The Last of 2009

Time got away from us and haven't updated this since Thanksgiving. We had a great holiday season. The Wed. before Christmas we had dinner with Sarah and Adrian. The next day Karen, David and baby Zoe came to visit. Our time spent with all of them is very special. Of course Zoe is as cute as can be and busy crawling everywhere - her preferred method of travel. She is so good natured and happy except when it is nap time! Looks like she will be a lefty - sure prefers that hand for everything!

Ralph had his 4th treatment this past Monday - 1/3 done! He still gets very tired for a few days. His hands and nose have tingling and numbness and this is accumulative so each time it is worse. This is also made worse by cold. He can't drink anything cold as it constricts his throat so we set out glasses of water to warm up for him. Today he has to get a white cell boost shot as his white cell count has been dropping slowly and this will get it back up quickly.

We also saw his cardiologist and his pacemaker was set to 70 and in Feb. they will set it for the final time to 60. They adjusted some of his medications and he does not have to see this doctor again until June. He just has to visit the Device Center every 3 months for a pacemaker check.

Things are looking up finally and there is light at the end of the tunnel! Even winter here has not been to bad so far. Last week was beautiful clear blue skies with white mountains, but very cold! It was the second real cold weather we have had but we stay nice and warm in our little home on wheels! One of the effects of chemo is being cold, so Ralph has acquired some warmer clothes and stays bundled up most of the time! This week is warmer and of course that means wet again!

Thanksgiving Day and Beyond

We had a wonderful day at our daughter's house in Bothell. Her husband, David helped in the kitchen and baby Zoe stole the show! Our other daughter Sarah and her husband Adrian and David's parents and grandmother were there. Adrian was on kitchen duty also - those 2 guys can sure cook some good stuff! Sarah was not feeling well so she stayed away from everyone. Karen had worked a 12 hour shift until 7am, but after a couple of hours of sleep she was also in the kitchen cooking. We had a delicious meal with very special family! What a great day! That is the first time we have had a holiday with them since 2000 as we have been on the road in many different places for the holidays. Zoe is hand feeding herself and she loved the cranberries in her mouth and all over her head!! Thank you kids for making it a very special day!!!!

Friday Ralph's cousins and good friends Tom and Linda came up for their monthly visit. We always have lunch out so this time it was Mexican. Then we decided to join the crowd at Costco and Best Buy as each of us was looking for something. Costso wasn't to bad, but Best Buy was a "zoo"! Nothing we wanted here so off to Bellingham on another adventure. Found one of the "wanted" items there. What a fun day and we look forward to December's visit!

Yesterday we cooked our Thanksgiving dinner so we could have left-overs. Our new oven is much bigger so we were able to do the turkey in it instead of the convection. We even stuffed it this year and boy was that good! We decided that we had stuffed turkeys all the time until just a few years ago when someone decided it was not good, and we are still alive so we were going for it! Now we will have turkey dinners for the week - yum yum!!!

A great holiday and thanks to all of you!!!

1 Down - 11 To Go

His first chemo started Mon. morning and ended this afternoon. They start everything at the infusion lab - takes about 4 hours and then he gets a portable pump "to go" in a pack so he can go anywhere with it. After 46 hours, a home health person comes to our place and disconnects him. He had no side effects until today when he has been a bit tired, but our allergies are going"crazy" and we both feel "blah" today so may not have been the chemo! He had a couple of seconds of nausea and took a pill, but that was it! Tomorrow he goes in for a white blood cell boost shot - it is only $4,000 for one shot! Thank goodness for medicare! That will make him ache all over and some tell us that it is the worst of all the treatment. According to the doctor, our bone marrow is very lazy about making new white cells so after the first few treatments he will get this shot. Then his bone marrow will be awake and when chemo comes will go to work and won't need an alarm shot any more. Guess that is why you ache with the flu - it is the bone marrow getting busy to make new healthy cells to get you well! Friday we go to the cardiology device clinic to check his pacemaker and get further instructions. Tuesday is a followup with his surgeon - we are going to teach him which side pacemakers go in! After the surgeon, off to oncology for labs and meeting with his doctor there. Keeps us busy with appointments!

We are starting with our third wind storm this week. The first one brought down a large limb that was hanging over us. Our luck has changed - it went between us and the rig next door missing all of us by inches. If it had hit us it would have totaled our rig and killed us if we were in the rear. The tree belonged to the home behind us and for the 2nd storm they had ropes to get it to fall back there. It stayed up and it was taken down yesterday. The first 2 storms had winds of 30 to 50 with gusts to 70. Tonights storm is supposed to be worse. Another night of rock n roll! And another storm on Saturday. Enough!!!!!

