Monday, July 18, 2011

BACK in the hospital again

July 18
Al has been complaining, whining, screaming in agaony about his back.  Poor guy really has been suffering.  Xrays showed nothing more that arthritis.  HOWEVER, yesterday morning he couldn't get out of bed and I couldn't get him out of bed!  So I called 911.  My favorite fire department EMT's showed up (they have been here several times in the past couple of years) and off we went to the hospital.

ER doc immediately gave him a strong dose of Dilaudid, which is morphine.  Finally, AL is out of pain.  Then off to have an MRI and it showed not only arthritis, but spinal stenosis AND a compression fracture at Lumbar 3!!!  Holy Smokes, no wonder he was in so much pain!  So, he is in the hospital awaiting the back doctor to come in and see what our options are. He is resting comfortably now and getting some sleep.  AND I finally got some sleep last night as well.  I will keep you posted as we go.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHome

Tucson
Ah, it feels so good to be home.  It always is fun (?) to travel but it is always good to get home.  And our cats let us know that we were gone a total of 40 days!  I cannot get out of their sight.  And I can't get my pillow back at night either...but that's another story for another day!

We left Odessa planning on heading home; however, we got to the main road where I was to turn right and head to Tucson I looked at Al and said "Montana?" to which he said YES!  So I turned left and off we went!  We spent two days in Noxon, got some minor repairs done on the trailer and visited with Gordon and Denise and Charles; Lou and Chris and Mike and Louise.  The weather was perfect with the exception of the 40, 000 mosquito's that thought I was a buffet!

We left Noxon on July 7 and this time we really were heading home.  We decided to go to Butte, MT and catch I-15 south home.  First of all, what a beautiful drive from Noxon to Butte.  We followed the Clark Fork river for 3 days...just as soon as I would say, well, we haven't seen the Clark Fork, we would be crossing it!  We spent one night in Deer Lodge, MT right on the banks of a very high Clark Fork River, and the rest of the mosquito's that hadn't had dinner!!! 

The next day (July 8)we went through Dillon, MT and it was lunch time and of course our stomachs were sounding off.  We were about ready to settle for a McDonalds (not my favorite) when we stumbled across "Sparky's Diner"...we had the best BBQ Brisket sandwich we have ever had.  Spent that night in Pocatello, ID...lovely little town.

July 9 (Happy Birthday SIS) Next big hurdle was to get through Salt Lake City and all the construction around it.  I-15 is a mess!!!  Construction everywhere.  But it was the worse right south of Salt Lake City.  I found my self driving this huge beast in very narrow lanes, up against a concrete barrier.  Didn't matter which of the two lanes I was in, there was a concrete barrier next to me.  UGH!  Nerve racking to say the least but at least we were better off than the traffic going north, we measured a 37 mile back up!  No thanks!  That night found us in one of our favorite KOA's, Fillmore UT.  We have stayed there several times and enjoyed it each time and this time it was no different.  The camp owner guided me into a nice spot; then the gentleman parked behind us came over and hooked up our water, electric and sewer while I was getting Al settled.  That was so nice of him.  And by that time I needed some relief.

Next morning (July 10) we are off again, planning on heading down Hwy 89 to Kanab, UT and Page, AZ.  I was dreading going down the grade in Page, but figured the truck and I could do it.  But then, the camp owner had said they were expecting heavy rain all along Hwy 89 that day.  I decided that I would make the decision when I got to the turn off for 89.  Well, let's just say, we continued on down I-15 into Las Vegas.  The weather looked really mean to the east when we were to turn off.  We did have a huge monsoon storm hit us near Mesquite, NV...not fun to drive in.   Spent the night in a warm Las Vegas, at Sam's Town RV Park, which is basically just a large parking lot.  Doesn't even have a shuttle to the casino!!  But that was okay with us because we weren't interested in going.

By now, we can see the end of the trip....July 11, and we are getting closer to home.  Over the new bridge over Hoover Dam, which, you don't even know you are going over, and down the road we went.  Woo Hoo, we are in Arizona. Truck running great; dogs and Al sleeping off and on (mostly on) and me driving with my music on.  We encountered quite a monsoon rain just out of Flagstaff, high winds and all.  But I persisted and we finally stopped at another of our favorite RV parks (when you travel this route as much as we have, you tend to have favorites) Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ.  They offer a shuttle to the casino, so that night I dug my heels in and said I wasn't cooking!  Over to the casino we went for a good dinner.

July 12 and home around 3:00 p.m.  Hot drive today and I had to slow down a bit at times, but we made it.  Glad to be home safe and sound.  I am very tired, but there is still a lot of work to do.  Truck and trailer are parked in front of the house and I am unloading it little by little (more like when I need something!) and it may not be parked in its place for a while.  It is hooked up to electric and the a/c is running so the trailer will be fine.  I am going to take my kids and friends advice and unload it slowly.  I am too tired to do any different.

Al's back has been bothering him and we went to see the doc the day after we got home...arthritis has set in and there really isn't much to do for him but give him a pain pill when needed.  He can't sleep at night in bed, so he has found his recliner to be his new bed for now.  So I get the bed, 2 dogs and 2 cats all to myself.  Me thinks I should go sleep in my recliner!!!!

So for now we are home and happy to be here.  More later...

Monday, July 04, 2011

Small town USA and the 4th of July

July 4  -- Odessa, WA

Odessa, small town USA...never fails to impress me how they celebrate the 4th of July. The only "official" celebration is at noon at the town park where the Fire Department holds a BBQ.  However, sometime around dusk the "unofficial" celebration begins.  Fireworks to rival the best fireworks shows I have ever seen!  Every time I see them it truly amazes me!  It is 10:45 p.m. now and it is still going on.  For at least 2 hours we are treated to amazing fireworks...some legal, some not.  All the same, it is a great show.

Tomorrow we are on the road again.  The truck is hooked to the trailer, trailer is pretty much packed and ready to roll.  Now it is all up to me to get us home.  We were going to go to Montana to visit Gordon and Denise; then to Colorado to see my cousin and  brother.  However, since my back is really bothering me, we are heading home.  Hated to have to cut the trip short, but I just don't think it would be wise to do more driving than necessary.  However, after saying that, we may make a left turn and head up to Noxon, MT for a day or two tomorrow...it will depend on how I feel at the time.

We have been busy while we were here.  We got to see a lot of Al's cousins...had dinner with Neil, Bobbi and Harley one night.  Too short of a visit, but at least we got to see them.  Yesterday we went to see Myrna and Arley Bishoff, had a short but nice visit with them.  Love them all so much.  Today niece Claudia and her husband Larry; niece Denice; nephew Todd (where we have our trailer parked, our old house) and wife Vickie, and Alyssa and Austin were all together for a bbq rib dinner.  Todd has learned from Al how to bbq ribs and they were great.  Unfortunately, Al is having a hard time getting around, but did enjoy most of the day with everyone.  We have got to visit some with Al's sister Joyce and her husband Bud, but unfortunately she has been sick part of the time we were here so it limited our time with them.

I will miss Alyssa and Austin...Alyssa is 8 and Austin is 6 and they sure are good kids.  Austin is all boy and Alyssa is all girl.  Alyssa has been my shadow the entire time we have been here.

We did go to Spokane last week to see sister in law, Gloria and took her to lunch; then went to Gary and Jeannettes for dinner.  We also went to Ephrata last week and had lunch with Denice and took Simon (the other big black poodle who belongs to son Jerry) in to be groomed.  So we have kept as busy as we want to be.

So the next time you hear from us, who knows where we will be!!  On the road again, ........

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