Change of Plans - Nov 2019

We were planning on tent camping in Florida for 6+ weeks this winter (Dec-Jan).  We even bought a few supplies including a tent and screened in canopy.  My USAF training told me we wanted to do an “Operational Test and Evaluation”, so I  set it up in the back yard to check it out.

We made reservations at Pinellas County Campground at Fort DeSoto and at Key West for some tent camping.  And we accumulated some supplies and equipment for our next adventure.

Meanwhile we have been also fixing up the house with one project after another and throughly enjoying it.  And watching Pam’s amazing garden grow and product a never ending supply of jalapeños, and some kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, carrots, lettuce, and collard greens.

And we’ve enjoyed some house guests recently and always have fun with the boys.  It is such a delight to see them and spend time with them.  It is really great to be able to drop by their place or have Kelly and Jon and the boys swing by for dinner or dessert or hang out time.

And we’ve been catching up on doctors appointments and such.  One that we’ve been “getting around to” finally, was Pam’s yearly isn mammogram test.  She got it scheduled for October 18 and things have been happening pretty quickly since then...

Rather than belabor the point -- testing (subsequent ultrasound then biopsy) confirmed she has breast cancer.  Stage 1, estrogen positive, HER2 negative, invasive, ductal carcinoma.

Ugh.  OK -- With that news though we have plenty of good news from the testing and are very encouraged by our hope of a successful outcome.

Here’s how we got here and where we are at the moment.

• Mammogram/results - Oct 18/21
• Ultrasound/results - Oct 23/24
• Biopsy/results - Oct 28/Nov 1
• Appointment with the surgeon - Nov 6
• Genetic Testing Appointment - Nov 7
• MRI appointment scheduled for - Nov 14
• Surgery date scheduled for - Nov 18

After surgery (lumpectomy and probable radiation), it will be sent off for further testing.  There are a number of treatments possible with different chemo and depending on the risks, % and likelihood of re-occurrence, they may proceed with some kind of chemo.  

If that occurs (and with the possible loss of hair) Pam adamantly let it be known she will not be wearing a wig.  🙂

How is Pam doing? She’s doing well and handling it all admirably.  Kind of makes her head spin with the news and all the followup with the doctors and such.  But she is positive her faith is strong.  Still - this could kill you and something that will weigh on her I’m sure.

It’s a little weird being the object of other people’s concern, or sympathies (or whatever you call it).  Sometimes it is very uncomfortable “being out there” but we have to remember to let other people help us even if we may not think we need it.  It that makes any sense?

Our overall take is that God is merciful to us. Pam’s life/our life is in his hands. We don’t want to be over dramatic about this -- but this is serious stuff.

At the same time we are quick to remember so many people who have suffered greatly and for a long time with this disease.  In that way it is far different for us.

We have much to be thankful for:

• Detected early
• Small (6mm)
• Slow growing 
• Stage 1 
• Not in her lympnodes or spread anywhere else
• Great care/top notch doctors and nurses
• We are not on the road RVing somewhere 
• We are settled into a home base
• Have an excellent small 100 church (people or so) that is wonderful
• Surrounded by a supportive and helpful group of Christian friends
• Our daughter Kelly is right here and a big help
• Prognosis is very good.  
• There are many treatment options vs “being a mystery or something they have never seen before...”  

I wanted to let our larger “family” of friends and acquaintance know what’s happening (with Pam’s concurrence) since many of you would like to know.  Feel free to reach out and ask anything you like.

In summary, more camping adventures to Florida can wait.  We cancelled our reservations at Fort Desoto and Key West. We need to be here this winter and take care of this.  We have a terrific network of family, friends, neighbors, and church folks.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner(less) Chronicles

Our Days in Virginia April - May 2016

We have done a lot of things the last few weeks since we arrived in Virginia Beach in mid - April.  We are staying at the Dam Neck Annex/Sea Mist RV Campground.  This is a favorite area.

It's a low maintenance kind of place but everything works.  They have a small staff and friendly staff. The grass gets mowed, the laundry room gets cleaned up.  Basically a well run campground.

We've had lots of time with Brooks while here.  He is one amazing little guy.  Here he is deciding which wheel to use while making his way into Krogers on a windy day.

Here he is asking Grandpa if he can have the iPhone.  He does that a lot.  And Grandpa gives it to him a lot.

Another things we've done while here is take care of lots of appointments.  Here is my hygienist Mia after a successful teeth cleaning.

We also had the pleasure of seeing Marg and Bill for a few days.  They stopped by on their way back to Ontario from spending time in Florida this winter.

This is the Collision Center manger taking a picture of the rear deck lid that needed to be adjusted.  We got rear ended in December and got it fixed in Fort Walton Beach.  USAA said if we ever heard any rattles or something needed adjustment after it was fixed to contact them.  They set us up with these folks and it all got squared away.