His Heart Is Fixed

Permanently we hope! He had a pacemaker put in and an AV node ablation done yesterday and had to stay overnight at his favorite "hotel"! The "hotel" is like coming home we know so many of the staff and they all come to say hi! He is now home with his pacemaker set at 80 to 110. They had to start high since his heart was used to fast - go to slow at first and it will rebel. Then in about a month they will start slowing it down over several months. His chemo was put off until Monday as his oncologist wanted his heart rate normal! So there is light at the end of the tunnel! Meanwhile, we have had 3 times the normal rain for Nov. and 10 degrees below normal. Figures, since we are here! We were about ready to build an ark, but we got a break yesterday, more rain and wind last night and then fairly nice today until tonight. Maybe snow tonight...... And they say it is supposed to be dryer and warmer than normal.....waiting.....

We Have A Plan - FINALLY

After another 4 days in the hospital with his heart stopping for up to 4.2 seconds several times a minute, they lowered all his meds and since the doctor to fix the problem was on vacation (yep there is only one EP doctor) they sent him home with a Holter Monitor for 24 hours and lowered his meds some more. This past week he had the monitor again for 24 hours and his heart is still "pausing" and his heart rate is high - surprise with the lower meds! Friday we met with the EP doctor and this week he will have a pacemaker put in followed by an ablation of the AV node. We will know Monday the exact day and time. The atrium will still be in a-fib and can do anything it wants, but can no longer control the ventricle - that is the pacemakers job! He will be on warfarin the rest of his life, but not all the other meds that make him so sleepy. Then the following Monday, Nov. 16 he will start chemo. His oncologist did not want to start chemo until his heart was done so the "heart boys" have run out of time and it has to be done this week! Yea!!!! We are getting used to the rain. At least at this RV park we have a nice patio, gravel parking and paved roads, so no mud to track inside. They have added gravel to the parking area for us, so it is nice and thick and the water does not stay on top. They clean up all the leaves every day on the roads and grass - an endless job right now! They even take out the propane tanks, fill them and put them back in for us for the price of the propane - what a deal. Good thing since after his pacemaker placement he can't raise his arms over his shoulder or lift more than 10 lbs. for 2 months. The lengths he goes to to get out of doing anything!!!!!

Settled in for the Winter

We moved to a larger site last Sunday since we will be here for awhile. Sure is much nicer to have neighbors a bit further away! We met with his cardiologist this past week. At first he didn't feel they should do anything since the meds were controlling his heart rate. That was before he looked at the EKG and the meds he is taking. His heart rate is still high and he raised one of the meds another 120mgs a day. He is now taking enough of these meds to control an elephant! So now he is sleeping 24/7 instead of 20/7! We meet with the electrophysiologist on Nov. 6. He is the doctor that does the procedures, so will see what he recommends. The cardiologist feels the problem is in the AV node and if they fix that he will likely have to have a pacemaker. Then off to the surgeon to have his incision checked. He has had a hole at the bottom to drain an infection. The infection is gone, but needed to see what to do next. Just let it grow together and will be fine now. Yea - no more packing, just bandage everyday! Since we were there the surgeon decided we should schedule his surgery to put in a power port for chemo so he can start taking warfarin again for his heart. So yesterday we spent 4 hours at the hospital and he now has a sporty port below his collar bone on the left! The first time he has been at the hospital for a procedure and actually got to come home afterwards! This week is a CT scan and followed in a couple of days with another meeting with the oncologist to schedule his chemo. All the ducks are finally lining up in a row and we are making progress toward an eventual full recovery! We will have lots of company in this park for the winter - they only have a few empty sites!

Long Term Plan

We met with the oncologist this morning. This doctor had worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX (a leading cancer center in the US) and after talking to him about various treatments Ralph has decided to stay here. The protocol for his cancer would be the same anywhere and the only difference would be if he wanted a clinical trial. This oncologist is the head of oncology at Skagit Valley Hospital and is part of the Seattle Cancer Alliance which includes the University of Washington and Fred Hutchison Cancer Center. His treatment will be 2 days on infusions and 12 days off for a total of 12 cycles (6 months). There are practically no side affects to these drugs. His 2 day infusions start at the center for about 4 hours and then continue at home for a total of 48 hours. He will have a baseline CT scan and then meet with this oncologist for a start date. After treatment they will do another CT scan and then every 6 months. He will have another colonoscopy next August and then every 3 to 5 years for that. The oncologist will work with our travel schedule for follow-up appointments. His a-fib will not affect his chemo schedule which they like to start no sooner than 4 weeks from surgery and no later than 6 weeks from surgery. He will be closer to the 6 weeks since they would like to give his wound as much time as possible to heal. So, cardiologist is next Tuesday and hopefully we will have a time for the ablation. The 27th is the surgeon for followup and consult on a "port" then a CT scan and the oncologist is on the 30th. We will be staying at our wonderful little RV park here in Mount Vernon just 10 minutes from the medical centers! We are getting ready for winter and will be warm and comfortable in our little house on wheels!

Home

Ralph came home Sunday afternoon. He is still moving a bit slow, but getting out and around. He still has a hole at the bottom of his incision that has to be packed and bandaged. Not sure what the long term plan for that is since his surgeon is on vacation and another surgeon saw him in the hospital. He takes naps, but more because of his heart than surgery. Everyday is better!!!!

