Tag Archives: Janet

Julie and Dan are ready …

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Mom and I had a great visit with Julie and Dan last night. We both observed that they look fantastic! I guess we were expecting to see an exhausted Julie, perhaps swollen a bit and just plain looking uncomfortable. Not so! She was what I would call “glowing”. “Glowing” may not be the best term to describe a man … but Dan was glowing too!

Everything is ready at their home for the baby. Julie has done a great job of decorating and outfitting the nursery – it looks really cute in its yellow and gray colors. All it needs now is a baby!

We are packed and ready to move in with them for a three day shift of helping Dan, Julie and Baby Fields (Indie, too) start their lives together!

We are truly blessed to be able to join them at this important time in their lives.

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Saint Francina …

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Tony and Diane regularly tease Mom about being Saint Francina due to Mom’s love of animals.

The Medical community at the Providence VA hospital is beginning to buy into her Sainthood.

After Mom arrived yesterday, Jerry has had an amazing turnaround.  He has been alert, able to visit with Mom, jokes with the staff, able to confirm his medical directives with Mom and the staff, able to go without the BPAP device for longer periods, and able to comprehend his situation.  His medical team is elated.  They will continue to watch him closely, but have cautiously begun talking about returning him to Morgan Health Center, which is equipped to handle the BPAP machine that he uses to assist his breathing.  Their major proviso is that Morgan be able to return Jerry to the VA quickly should fluid buildup in his lungs increase to the point that it again impairs breathing.  His situation is still dire given his host of medical issues with liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, et cetera.Continue reading→

October 25th – Mom’s Birthday!

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Today we drove from Rocamadour to Satlat du Caneda, a distance of around 50km. On the was we toured the Grotte des Merveille in Rocamadour as described in yesterday’s post.

We shopped for a few essentials at a Carrefour retail store in Sarlat. The store was similar to a Super WalMart with a full line of merchandise including soft goods, hard goods, and groceries. We attempted to buy fuel there but their pumps were unattended and their card reader could not understand that our Visa card was a credit card and not a debit card. So much for the RF chip equipped credit card we ordered especially for pumps like this one.

We had a wonderful birthday dinner at Le Bistro de l’Octroi in Sarlat. Food was excellent and the service was top notch. Clientele were all locals except for us. The restaurant was recommended by our hotel – a good sign as we are staying at this hotel for three nights. I think we got Mom’s 39th year off to a good start.

October 18th

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Last day in Montepulciano with Tony & Diane.

Visited:
Sarteano (aad went to bank)
Saint Frances Convent – MondoX
Cetona
Had lunch at a restaurant on the square in Cetona.
Adventure drive through narrow streets in Cetona.
Piazza
Chiusi (rental car pickup for aad)

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

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The St Ignace July 4th fireworks display was a grand finale for our visit there, and we headed 75 miles north this morning to Tahquamenon Falls State Park for a several day stay.

The park is run by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and is as nice as any of the Georgia state parks we have visited. We are staying in the park’s Rivermouth Campground which is located where the Tahquamenon River leads into Whitefish Bay.

The park is rather remote. Mom & I dropped by a store in nearby Paradise MI for provisions and fuel after arriving and discovered that their fuel pumps were out of order and would not be back in commission until a replacement pump control board arrived. They weren’t sure when it would arrive and the closest fuel was 40 miles away in Newberry. We could have survived on the fuel on our tank, but were concerned about emergencies so off we headed to Newberry.

The unexpected trip did provide an opportunity to sample the fare at a McDonalds in Newberry (no kiddin – Mom’s idea!) and visit the Park’s Upper Falls. The falls made the 80 mile trip worthwhile as they were beautiful – 200 feet wide and 50 feet high they provided lots of photo opportunities.

Tomorrow we will continue exploring the area.

Gotta run – it is time to start fixing dinner. Love to all!!