Then too, there has been a couple of projects around the house I got to work on.  Apart from mowing the yard a couple of times, I finished up some of the flower bed trim logs.  I cut them to size, Kelly drilled holes in them for the 12" pipes to hole them in place.

We also made another trip to Fairfax to see Adam and Melissa for a few days.  While there we drove by our old house.  Kind of sad -- the yard not mowed and the fence needs painting.  No flowers.  The whole place needs some TLC... ;(

Adam and I worked on a new table for his record player and Sonos speakers.  They were looking for something functional and basic.  We measured things out and got a 4' x 8' of birch plywood at Home Depot and had them make two cuts.

Next, we went back to his basement workshop and cut some dividers.  He orders some short legs with a metal plate to screw on the bottom.  

We pre-drilled holes for some screws and also used a nail/brad gun to put it together.

The plates for the screw-on legs went on easily.

We raised the piece that went along the back of the unit which gave us a lip on top and access on the bottom shelf for speaker cords.

It fit nicely under the window.

One thing Adam and Melissa are into is crossfit.  Their group was holding a fundraiser competition and we went to see some of the action.  It was motivating to see all these world class athletes pushing themselves and in such good shape.

They were hoping to raise $5000 to rescue a person out of slavery.  The effort is led by International Justice Mission.  I had no idea slavery is so prevalent around the world.  I've heard of sex trafficking and that kind of slavery.  This goes further and through the efforts of the 20+ competitors and 100? attendees (plus who knows what else went into this event), they were able to raise over $20,000.  Good for them.  They are making a difference.

Back in Virginia Beach, we've spent quite a few afternoons and evenings on the back deck at Kelly and Jon's place.  Brooks has a nice play area and Jon does his magic with his Big Green Egg.  He really knows how to cook on that thing!

A few times while here, I've been able to get together with some men at coffee shops and get in some 1 on 1 time.  This is one of Jon's favorite places in Virginia Beach.  Three Ships Coffee Bar and Roastery is unique and I can see why he likes it.

Then more time with Brooks.  In the few weeks we've been here we've seen Brooks develop.  His little mind is going 1000 miles an hour.  Here he is waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to show up.  He has learned how to move his step stool around and bring it over to places to get things... at 14 months this has to be way ahead of schedule?

Then for Mother's Day, Pam wanted a Radio Flyer Wagon to take Brooks on walks around the neighborhood.  He likes it pretty well so far...

Yesterday we got in on some picture taking after church.  He was ok with it for about 20 seconds, then he got busy and needed to go check something out...

It was a beautiful day yesterday so they came over to the campground and Brooks got to check out the beach.  

It's been a busy time, but we have thoroughly enjoyed it here!  And we have another week to go.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Weekend in the Shenandoahs

A few months back Kelly and Jon asked if we wanted to join them up in the mountains and maybe rent a cabin together.  They also asked Adam and Melissa but they had something else going on.  Kelly hunted around a while and after a few choices, we decided on this one.

It was a nice 4 hour trip from Virginia Beach to the cabin not far from Luray, VA

The property looked a lot like the pictures, only better.  It was a perfect fall weekend.

 It was great and well taken care of, had plenty of amenities and was right on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River!

The cabin was built as a rental and opened earlier in the summer.  The grounds were well maintained.

And the views were perfect to see up the river, down the river and across the river.

 Inside the cabin, we had a nice new place with comfortable furniture, full kitchen and a washer/dryer if we needed it.

One of the main attractions was for Jon to be able to fish.  And he got in quite a few hours.

He let me borrow his waders for a bit and I even snagged one.

Not a very big one, but a fish nonetheless... :)

I think Jon caught something like 11.  It was lots of fun.

Kelly tried her hand at it on the shore line.  

 We also spent time around the campfire.  We had an unlimited supply of firewood and kept the fire going.

I did some reading and just enjoyed it outside.  It was a perfect fall day.

Jon put up his hammock and got a family picture.

Later on Saturday afternoon, we went for a walk along the dirt road in front of the cabin.  This place was definitely the nicest on in the area.  We saw a lot of trailers parked along the river on both sides of the banks.

 Just for the fun of it, I called and asked the price for a spot which had 30 amp service and water.  No sewer or dump station:  $45/night.  It looked like a good area for hunters and fisherman.

We enjoyed it and Brooks did fine in his backpack harness.  Reminded me of when we would go on Volksmarches in Germany when our kids were babies in the early 1980's.

 We had plenty of chances to 'chill out' and enjoy the day at the cabin.  The sun come out in the early evening and we got a lot of photos with Brooks.

We had a great time and look forward to maybe doing this every year?

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!