Coming Home Soon

It has been a difficult few days to get his digestion working again. They finally had to put an IV "pick-line" in his arm and feed him nutrients that way for 2 days. Friday they started on liquids again and he did well on them. Over night they weaned him off the nutrients and yesterday he had solid food and did well. He still has a hole at the bottom of his incision from when he had an infection. Now to get it to heal, they are doing some minor work on it today - they said it needs to wake up again and realize it needs to grow together. Our bodies are amazing! His heart is now between 100 - 140 with very high doses of meds. Cardiology was supposed to see him yesterday and no one came - surprise! Everyone just wants to know what meds he is to take at home. The path report was about what we expected given the surgeons report after surgery. When removing the tumor, they went far enough to get to clean and cancer free tissue. About 1/2 the lymph nodes removed had cancer cells. He will be ungoing chemotherapy at some point. The timeline for everything is a bit fuzzy right now given his heart rate and the need for ablation to correct that. They said he might get home today, but his surgeon on Friday noted in his chart that he would be released probably Monday. They may want to watch the wound for 24 hours to make sure it is OK.

Tuesday Update

Everything is progressing slowly as far as digestion. He is now on full liquids, but is still having problems with digestion. He is eating very little as he has no hunger. His surgeon is pleased with his progress and keeps telling us it just takes time. Today they are slowly lowering his dosage on the epidural pain control as it has to be removed tomorrow. He will be on IV morphine as needed. They also have to remove his catheter tomorrow. Guess a week is the limit on those two things. They had to change his IV line to his right arm as it came out last night. The lower part of his incision is now open with a drain line as he had an infection. He is on IV antibiotics until the infection clears up. The biggest concern is his heart rate which at rest is now going up to the 140's and when he is up has gone as high as 180. That is why they have left the epidural pain control and catheter as long as they have to keep him from getting up so much. The cardiologist is coming by today, but we don't think there is much he can do at this point. Right now they will not let him walk and he needs to walk to help with digestion - catch 22! His heart rate is just out of control and even if the surgeon would release him, he will go no where until his heart rate is controlled or out of a-fib! Still no pathology report - maybe this afternoon. We pretty much know what it will say, so will not be surprised.

Update

Ralph had a really good day yesterday. The cardiologist changed some meds and his heart was slowing down a bit and he was allowed to walk in his room. The cardiologist is hoping that by today his heart rate will be better controlled and he will be allowed to walk the hallways which is what the surgeon wants. He was awake most the day and up and down frequently. His digestive system is beginning to rumble, at times very loud! Yesterday after a rough few hours with nausea in the morning, he was fine and had no anti nausea meds all day. Only problem was a small amount of bleeding at the bottom of the incision and that was from so much movement and stopped very quickly. He is also receiving anti-clotting shots every 8 hours which can add to bleeding problems. Yesterday I said that they found nothing unexpected in surgery. More specifically that meant that they were able to section the colon back to good tissue, removed the lymph nodes from that area and found some of them to be firm which means they very likely have cancer cells in them and all other organs looked and felt normal including his liver. Tests will not be back until sometime this week. The cardiologist feels that they need to do his heart ablation sooner than later and they will work with the onocologist to make that happen - wow, doctors can work together! Besides having terrible "people skills", his GI doctor didn't seem to want to work with any other doctors, so we will not be using him again!

Surgery Update

Ralph's surgery went fine on Wednesday. The surgeon did not find anything un expected and his bleeding was minimal. He was moved to the surgery floor that evening and our fun began. Let's just say that the nurses on a surgery floor are there because they do not want to work and are for the most part just putting in their time until retirement. He was at the end of 2 hallways and for most of any day I could roll a bowling ball in any direction and hit no one! You could never find anyone to help you and then Thursday we got "the witch"! They had not given him any of his heart meds because "his blood pressure is to low". OK, so that is hospital protocol, but I requested several times they call his cardiologist and they would not do that cause that was work. Asked them to call his surgeon since they said one of the meds had not even been ordered. Wouldn't do that. Finally I made so much noise I got the charge nurse who did give him his meds, but that was in the evening and the med in question had been ordered, just not signed by the surgeon and should have been given! He has nausea from the epidural pain meds and the shots they were giving him did not work, but that is all they would do. Yesterday we had a floating nurse from another floor and she was great and got the ball rolling on everything and found another anti-nausea med that worked. Late yesterday, the surgeon went to the head of nursing and he was moved to the progressive floor last evening where he has been before and will receive very good care! His cardiologist will be in this morning to see if there is anything they can do to get his heart to quit spiking to over 140 when he sits up since they want and he needs to get up and moving. His heart rate was well controlled until he did not get the meds for that day and now his stubborn heart doesn't want to slow down! He is still on nothing by mouth since his digestion needs to begin working again and to get that working he needs to move and to move he needs his heart rate controlled - a merry-go-round!

