts on what really happened (most answered in the affirmative - either trying to keep up the illusion so that their economy doesn't tank - or they truly think the government hid something), and had a nice evening -
even ordered a pizza.  Finally - we decided that we would get up when we woke up - and drive until we didn't want to drive anymore.  Roswell is over 500 miles from San Antonio so making it that far wasn't necessarily in the plan - but certainly doable. 

By 5am - I was awake and ready - so we packed up and were on the road - made Fort Stockton late morning/early afternoon and decided to get some more miles behind us before we stopped.  Who would have guessed that there are so few options for RV parks between Fort Stockton and San Antonio. At anyrate - we didn't really have a choice - so we ended up doing the entire 525 miles and have now arrived in San Antonino - where we plan on staying put for the next 9 nights.  Looking forward to a more permanent existence.   

Sunday, April 3, 2011

On The Road Again...

Yes - it is true.  We are actually back in Tallulah - traveling south on I 25 towards another cousins' reunion.  I am beginning to think that I have way too many cousins - or should I say - Karen is...She knew she was going to meet up with my family on this trip - I just don't think she realised it would be quite so many...

We spent two weeks in Denver - originally planned to stay only a few days.  Unfortunately - I discovered some more lumps and after talking with my consultant in Aberdeen - it was suggested that prior to deciding what to do about it - perhaps I should see an Oncologist over here - have some lab work and a biopsy done so that we could speak intelligently about it.  So I was fortunate to get some fairly quick appointments (for a US Doctor that is...sorry Wink) and after going through all of the prodding and poking - prior to the results coming in - decided to travel onwards.  In the end - whatever the results - I won't be getting treated in Denver so it just made sense to get back on the road and keep pushing on. 

Prior to going though - we had a great time.  Really enjoyed spending time with Marge and Lori and all of the kids and their families.  Friday night we all got together at Amy and Brian's for a dinner and gab fest...The food was great - the company even better.  Only downer on the day was that the Colorado Rockies had lost their opening game with Arizona.  The grand kids were a blast to be around.  Karen had gone skiing with Kristi's family earlier in that week and got her bearings and confidence from the experience.  It cost her a day or so of total rest after the experience - but from her perspective - the recovery time was well worth it.  When her fybromyolgia acts up - she suffers alot - but I think she realises that if she pushes herself - she will be better off for it in the years to come. 

So Sat morning - we went and got the motor home from Kristi's house (had to move it there earlier in the week as Lori's neighbours were kicking up a fuss about it being parked out in the construction area - go figure), packed it up and were just having a last cup of coffee with Lori prior to departing when someone knocked on the door.  We thought for sure that someone was there complaining about it being out front - instead it was another neighbour (who hasn't moved in yet, just signed the contract) that also had a motor home and wondered how everyone reacted to Lori's...Well - after filling her in on how well everyone had taken it - she now realises that she needs to contact the HOA pretty quick and verify that she will be able to bring it in to pack or unpack - or she will be one very unhappy homeowner.  At least our experience has helped someone.

Now - we are back on the road - although we haven't gotten as far as we had hoped.  We stopped last night in Raton, NM - about 250 miles south of Denver.  It was our intention to finish the drive to Santa Fe this morning and spend a few days there - checking out what, by all accounts, is a beautiful city.  Instead - we have wind advisories - 50 to 70 mph gust from the west.  Traveling south - with winds that strong coming from the west didn't make sense to me - so we are staying on another day in Raton with hopes that we can travel tomorrow.  Even sitting still here at the camp site is a harrowing experience.  The winds are hitting the side of the motor home at tremendous speeds - rocking it back and forth.  The only advantage to this is that at the moment while I am writing this - Karen is watching a Russian Opera with subtitles...not my cup of tea - and the wind basically makes hearing it very difficult.  So I am content to let her continue to listen to it - especially after being accused of hogging Lori's TV remote - I decided to be more understanding.  Not everyone is a CSI buff after all...