Latest News for the Month of
July 2007
Before I start this update I want to first extend my sincere sympathies to our dear friends Denny & Debbie Anderson. Their son Lee, who I have known since he was a young kid died recently in a boating accident. Lee was a phenomenal person, an All American kid with great looks, an abundance of intelligence and a soft happy personality that made you just love the guy. He had exceptional talent and skills as a race car driver and won some very large race events. He was a favorite of the race fans because of his personality and is sorely missed by the racing community in Michigan. It was strange as I have Lee's phone number programmed into my cell phone and was just looking at it the other day. I told myself to give him a call because I hadn't spoken to him since getting back from Florida. I tried to stay in touch with him to find out the latest in his life and I always enjoyed teasing him. We shared many laughs together and I always considered Lee as one of the family. He really enjoyed the phone calls I made to him and I am having a difficult time dealing with not calling him when I seen his number on my cell phone. I think the lesson I learned here and one I hope others will learn is that never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Life is short and people pass our way once, sometimes way too quickly. If you have a friend you have been meaning to call, please do so today and touch base with them. It sometimes means so much to others to hear from you. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Anderson family. May God hold Lee close in heaven and may he provide the Anderson's comfort while they grieve the loss of a wonderful son.
Lee Anderson
1974 - 2007
Dang Chris.... Your a little late on updates aren't you ? I know, here it is the middle of July and I am just now getting off my fat butt and writing an update. Our days has been filled with coach travels and motorcycle riding and we just got back from a week long trip. Our travels took us into the Mountains of Virginia ( Fancy Gap ), down to Danville, up over to Richmond then over to the other side of the State to Big Island / Natural Bridge, VA. In all we logged several hundred miles, stayed at two campgrounds and also parked at a factory lot where a friend of ours works and then back home.
During this time we rode our bikes in the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as back country roads and really enjoyed ourselves. The scenery we witnessed was splendid and the sites we experienced astounding. The wildlife on this trip covered everything from woodchucks to Black bears and several of our trips including slowing down or stopping for deer or wild turkeys. I have included with this update two new pages of pictures on the two Blue Ridge Parkway locations we visited. ( Click here for Fancy Gap & click here for Big Island ).
We also stopped into Danville to meet up with two friends, Dawn & John and had a great two days visiting with them. What great people and wonderful hosts as John provided parking space at his factory for the coach and our enclosed trailer we haul the bikes around. Dinners and a lot of late night chats filled our time and Ally had the chance to take some air brush painting lessons from Dawn. Who by the way is an accomplished and phenomenal artist. We never did get to ride together as it rained the entire time we were there, but it didn't stop us from enjoying their company and spending a great deal of time eating, laughing and generally enjoying each other.
But the main purposes of this trip was to visit with the kids and we completely enjoyed seeing them and spending time with them. Living in Florida 10 months out of the year affords us little opportunity to get together with them so when we do we have to make up for a lot of lost time. And that we did. I admit I miss the kids terribly and wished we lived closer, but at this time it isnt possible as Ally's teaching position dictates our residing in Florida. But the day may come when we can move closer to them and spend more time with them. Despite the distance, our family remains close and we talk all the time on the phone, sometimes daily. :)
We were able to spend some quality time though with Natalia & Matt, Lindy, Kim and of course our granddaughter Miss Ella. Geeezz that little girl has grown. Smart as a whip and cute as a bugs ear this little girl kept us laughing with the things she came up with. Some of her lines were simply hilarious and it was so much fun to be able to just spend time with her and witness her growth. That little girl holds a special place in our hearts that only grandkids seem to inhabit. What a gift from God she is. It broke my heart to have to leave and head for home and Ella wasn't none to happy wither as she cried when we left.
On the family front I am very happy to report that everyone is in great health and happy as can be. Lindy and Kim are enjoying their new coach, Lindy's business is continuing to grow, Kim stays busy keeping the family on track with plans for travel, camping and family get togethers, Natalia is excelling in her new position at work and is traveling a great deal and Matt was just hired by a local Sheriffs department where he will become a deputy.
I guess it did my heart good to know my family is doing fine and everyone is healthy and happy. I cannot ask for much more. Listed below is a link to all the new family photos. Please do visit the page and see the latest and greatest from the Throgmartin family photo album.
On the health front, this last trip really wore me down and took the wind out of my sails. My old butt has been dragging since we got back and I have been resting since we pulled in here at the house. Today is phlebotomy day as Ingrid is all set to get a unit of blood off me. I am still making to much blood and my hemoglobin levels are still to high. I am hoping this phlebotomy will reduce the levels and help make me a little more comfortable. It is always a two edged sword with these Phleb's. While it relieves some of the cluster headaches and other symptoms of to much blood it also creates a great deal of weakness and fatigue for me. But the reduction of blood volume is a necessity to prevent any further strokes or the possibility of a heart attack from a clot. Such is life and onward I shall go with the treatments and symptoms. There is little other choice.
I will be doing another update soon before we leave for Florida. I am just about caught up now on new pictures and will provide more as we take them. Until later, be safe, be happy and keep enjoying all that life has to offer. If you have the chance, do say a prayer for the Anderson family as this loss is hitting the entire family extremely hard.
It's that time again to pack up and start making our way to Florida for the winter. Geeessshhhh, what a job.