Surgery

Ralph will have surgery Wed. Sept. 23. He will check in at 10:30am, surgery is at 12:30pm and will take about 2 1/2 hours and then recovery for about 2 hours. He will be in the hospital for 5 to 7 days, depending on when his digestive system begins to function again. As the surgeon said, the "heart boys" will be close by during surgery just in case, but they do not expect any problems with his a-fib. The surgery is a sigmoid resection and is fairly straight forward and in a good place for the resection. They will also look at a very small spot on his liver that they are sure is benign, but since they are doing the surgery anyway, they will take a closer peek. We will have test results on the tissue and lymph nodes in 3 to 5 days. The surgeon says as far as he is concerned, they can do the ablation on his heart 2 weeks after surgery, but the doctor doing it may want longer. For now we are going to enjoy the summer weather here - supposed to be 80 by Monday!!

Latest News

Ralph was released from the hospital this afternoon. The doctors feel that they have his heart rate regulated, but it was a tough job! With a-fib you do not have a steady heart rate - it can fluctuate greatly. He was spiking to over 140 and they wanted those spikes to be no higher than 110. He was running a marathon 24/7 and that was not good going into surgery. We meet the surgeon on Thursday and will know when surgery will be after that. The doctors think probably the following Monday, but we will see. He has an excellent prognosis - there were no cancer cells detected in his lymph nodes on the CT scan, so they know it has not spread anywhere else. There may still be some cancer cells in the lymph nodes when they test them after surgery however. To show on the CT scan, it has to be very involved to be detected. He had been getting a regular colonoscopy and we thought this was his 10 year recall. Then we found out his 10 years was last summer. But, if he had it last summer, they would not have found this tumor - it grew in a year or less. Then if he had not had the a-fib with blood thinners that caused the bleeding, he would have waited for his next recall and we would have a very different outcome. It paid for us to lose that year!

Worse News But Some Good

Ralph was diagnosed with colon cancer this morning. Adenoma carcinoma is the type of tumor and has according to the surgeon been there for about a year. A CT scan shows no evidence of cancer anywhere in the adominal or pelvic area - that is the good news. We have a surgeon that we have met with and he will have surgery in 7 to 10 days. They have to let the plavix clear his system. In the meantime, his a-fib is on the "back burner", but his heart rate must be controlled with meds. We have a new cardiologist that is not so busy and can work with his meds more closely. He will be in the hospital until his heart rate is under control. They just changed his meds this evening, so may take some experimenting to find the right combination of meds that will also provide the best outcome for surgery and his coronary heart disease. We are hoping he will be home on Friday at the latest and then back for 4 to 7 days for surgery. During surgery they will remove lymph nodes for testing and will know how much of the colon wall is involved. Chemotherapy after surgery will depend on the outcome of those 2 things, but chemo has improved and he will not be sick. The surgeon said the outcome is very good with his otherwise good health. We will be spending the winter here in Washington at the park in Mount Vernon.

WOW! What A Summer for Ralph

As I had posted, he went back into a-fib. Then late yesterday he had serious GI bleeding and the nurse-line advised him to go to the ER. So off to the ER and triaged ahead of a waiting room full of people (according to the staff most without insurance and really should not be in the ER). Yes, he is in a-fib again. They reversed his blood thinners with Vitamin K and admitted him to the hospital at 12:30am this morning. With the blood thinners out of his system, the bleeding has stopped this morning. The hospitalist doctor had hoped to get the GI and cardiologist doctors talking so that something can be done instead of the run around we have been getting and doctors not talking. So far the GI doctor has been in to see him and with no communication with the cardiologist has scheduled a colonoscopy for sometime tomorrow to see if they can find the source of the bleeding. In the past the cardiologist has said no to any other procedures, so will be interesting to see what happens. The GI doctor agrees with us that cardio has not and is not working so they need to find something else and they need to manage his blood thinners differently. They are trying to manage his heart rate with a drug that has not and is still not working - it lowers his blood pressure but not his heart rate. We told the ER that it has not worked, but they continue to give it to him, so we all agree that they need to look at some other meds. So, after tomorrow we will either know what is causing the bleeding or they will find no cause and we go from there. Then once the cardiologist sees him, we may know what they will try next!

Crazy Pulse------Again!

Judging by Ralph's "funky" pulse, he is more than likely back in a-fib. His heart just seems to prefer a-fib, despite what they try. Nothing to do until Tuesday, since he is still on all the meds. We will call on Tuesday and see when the cardiologist can see him and what next. Stay tuned........

