"Personal battles are won

in the heart of the person"

 Latest News for the Month of

June 2006

I sure wished I could have started June out with a bang as we had a busy month scheduled. Alot of fun was planned with travel and a Fathers Day celebration in Shenandoah Valley with my kids plus a trip to the beach and then onto Gettysburg to see the famed battle field of the civil war and then onto Michigan to see family and friends and to attend my high school class reunion. But we just canceled all our plans and are heading to Michigan on a rushed visit. We just got word that my Mom was admitted to the hospital after suffering a set back with her battle with Alzheimer's. She was doing very well for a long time and felt she didn't need her med's any more so she quit taking them......without telling anyone. It wasn't long before the hallucinations and confusion set in. My brother and sister in law had no choice but to have her committed until the Doctor's could get her med's straightened back out again. At the moment she is in pretty bad shape - doesn't know where she is, doesn't remember anyone or know what's going on. Ingrid and I are packing up the coach and Natalia is joining us on our trip to Michigan. Natalia will be flying back home in a week but we have no set date on when we will return. Lindy is also talking about driving up as well.

I have to say I am so proud of my kids. They obviously learned what my Father and myself tried to teach them that when a family member is in need, you come running. And to this day I know that no matter where I am in the world, if I need my kids, they will be there by my side as soon as possible. This is what family is all about.

A quick medical update. I visited Jennifer, my capable and pretty phlebotomist and had a repeat CBC and INR done on my blood. My Clotting factor has returned to normal and my overall blood counts looked good as well. I was very satisfied with my results and am sure not going to complain when they are even close to being normal. Overall, I still feel weak and tired and I get completely wiped out for the day whenever I exert myself with a small project around the house. But overall, I feel decent and I try very hard to pace myself. Ingrid commented that she can see a drop off in my energy levels and made the comment that every year seems to bring a little less energy and stamina to me. I hate to admit it but I think she is right. Still, life goes on and I am dang determined not to be left behind.

On the travel front, we headed to Virginia and camped out at a campground located just off the expressway. It was so great to be back in the coach and on the road. We took one morning and headed up into the Mountains driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. I simply cannot explain the gorgeous and endless vista's you see up there. We drove quite a while before getting off at Otter Creek where we went and visited our property. We did manage to walk the property and I had a chance to catch up with Ed, one of our neighbors. He informed me that the Black Bear's are back this spring and have been using our property as a thoroughfare to get to food, water, etc. We have yet to see any and I believe Ingrid is happy about that as she is scared out of her wits over bears. :)

I wont be able to get anything posted yet on the European trip. I haven't forgotten but this little emergency trip to Michigan is going to throw a kabosh on getting my site updated. Bear with me as sooner or later I will get it accomplished. 

I will try and update this site as soon as I get back to Bristol and give you all an update on my Mom's condition. Until then, by all means, enjoy the warm weather, play safe and remember everything in moderation.

Hi Gang - I wanted to jump on here and update this site so everyone knows what the latest happenings are here. We did make it back from Michigan and my Mom is doing much better. The med's they gave her really helped her tremendously. She stayed with my Aunt ( her Sister ) for a couple weeks and is heading back to her apartment to live. It's just amazing what some of the new drugs can do for dementia these days.

While in Lansing I had a few visitors at the campground where I was staying. Since we had no time to run around visiting people a couple old buddies of mine stopped by to see us. Vito, who has been my best friend since our Junior High days ( he is also Lindy's Godfather ) dropped by with his wife Debbie. We laughed and shared some old tales from the past. One of my old co-workers, Dale Foote also stopped by and we had a great visit which went all morning long. Allot of coffee and allot of laughs. :) Stephanie and her husband Gerry along with their daughter Bobbie stopped by to see us and we had a simple cook out. We really enjoyed our time with them. We also managed to drop in and see my Godparents, Tom and Mary Ellen Jakovac and had a great evening together. Before leaving town I stopped by and we seen my old friend and former Doctor Emory Rittenhouse. Emory had just suffered another stroke which effected his vision badly and once again touched the portion of the brain that effects his cognitive ability. He was really happy to see us both and we had a great visit. But I must admit after we left I just wanted to cry. This is a man that was one of the most brilliant Doctors I have ever known and to see him hit with these strokes at his young age just rips at my heart. He has been a great friend and was there when Lindy and Natalia both were born. The two of us have allot of history together, but I never dreamed we would both share so many common health problems. Both of us have been whacked with bone marrow diseases ( he won his battle with leukemia ) and we have both suffered several strokes to the same exact areas of the  brain. We still talk on the phone from time to time but this is the first chance we have had to see each other in person. We shared some laughs, relived some old times and both of us were glad to see the other. Still, it hurts to see Emory get hit so hard with these strokes.

We took the long way home from Michigan and came through Indiana and then across Kentucky on the Cumberland Parkway. The scenery was nice and we spent the night at a campground in Clinton, TN. We had the chance to look around the area and enjoyed the short drives.  At home we have been busier then a one armed paper hanger. Before we got back to Bristol the excavator came to the house and started excavating the driveway. This left us with little choice but to spend a week at the local campground in Bristol because the sewer line had to be torn out. After removing 20 dump truck loads of dirt and adding 20 tons of stone  I can happily report we now have a nice level driveway to park the coach on. Its great having it here, plugged in and ready to go at a moments notice. Before we had to leave the coach unplugged and turn off the fridge and transfer everything into the house. Now we can simply leave some of the common items in the fridge and not have to worry about mold and mildew growing inside the fridge. The batteries also stay charged as well while plugged in.

On the health front, I seem to be a bit weaker these days and I can see that I have really slowed down allot in the last year. I used to be able to work on some projects in the AM, sleep a little then go back at it in the afternoon. But I have little energy left in the afternoon so normally take it easy. It just frustrates me to no end as I have things I would like to do but can only do them in the morning. GGGrrrrrrrr On a positive note though I have started back into day trading stocks and hope to make a few extra bucks doing that. On the days I don't think to well I stay out of the markets. I had one brain fade day in January where I made a wrong purchase and it cost us thousands of dollars. It really shook my confidence in myself and my abilities but Ingrid was so good about it all and kept pushing me to get back into it. I feel much more confidant now and on my good days when I am thinking clearly I buy and sell and try and do research. I don't plan on getting rich but the trading keeps my mind active and allows me to keep a hand in the corporate world.

My latest blood tests showed a slight rise in my hemoglobin level but the elevation was small. It appears the blood production has slowed recently, which is a good thing. I have no idea if it was from the last round of chemo injections a couple months ago or if my bone marrow is just getting tired and worn out a bit. Still I am happy I don't have to have any phlebotomies performed in the next few weeks.

We leave Monday ( June 26th ) for a week long trip with the coach. We are heading across North Carolina to the Atlantic Ocean then up to Virginia Beach to stay at a resort for a few days. After that we are going to drive up to Richmond and spend the night and visit Natalia and Matt. We then  plan to head to Loth Mountain which is in the Shenandoah Valley. This area is breathtaking, quiet, remote and loaded with wildlife including Deer ( and yes Bear ). We then plan on going to Lindy and Kim's to see them and Ella before heading back home. Ingrid is waiting to hear from the hospital on a job and hopefully she will return to work on a temporary basis till we leave again this fall for the winter.

With the July 4th holiday just around the corner I am sure many of you have plans as well. Enjoy yourself, be safe and remember everything in moderation. My next update will come when we return from our trip.

Till then -  

Chris

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