Arrival in Texas

Well, we've arrived in Texas a bit earlier than we had planned. With Gustav headed in through the Gulf Coast, and watching it potentially heading through the area we were having to travel through, we left a day earlier than we had planned so that we could be ahead of it's arrival in the inland area. We arrived in Plano this afternoon around 6:30 PM. Since we knew of the Lewisville Lake Park just on the other side of Plano, we decided to take a chance on a site being available for us to grab a couple of nights before our suite is available at Extended Stay. There were two sites left. They were both for shorter units like Geovanii so be grabbed one for two days, er, nights! I felt like I was being rather extravagant to spend for TWO nights when we may not need the second, but Hey, what's another $8 when I'm spending on Sharon!! LOL! Turns out, we're in the exact same site we stayed in when we came through here last April after Sharon's appointment for her checkup. In fact, there's another View parked two sites down that was in that same site then, too! I'm not sure that the guy doesn't pretty well live here. I met him at the RV dealer when I picked up Geovanii last October and he said that he fulltimed in his.

Sharon did pretty well on the trip down. She laid down on one of the beds for a while each day and that helped the pressures on the part she sits on - oops, I mean her bad hip!

We had a bit of family sadness as we were leaving. Friday, James was supposed to fly back to Miami after being in Nashville all week for a conference. He called early Friday AM and said that Carol and Abigail were on the way up and he was canceling his flight home. Carol's dad had been admitted to the hospital with a collapsed lung. He has been fighting lung cancer for a couple of years now. They left Saturday morning for Jackson, TN around 6:30 AM to be there as soon as Carol could get into the ICU where he was. We left around noon time Saturday and passed through Jackson mid-afternoon. I called and talked to James and Bill was heavily sedated, but Carol and Abby had been able to visit with him for a while after they arrived. I had a call later in the evening after we had stopped for the night in Binkley, Arkansas that Bill (Norment) had passed away just a few minutes before. We feel badly that we couldn't turn around and be with them, but Sharon's schedule with the Dr and operation just doesn't allow it. We ask your prayers for James, Carol, Abigal, and Sue, Carol's mother as they experience the depth of grief that you face at such times.

All for now! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Joe

Travel Prep Day

We're trying to get all our "ducks in a row" to be able to leave tomorrow for TX. We want to get down there before we meet Gustav face-to-face. We don't want to get grounded somewhere between here and Plano.
Joe worked on the coach today, I did laundry and then got my hair cut. Things are slowly coming together for us. Of course, it was a VERY HOT!!!! day today so that didn't make it too pleasant for us.
James has been in town all week on business and was supposed to leave today to go back home to FL. He got word from Carol that her Dad's lung collapsed and he was put on a ventilator and moved to ICU. SO, their plans have changed. The girls will be here tonight (flying up from FL) and they will all go over to Jackson tomorrow morning. James and Abby will fly back to FL on Tues. so they can go back to work and school and Carol will stay up here indefinitely. She isn't working outside the home anyhow so she has the flexible hours to do this.
Got a call from the Dr's office in TX to verify the dates next week and that I would indeed be there. Of course, I'm ready to get on with this thing, whatever it is. We have our reservations at the same Extended Stay Hotel and plan to check in there on Tues. That will give us most of Wed to get settled in since I don't see the Dr. until 4 PM. Then my surgery will be sometime on Thurs-they aren't wasting anytime. I'd love to be early in the day but won't know until we get there.
Stay tuned for future updates-thanks to all those who have called and written and asked about us.

News Flash! Just in on the wireless!

We've just walked in the door from our quickie run to Maine before we head down to Texas to get Sharon "Fixed!" Unlike a pet, she IS broke before the fix and, as a matter of fact, needs it rather badly. We had a delightful visit with Sharon's folks, including all of her siblings - two in Maine and one brother in West Virginia who we caught for lunch yesterday as we came through. Good trip, but quite hurried, both in visit time and in trip time!

We had barely gotten in the door when Sharon's phone rang. It was a call from Dr. Emerson's office in Plano confirming the office visit on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and the operation the next day on the 4th! Wow! We didn't know the operation was scheduled that soon, as a matter of fact, on the way home yesterday, we discussed our options of what we could do to kill the time between the office visit and whenever the operation was going to be. Guess we could have a nice dinner, now! All our discussions were just that, discussions! We are extremely grateful that things are going to happen quickly this time. Won't have the infernal "dread-time" that you usually go through between major steps!

"Thank you, Father, for the answer to prayer! Guide the hands of Dr. Emerson and staff as they minister to her needs. Give us the grace to wait patiently until that time! Give Sharon a quick recovery and a healing touch from Your Hand. Guide the hands of the caretakers during her recovery that they will provide the proper therapy to meet her needs! Amen!"

Friday-August 15, 2008

Just a quick update on what is happening. Won't be able to see my Dr. in TX until Sept 3 (he is on vacation, can you imagine that!!!!! a Dr on vacation?) so we are headed to Maine tomorrow afternoon. We had planned to go after Labor Day but since we will need to be in TX then we're going to go ahead and go now, not knowing when we'd be able to make the trip again. We will only be able to spend a week up there with my parents but that is better than not going at all. I figured I could sit around in the coach and in my parents' apartment as well as I could sit around here at the house. Will update as time passes.

The Hip Event, Part Two

I really hate to write this new note in the "Hip"py Event Chronicle. Last Wednesday, August 6, 2008, we went to Vanderbilt Hospital for some, thought to be "routine" X-Rays for Sharon's Doctor to have sent down to him. She had been having a little "discomfort" and called him for advice. He wanted to view the condition of the joint before making any recommendations. When the X-Ray technician looked at the shots, she said she was going to see her supervisor before Sharon left. When they came back, they sent her immediately over the the Emergency Room to have the new pictures evaluated. They seemed to think there was a little problem. After a fairly long wait with her in a wheel chair, she was finally taken back into the ER to see the doctor. He wanted to see some previous shots to know what he was seeing. Long story shortened somewhat, I was called back into room (I was waiting out because Abigail was with us). When we all went in to discuss the perceived problem, he was concerned because he saw a broken screw in the picture and didn't know if it was a problem. I asked him to see the shots because there was at least one screw from a previous operation that had been left in place to keep it from weakening the bone. When I looked, I was agast at what I saw. Not only was the old screw there but the bottom of the prosthesis had broken loose from the bone and was pulled out with broken screws laying in the bottom of the joint cavity. The last operation had catastrophically failed!

Sharon was supposed to bring Abigal back to Miami on Sunday, but it was quickly decided that she should not make the trip. We swapped the names on the tickets quickly and, presently, I'm in Miami until Thursday. Sharon received a call from Dr. Emerson's office this afternoon and they want her in their office immediately. I'll get home on Thurday afternoon and we won't be able to leave until probably Sunday morning. We don't know exactly what their "fix" is going to be yet, and neither will they until they have their hands on her, but we pray that they will receive guidance to provide the right one this time.

We ask your prayers as we begin this journey again!

Cheers!

Joe