Ralph's Back

After 72 hours of sotalol (rhythmic drug), he did not convert on his own - came real close though. So, they scheduled cardio for Sunday morning. Then his INR level dropped to low, so no cardio that day. Monday morning he was scheduled for a TE&E (camera down his throat to check for clots and his valves) and then if no clots cardio. Well, we waited and waited! His cardiologist was having a bad day - if it could go wrong it had gone wrong and he was way behind. He finally called another cardiologist to do the procedures so Ralph could out of the hospital. No clots, valve not that bad, so they converted him (shock) and he was back in his room at 4pm. His cardiologist finally got up to see him after 5pm and ordered a shot to thin his blood before discharge. We knew that would take 2 hours to get it sent from the pharmacy, so we shared his dinner and a little after 7pm he had his shot and papers and we were out of there. Of course it helped that the nurse doing the discharge was off work at 7pm so she was eager to get him out the door! Now, you never leave the hospital without several prescriptions that have to be filled cause you need them that night. They had faxed them to WalMart, but WalMart never worries about faxes and it would be the normal WalMart wait of 1 to 2 hours. We have had enough of that, so we went to Safeway, got flu shots, prescriptions and groceries in less time than waiting at WalMart. Got back to the rig after 9pm - one long day! Today, we moved to a park Mount Vernon. It is a beautiful little park with a great manager and friendly people. And, we are 15 minutes from the doctors instead of 40+ minutes. We are glad they made us leave and find a new place. It was just stressful with Ralph in the hospital. He then had to get another INR test today to be sure his blood was thin enough and he wouldn't need more of those expensive shots in the stomach. For the 2 days after cardio you are at a higher risk of clots, so they want to be sure the blood is thin and his was finally thin enough!! No more shots! Yea!!! Now we can do some relaxing and hope he stays in normal rhythm this time!

Latest Plan for Ralph

We met with his cardiologist today. He consulted with some other experts in a-fib. They all agreed that the best way to get and keep him in a normal rhythm is to put him on anti-rhythmic drugs and do cardio-version while he is on the drugs. These drugs can cause other rhythm problems, so they will only do them in the hospital under close monitoring. So he will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow morning and will start on the drugs. Friday they will do cardio-version and he will be out of the hospital late Sat. or more likely Sunday morning. Hopefully, this will work and he will stay in a normal rhythm! More later............

Not Good News

Ralph had a follow up with his regular doctor and he is back in a-fib. His cardiologist was on vacation this week, so the cardiologist on call had some lab work done, adjusted medications and he goes in to see his cardiologist next Wed. In talking to the cardiologist office, he will very likely be schedule for another cardio. The park where we are staying will not allow us to extend (this park is a real pain!) so we will be moving Sept. 1 to a park in Mount Vernon. The park in Mount Vernon is where we have reservations for next summer and the manager was kind enough to find us a spot in her very full park for Sept. More later...........

Happy Anniversary

Wow! What a day to celebrate our anniversary. We started at 5am to get to the hospital just after 6am. He was admitted to the Special Observation Unit (an outpatient ICU) and they prepped him for the cardioversion and then we waited and waited. They were paging the cardiologist and finally he came at 8:15. Since they were now running very late they decided to do the cardio and the angiogram in the cath lab so off he went. A little over an hour later he was back for 3 hours of bedrest and close observation - except for one small glitch! His heart went back to normal rhythm with the first cardio - YEA!!! However, the angio showed a 70 to 80% blocked artery feeding the atrial, so to quote the doctor -"since I was already in there I just put a stent in there". That is an automatic admission for overnight observation in the hospital. They finally got the doctor to sign all the necessary papers and he finally was in a room at 4pm. He will be discharged tomorrow morning as long he is stable - doesn't even need a doctor to see him so we don't have to wait and wait! So far he is doing very good and his heart is still in normal rhythm. He will see the doctor in a month and if he is still in normal rhythm he will be off of blood thinners - he is looking forward to that! He will be on plavix and a beta blocker long term. So, time for me to eat and relax in a quiet place - at home!

Update on Ralph

They have been forecasting rain for days and it finally happened - showers that in western WA means light rain all day!

We met with the cardiologist today and really like him - quite a sense of humor and spent a lot of time with us explaining exactly what a-fib is, what treatment options are available and what he recommended. His echo cardiogram showed a slightly larger heart than normal and a minor leaking valve. Neither are cause for concern. He will have another echo cardiogram in 6 months and if no change in the size of the heart then that is just the way it is. The leaking valve and elevated blood pressure are probably the cause of the a-fib. He is younger than the usual a-fib patient - 1 in 10 people over age 75 will have a-fib!

On Friday they are doing an angiogram to make sure there are no blocked arteries. Then they will be able to do any of the treatment options with no further testing. After the angiogram (if normal) they will do cardioversion (external shock of the heart) and hope it goes back to normal rhythm. This is the first treatment option to try. The cardiologist says this will last from 10 seconds to 10 years - we are hoping for the 10 years! If that does not work, then we have 2 more options to try. Friday are outpatient procedures and will last all day!

And - the cardiologist says we will be out of here Sept. 15!!!! Sure hope he is right!