I admit, I am NOT looking forward to going back to Florida. It's hotter then hell this time of year and very few residents are in the resort. It makes things boring and there is little to do but sit and play on the computer and listen to the hum of the air conditioner work overtime. The days are always long as Ally is working and I am home alone with the dog and the cat. But I will manage to keep myself busy and find things to do. I will get it over it and become a " happy camper ".
We haven't done much riding in the last week as we have been busy sorting things out, packing and trying to get ready to leave. The weather hasn't been favorable for bike riding either as its been raining a lot lately. We did manage to get in a ride to Sulphur Springs and made a big loop through the country coming back. It was a nice gentle ride and the scenery in these rural areas was really nice.
We headed over to Kim and Dave's ( Kim is Ally's best friend ) for their baby shower last weekend. It was great to see her family again, Ma, Pa, brother Kenny, Billy and Ramona. They are a part of our extended family and we remain very close to them so anytime we get to spend with them is always fun and enjoyable. They had a real nice party, great food and they got a lot of presents as well for their new baby that is due in September. I think they will both make great parents.
Last Wednesday I took the coach to Billy's shop and had him service it. Billy is probably one of the most well respected diesel / big rig mechanics in this area. This guy is so conscientious and really knows his stuff. I do not allow anyone else to work on the coach but Billy. That way I know things are getting done right. He also is an amazing painter / body man and does some awesome custom paint work on trucks and big rigs. He was the one who painted our trailer to match the coach. We had a great time together laughing and joking around and I acted as his helper, handing him what he needed and opening bottles of oil ( the coach takes 22 quarts of oil ). Otherwise I stayed out of his way and tried not to trip him up. :) Billy is just a gem, one of those guys that comes around once in a lifetime. Loyal, honest, hard working and a great personality. He has always been like a brother to me and I enjoy our time together. Billy just treats me and Ally like gold and like family so we enjoy a very close relationship. He recently left Peterbilt and went out on his own and is swamped with work. The local truckers know Billy and his reputation and they all want him to do their work for them. I do not think he will have problems making his business grow. His biggest problem ( like so many other business owners in this area ) is finding good reliable help. So he works 12 and 14 hour days and gets little sleep. He needs to slow down some and I have told him this over and over. He is a workaholic. But his shop is stuffed full of semis and other work waiting to be done so he keeps working himself to the bone. :)
On the health front, things just haven't been good. The Mountain elevations in the area and where we live ( approximately 2,000 ft ) is really taking a toll on me. The higher elevations seem to kick the bone marrow in gear asking for more blood to be produced which is something I do not need. I also feel more lethargic and move at a slower pace when we are here. This problem will only get worse as time goes on so we are going to be forced to make some very tough decisions, namely, where are we going to settle down at once we quit traveling and sell the coach ? I am not looking forward to this decision as I know what it means - we will have to leave this area for good. That hurts as I love this State, its way of life and its people. We will be crossing that bridge when we get to it which will probably be in the not so distant future. My labs came back looking pretty good. The phlebotomies sure helped get my hemoglobin levels back down to normal so I am in better shape in as far as that is concerned. Overall, besides being tired a lot, I am holding on and hanging in there. I did order my Interferon and will begin chemo injections sometime in the near future. I just haven't decided as to when to start it. Probably pretty soon. Will keep you all posted
We are nearly packed now and will be locking down the house and heading out Sunday morning, ( the 29th ). We plan on taking our time getting to Florida. We may just wander on down taking several days to get there and have talked about heading over to the Atlantic coast side of Florida for a few days. We have a few extra days built into our schedule for emergencies or in case we have some travel problems so if everything goes smoothly we will be ahead of schedule and will wander around and slowly head to the resort. But we will be watching our time as we have a schedule to meet.
Before I forget, I uploaded some new pictures that were taken last week. I finally got a picture of my home boy Dr. Brockmyre. I have been wanting to get a picture of Andy who has been a life saver for me. He has kept me alive since 2000 when I first started seeing him and is one of the best Doctors a patient or a friend could ask for. With us both being from the same State and the same town we have a lot in common. Words could never explain how much respect and admiration I have for Andy. He has been a great Doctor but also a great friend to me and my family. The entire medical staff of Andy's has looked after me so well for so long in Bristol that I really miss them all in the winter. I do make my regular phone calls to them to harass them and tell them about the nice warm days we are having ( while they are freezing their butts off ). They make my trips to the Doctor so enjoyable. The harassment, the teasing, the hugs, the jokes, the smiles, these girls have made a big difference in my battles with my disease and have brought me up when I have been down. They are also the same ladies that Ally enjoys calling " my girlfriends ". But the truth is she really likes them as well as they always back her up and give her their blessings for having to live with me. Imagine that, women feeling sorry for Ally for having to live with me. :) They enjoy seeing Ally come in with me as they get re-enforcements for harassing the hell out of me, and trust me Ally always takes their side. Here is the link to see these great people. ( click here )
Once we are parked again and all set up I will give an update as to what the latest is. Until then please do be safe out there and enjoy life each and every day. Its that time of year to start really enjoying summer before the nice days are gone and replaced with cold rainy weather. Get out there and enjoy it.
Thanks everyone and may your roads in life be safe and filled with fun.
Chris
NOTE: I just added more family photos to the website. Click here to view them.