July 4th 2013

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Jan and I are celebrating July 4th on the lower reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – close to Mackinac Island. Our campground is located in Saint Ignace a block from Lake Huron and several miles north of the Straits of Mackinac. The campground is on a hill overlooking Lake Huron – we can walk a few feet from our van and enjoy a beautiful view of Lake Huron.

We spend day before yesterday on Mackinac Island – a 15 minute ferry ride from St Ignace – enjoying a tour of the Island via horse-drawn carriage and visiting Fort Mackinac. The island is beautiful. Wintering there in the late 1700s must have been a challenge even for the weather hardened residents of that time, but they left a beautiful legacy for us to enjoy.

Yesterday we visited Soo Locks on the US side of Sault Ste. Marie and watched several ships be locked up from Lake Huron to Lake Superior – a height difference of around 21 feet. We plan to return there today and visit a few attractions we missed.

Saint Ignace has a July 4th celebration close to our campground plus we will be able to enjoy tonight’s fireworks on Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City, and Saint Ignace from a hill behind our campsite.

Life is good. God bless our country on this special day.

2013 Trip North

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Our 2013 summer trip will focus on midwestern states which Mom has not seen: Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. We deferred our original 2013 Alaskan travel plans in order to take advantage of an opportunity to spend a month in France and Italy this fall with KSA friends. The choice was not difficult, and we will list the Alaska trip in ink for our 2014 travels.

The 2013 trip’s route was built around Mom’s desire to visit Chicago, her interest in a family of Bald Eagles living in Decorah Iowa, and her interest in seeing the Great Lakes. Walla, a ready made agenda. Timing was an issue until good friend Bob Adams passed away and his family scheduled a memorial service for June 29th in eastern Kentucky.

Timing was tight for our departure. Ham radio Field Day fell on June 22nd & 23rd and Bill had volunteered to co-captain one of the six stations that operate around the clock Saturday and Sunday during Field Day. Bill also wanted to install a drip watering system to preserve the flowers in our yard during our absence. Murphy stayed away however (OK, he seriously underestimated the drip watering system job) and we were able to make our departure as scheduled on June 28th

Follow us here as we enjoy our 2013 summer swing to the north.

High Fives for Jan!!

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Jan has reached a huge milestone — she wrapped up her chemotherapy and radiation treatments last Friday, August 13th!!

She will continue to receive Herceptin infusions once every three weeks until the end of the year but we aren’t counting them as they have no negative side effects and little impact on our lifestyle.

We will meet with her Oncologist before the next Herceptin infusion for an examination and hopefully an update on the medical community’s perception of her progress in beating the beast.  All indications are positive and we anticipate a good report.  Her hair and energy levels are increasing daily (the former being much more important :-)), and radiation burns are decreasing.

It has been a long run for her … for both of us … and I am pleased that she has come through this with her positive attitude intact and her health on the upswing.

Thanks to all of you for your interest, love, and support over the past eight months.  Our journey would have been much more difficult without your kind words and support.

Midway through cycle 5!

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My apologies for not posting anything in almost a month. May has been a month of ups and downs, and posting here took a temporary back seat.

Cardinal

Cardinal at Mom's feeder

The short story is that as of the half way point in cycle 5 Jan is again enjoying her favorite foods and activities. A longer version would have to mention that cycle 5’s effects were a lot worse and lasted a day longer than cycle 4’s (see the April 28 posting). Even though a change in the infusion schedule (moving infusion day from Tuesdays to Thursdays) gave Jan two extra recovery days at the end of cycle 4, the extra time did not seem to make a difference. She experienced ten days of weakness and discomfort — much longer than previous cycles considering that the discomfort began the day of the infusion and did not let up for ten days (as opposed to previous cycles when the discomfort started on day three). As a result, Jan is not looking forward to cycle 6 and is taking every opportunity to do the things she enjoys while she is feeling good.

Cycle 6 will begin on June 3 and will run through June 23.  After a short break, she will begin radiation treatments.  During the break, she is looking forward to a visit in Florida with cousin Claire.

Thanks to all who have provided the encouragement, food, and love that helps Jan and me keep our spirits up.