Day Trip Wed. July 29

On the hottest day on record in western WA, we headed up to Mt. Baker. At over 5,000 feet it was still in the high 80's! It was a beautiful day and perfect for a drive. Ralph had been skiing there many years ago, but had never been past the ski area. Pam had never been there! The wildflowers were in bloom and the mountains were spectacular. We stopped to see Nooksak Falls and the Nooksak River. Picture Lake is right by the ski area and then the end of the road is Artist Point where the views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan are picture perfect! Cookie enjoyed the ride and a picnic lunch while viewing the wildflowers and mountains. We came back on Chuckanut Drive from Bellingham. It had been years since we had been on that road and the trees sure have grown and block most of the view now. One of the neat restaurants, Oyster Creek Inn, has unfortunately gone out of business.

Ralph's only appoinment this week was for lab work. The only result we know is his anticoagulation is now at 2.5, which was the target. He is just tired all the time and he and Cookie enjoy their afternoon naps together! We won't know much more until after Aug. 10.




Afternoon "siesta"
















Nooksak Falls



















Our picnic lunch view














Picture Lake with Mt. Shuksan















Mt. Baker











Mt. Shuksan














Cascade Mountains

Latest on Ralph

Yesterday was the test for anticoagulation and he was 1.9, so a slow climb to 2.5 -3.0 that is the target. They upped that medication again. Today he saw the doctor and his heart rate was 100 - YEA!!! That is the lowest it has been for a good long while. So, next week he just has to have some blood tests done to again check his anticoagulation and level of digoxin. The doctor felt he was doing well enough to wait now until his appointment with the cardiologist Aug. 10 and then back to this doctor on Aug. 12. The cardiologist will determine what to do to get his heart rate back to normal and his regular doctor will continue to control his meds. At least he will be on medicare by then!!! It sure gets expensive when we are paying the entire bill! They want him to have light exercise - just not raise his heart rate to much, so we are walking and biking very slowly. Loving this beautiful summer weather!!!

Beautiful Weather

Ralph's heart rate is still 120 so he is on another medication that makes him tired and gives him an upset stomach. His anticoagulation is 1.8, so they upped that medication. Back again on Tues and Wed. He is supposed to walk, so when he is feeling good we walk on the paved trail here and try to get further each time. This week he wanted to get out so we drove to the top of Mount Erie for some spectacular views of this area. Then we just drove around the area to see how it has changed since we left in 2001. Since Anacortes is surrounded by water it has no where to grow, so it remains much the same. There are a few new houses, most of which are huge! Anacortes has changed over the years from a sleepy railroad town to an upscale town and prices to match. Cookie needed a haircut and since when I do her Ralph has to hold her and he can't do that right now, she went to the groomer. I wasn't sure I was picking up the right dog - she was beautiful! And the groomer said she was a perfect girl - could this be Cookie she was talking about! So, here are pictures of Cookie and the views from Mount Erie. And yes, the weather is beautiful - sunny and warm!!

Latest Update

Ralph had a follow up doctors appointment today, so we have a better idea of how things will proceed from here. His diagnosis is atrial fibrillation. He has been on medication to lower his heart rate to between 50 - 70. He is also on coumadin to lower the risk of clots. We now have his heart rate under control and they have changed that med to a slow release formula that he only has to take twice a day. With coumadin he has a blood check each week and we need to get that number to between 2 and 3. Today it was 1.6 so they increased his dosage. There is very little chance that his heart rate will return to normal on its own. So...........until the first of August (when he goes on medicare), he will be monitored weekly. Then he will start with a cardiologist and they will be doing more tests to make sure there are no other problems. He must have 3 to 4 weeks of blood tests that are between 2-3, before they will proceed with anything other than the medication to correct the A Fib, so waiting to see the cardiologist until August is no problem. That gives us time to get his coumadin at the right dosage to proceed with more agressive treatments.

He is now allowed to take walks, although he has to move very slowly or he gets "winded" very quickly. He is happy to get out and do something! He does not do well sitting all day reading and watching TV!

We have extended our stay here at the RV park in Anacortes WA until Sept. 1. After we get his heart taken care of, he has some other medical appointments that must be done before we leave for the winter. We will have a better idea how long we will be here once he sees the cardiologist, but it is looking more like Oct. 1 at this point.

Thanks to everyone for your messages and calls!!! Now if this rain would leave and we could get back to summer, we would feel even better!

Ralph Joins "Heart" Club

After days of no energy, cough and trouble breathing, Ralph went to the doctor this morning. Of course he was sure it was allergies and asthma, but alas it is atrial-flutter. This should sound familiar to some of you out there! So we are trying the medication route of slowing the heart rate and lowering the blood pressure to see if it will correct on its own. We should know more on Wed. when he goes back again. Until then he has to rest and do nothing!

Whidbey Island Drive

It is a beautiful sunny day - one of those perfect northwest Washington days! We decided to take a drive down Whidbey Island and revisit some of our favorite places. First was Deception Pass. This is a spectacular bridge and view from up high. We have also seen the view from the water as we have gone under this bridge many times in our boats.




