We're coming up on two years of full-time living in the HOW and our internal GPS is saying "Please make a u-turn as soon as possible."
We arrived back here in Illinois the day after all those devastating tornados tore through the North-Central part of the state. As we drove north up I-39, we saw all kinds of debris on the sides of the road. Even though is was a day after the storms, there was still a lot of gusty wind coming out of the West. Not only was the HOW getting blown all over the road, semi-trucks were too. We were almost sideswiped twice. We got back to Blackhawk Valley Campground and got all setup. Then we got ready to start workamping and for me, (Paul,) to undergo a plethora of medical tests and procedures.
The prep for the procedures was horrible as usual. The upper GI revealed five new esophageal varices that had to be banded. Not what we had hoped for. The hospital isn't using the same anesthesia they used to use, (the one Michael Jackson died from), and whatever it was they gave me (Paul) took a day and a half to recover from. I get to go back next week so they can look for any more that might have been hidden by the previous five. Happy Happy Joy Joy...
These varices are like the moles in that Whack a Mole game. Whack one down and another one pops up somewhere else. Eventually the esophagus gets scarred over and then no more can pop up. Of course then they can form in the stomach... The doctors hope that if they can get my Hep C under control, and I continue to loose weight, (68 pounds so far), that these and other related complications will settle down.
I also had a whole bunch of blood tests on different days, an ultrasound of my liver, (early detection for cancer) spleen and other assorted guts.
Then off to see the liver transplant specialist to initiate the process of having our Hepatitis C treated with some promising new drugs. The doctor asked us if we had any plans to stay in one place long enough for him to treat us. For Penny it'll be eight weeks, for Paul twenty four weeks. That was the clincher.
We're not looking for any "poor babies" or doin' that old fart listing of all our health woes, dem is just da facts Jack!
For almost two years Penny has been up nights worrying that another almost-get-dead episode, like the one in August 2013, will come up while we're on the road with no help nearby. She also worries because I work so hard, often injuring myself in the process. (When we were remodeling the dining area on the HOW, I hit my head on the table so hard that I still have a dent in my skull. Not too smart for a guy who doesn't have enough platelets to stop a cut from bleeding, much less a brain-bleed.) She's also a planner, and our adventures rarely go as planned.
I, on the other hand, see Penny spend her days trying to make wholesome food for us in our small kitchen and then having to clean up and wash dishes. The laundry is never finished. That sucks!
We both miss family, friends, and a church to call our own.
They say hindsight is 20 / 20, and in our case that is certainly true. When we look back over the last two years we see God working in our lives, steering circumstances to protect and provision us, and also to lead us. We're just to blind to see His obvious intervention when it's right in front of us. It's funny, when we pray for God to reveal His plan for us, we always tell him we need to get hit on the head with a 2X4 to "get it", but apparently that's not enough for our thick skulls. So He dropped this most recent bomb. This time we GOT IT!
All this to say, we're moving back to the Land of Lincoln, oppressive taxes and corrupt politicians; lovely and scenic Northern Illinois.
We'll still travel, we just won't be Full-Timers, but we'll become Any-Timers. We'll go when (like January and February) and where we want, but we'll take shorter trips and stay closer to medical assistance. We plan to continue to spend our summers here at Blackhawk Valley Campground because frankly, it has everything we could want or need for not only recreation, but for the well being of our souls. I mean, look at these pictures. What more could we ask for.
Home will be close enough to do laundry and cooking blitzes, and it's close to church, family and friends.
SO!
The next post will have a change of address to a new blog. It will be more photo and story centric so stay tuned and HANG ON!