Next we drove out to Fort Ebbey. This is one of the military installations from WWI. Other than a few buildings, there is nothing else left here except a beautiful park with a beach.


Further down the island is Fort Casey. Here most of the buildings and housing are still used today. There are still some of the batteries along the water that you can explore. There is a lighthouse, but it is undergoing major renovations and was closed. Across the water is Port Townsend and the snow covered Olympic Mountains.



















Last stop was Coupeville for lunch. This is a quaint little town right on Penn Cove. It is basically one street and is a haven for tourists! We had lunch at the Knead & Feed which is a tiny place in a building that is 138 year old. The view from our table was of Penn Cove and Mount Baker.
















After lunch we walked out on the wharf. There are some shops out there, but it also gives you a view of the buildings perched along the water.



















Thought I would also post some pictures of the views we have at our RV park. Each time we take a walk this is what we see. First is looking north towards the town of Anacortes. Next is across to the refinery and Mount Baker. There are very large grass areas to enjoy these views in your chair with a cold drink. Life doesn't get any better!

Having Fun

We are enjoying lots of walks and bike riding. Yesterday we rode into Anacortes and explored the town by bike. Cookie rides in a crate on the back of Ralph's bike and enjoys looking at all the sights! We found the dog park so she got a break to run and play, but no other dogs were there to keep her attention. We have had a very nice June for WA, but today it is back to the usual - cold and rainy! We have lots more places to explore as the weather permits!

Summer Plans

After looking at RV lots and the costs involved, we decided it would cost the same to rent somewhere for 2 or 3 months each summer and we would not have a lot to keep weeded and cleaned. After calling many RV parks in Mount Vernon, Burlington and Anacortes, Fidalgo Bay RV Resort had the best deal and it is right on the water! We love Anacortes and will enjoy hiking and biking. One of the "rails to trails" goes right thru this park, so we are on our way! Lots of other places to visit there so we are very excited about getting there. Meanwhile, the "new rig gremlins" have moved into the refer, thus the Camping World visit. They were the only ones willing to work us in before the middle of June - the refer is hanging in there hopefully until next Friday, but mid-June was pushing our luck! We love our new rig and all of the space and we expected the "new rig problems". Most are minor and we are sure Heartland will take care of them once we contact them. For now we are enjoying our time in Monroe with cousins and good friends Tom and Linda!!! And the weather is gorgeous!

New Rig

We finally have a picture of the outside of the rig taken at the Riverfront Casino in Laughlin NV while we did our out of state delivery. We are enjoying some relaxation here in Pahrump, before 5 days on the road. We also had a chance to catch up with some friends. Now we are excited to get to Washington and see that new grandbaby!

We Are Moved!!

We picked up the rig on Saturday and went to Verde Valley (Cottonwood) AZ to empty our storage unit and get settled. We have gotten everything moved inside and now working on the basement. We LOVE it and all of the room!! So far no major problems. They did put the wrong countertops on the desk, dresser and nightstands (used laminate from 2009 instead of the new 2010), but a quick call to the factory rep and it will be taken care of at our convenience with all new tops. We were impressed! The dealership tech did an excellent job with making sure everything was working - the only thing we found were a couple of nails that needed "punched" and filled and a scratched refer door that will be replaced. So back to work - sure glad we do not move very often, but it sure gets things cleaned out!

Latest Update

When they told us the 5th wheel was done last Tuesday, we really wondered how it was finished in 4 days. Well, we were correct. Seems that they were tracking the wrong 5er and in fact ours will be completed today and on the road. So, it is expected to be at the dealer on Wed. or Thursday and they are fast tracking it to be ready for our PDI on Friday at 1pm. We will pick it up on Saturday and head up to Verde Valley to get our "stuff" out of storage. In order to get us out of our extended stay on Saturday, they are having the "out of state" delivery done when we head up to Pahrump. So, hopefully everything stays on schedule now!

Weather Delay

Well, it will not arrive until next week now. No matter which way they were driving from Indiana to Arizona there were storms. With storms they must stop and wait until it clears. We know it was snowing as far south as Albuquerque NM, the panhandle of Texas had severe storms with hail and further south was tornadoes. So that covers all the routes to here and delayed its arrival! Hoping to see it on Monday!

It's Done and on its Way

Our 5th wheel is done and headed to Mesa AZ. It should arrive Friday or Saturday and we can go look at it! Now we are really getting excited! If everything keeps on schedule we will be out of our temporary home here on the 25th so we don't have to extend!!

Being Built

Just got word that our 5th wheel was started yesterday and should be off the assembly line between the 15th and 17th. Then it is a 3 day drive to get it to Mesa for the dealer to do their part. Ralph flies to South Dakota on the 21st and returns the 22nd. The 5th wheel should be in Mesa and ready for us to see by the time he returns. Now we are getting excited.............

Progress

As of last Wednesday we have a VIN # so at least we have a frame for our 5th wheel! Still no date of delivery and one option was missing from the confirmation so the sales guy, Rick, is working on that. Maybe we will know more this week. Meanwhile we are working on getting everything we need ordered and the truck readied. The truck has its spray bedliner and tomorrow it goes in for the 5th wheel hitch. We are changing our residence to South Dakota - a huge savings in taxes and insurance - so Ralph needed to get there for his drivers license. After many calculations and on line searching we determined that it was cheaper for him to fly up one day and back the next. So he is off later in April by air! Pam has to keep her WA license for health insurance. Ralph will finally be on Medicare in August and it is the same supplement in WA and SD that can be used throughout the states. Everthing is falling into place except our travel schedule - stay tuned for more.

Where We Are Now

Last Thursday we delivered the motorhome to its new owners and moved into Budget Suites in north Phoenix. Really a nice area of new condos and a few stores. Costco, Target, Pet Smart, Michaels, Sportsman's Warehouse and Office Max are all within a short walk. Headquarters for Pet Smart is just across the street as well as a hospital. A short drive is everything else one might need and there is not alot of traffic! We have a third floor, one bedroom suite that is probably smaller than our 5th wheel will be. It is very quiet as probably only less than half the units are rented. It seems to be lots of working families here that in one way or another have lost their homes. With no credit check or deposits required they just have to pay the all inclusive rent. We picked up our new truck a couple of weeks ago that we had purchased over the phone from the fleet manager of the dealership. While there we mentioned that the Nissan was for sale and in the end they gave us what we wanted so they owned it! Cookie has decided this place is home and even learned to go up and down the stairs - she is very proud of herself! We still do not have a delivery date so stay tuned.

New Life Journey

We are beginning a new journey. After much thought, we decided that IF we could sell our motorhome we would get a new 5th wheel and truck to tow it. Right now the price of 5th wheels and trucks are greatly discounted. We knew that the value of our motorhome would continue to drop. On Wednesday we sold the motorhome, on Thursday we ordered our 5th wheel and Friday we bought a truck. Wow! The new owners of the motorhome allowed us to keep the motorhome until March 26 so we came up to Verde Valley until then. We will deliver the motorhome to Apache Juction AZ on the 26th and move into an extended stay suite in Mesa AZ until our 5th wheel arrives at the dealer in Mesa. We have a storage unit in Camp Verde, so we will be returning there to pick up our "stuff". Right now our schedule is flexible so stay tuned.............

Travel Schedule Changes

We have posted our latest travel schedule. Western Horizon Resorts where we were going to be staying for 6 weeks, decided they needed more money to the tune of $5/night for services that we do not use. Our response to them was to cancel all of our reservations and go to parks that do not charge for services that we do not use.

We are finishing our stay in Benson AZ. It finally has been very warm by afternoon with cool mornings. More rigs are leaving now than arriving as people begin the trek north. Everyone here loves Cookie and she gets more than enough pats and treats as she walks. She remembers exactly where each person "lives" and wants to stop by on every walk! You sure do meet people!

Saguaro National Park

Yesterday was a "picture postcard" perfect day! Deep blue sky, sunshine
and temperatures in the 70's made a great day for a hike. Friends invited us along for a 3+ mile hike in the east part of the Saguaro National Park on several different loop trails. It was quite an adventure with several wrong turns - the map did not agree with the trail or the trail signs and the trail signs were hard to figure out. The desert scenery was beautiful - so many kinds of cactus! One huge jack-rabbit hopped across our path and the birds were singing. It was a wonderful day and everyone slept really good last night!

Enjoying Life

We are enjoying sunshine and warm afternoons here in Benson. However, it is in the 20's in the morning. Arriving at Valley Vista was like coming home - everyone welcomed us back and of course had to see Cookie! The staff here is outstanding and friendly. Tomorrow we are headed to Dennys early to wait in line for free Grand Slam breakfasts- at
least there is a Dennys in Benson and we are sure that all the retired people will be there with us. Anything free brings them all out! We have to post a picture of our new adorable granddaughter, Zoe and her friend!

Our First Grandbaby

Zoe Kaitlyn Landon was born on Jan. 13 (her due date) weighing 7 lbs and 6 ozs. Our youngest daughter Karen and her husband David are the proud parents. We will be excited to see her and hold her when we get back up to Washington this spring.

While in Salome we did venture to Quartzsite one day - the only day we left the park in the two weeks we were there. Quartzsite is really empty compared to past years. There are definately less RV's staying in the area and less vendors selling. We had seen everything in a couple of hours and bought very little. The rest of our time in Salome we took long walks in the desert.

From Salome we headed to Casa Grande. While here we have visited with Rick and Pam in Florence AZ where they are workcamping. We took Cookie over to Roger and Barb's house in Arizona City to visit with them. They took care of Cookie when we were on our cruise and boy was she excited to see them again! Otherwise we have been staying "home" and enjoying long walks.

We are just enjoying staying two weeks, moving short distances and generally relaxing!