Eastward Ho
J’s on the final lap of radiation and other therapies this week, and we’re prepping to get back to our regular lifestyle. It’s slow going; the appointments in the middle of the day break up my working time. But the laundry is done and stuff in the RV is slowly getting picked up and put away for travel.
As part of the getting ready, I went to a hair salon and got a cut because my longish hair was getting in my face and driving me crazy; now I have another appointment at a different salon because that cut was… well, let’s just say I know my hair can be cut in a flattering style, and this isn’t it. One downside to the fulltime lifestyle: no regular hairdresser - you check reviews and hope for the best, and sometimes it doesn’t work out.
We drove up to Modesto on Wednesday to get the special sleeve and gauntlet for J’s left arm. That didn’t go too well either. No matter how many times we tell the medicos that we want to take care of things early because of our roving life, they ignore that information and treat J like someone who will be here in another month. Oh, we could get the fitting, but having the pieces mailed would be quite impossible. Once they arrived at the office we’d have to return for the test fitting before we could get our hands on them. This is the fourth or fifth time we’ve had to rework around other people’s plans for us; J has had enough of it, so we just walked out.
In this case, I’ve been paying careful attention to the daily wrapping of his arm to reduce swelling from lymphedema (even doing myself under the therapist’s supervision) and his therapist had some helpful suggestions for commercially available gloves in case he has to fly somewhere for work. So we’ll wrap as needed, get a pair of regular gloves, and work around the issue until we’re someplace where we’ll be staying for a while. Then we’ll have the time for both fittings and follow-ups. And we’ve learned our lesson; when doctors want to set up appointments, we need to be sure to ask how many they’ll need, and how long that will take.
My quilting and handy-work have slowed way down as I turn my attentions to making sure we’re ready to get back on the road, but I’m still doing a little sewing every night, and hoping to have time on our run to Baton Rouge to work in the afternoons on the TV install. We went to the hardware store earlier in the week and got most of the rest of the supplies needed for that project.
Our planned route (south and then east across the widest part of Texas) should take us nine drive days, and the hope is that we will be able to take at least one rest day between drive days. We haven’t made any reservations, though we’ve marked out campgrounds we’d like to stay at. That allows for weather and/or health delays; we won’t tow if there is ice on the roads, nor if J gets too tired or too sore from the jostling ride of the truck. This upcoming run is faster travel than our optimum, but if all goes well we should be able to get to Baton Rouge in time for Mardi Gras. And after that, we’ll be eastward bound with a more relaxed schedule.
As part of the getting ready, I went to a hair salon and got a cut because my longish hair was getting in my face and driving me crazy; now I have another appointment at a different salon because that cut was… well, let’s just say I know my hair can be cut in a flattering style, and this isn’t it. One downside to the fulltime lifestyle: no regular hairdresser - you check reviews and hope for the best, and sometimes it doesn’t work out.
We drove up to Modesto on Wednesday to get the special sleeve and gauntlet for J’s left arm. That didn’t go too well either. No matter how many times we tell the medicos that we want to take care of things early because of our roving life, they ignore that information and treat J like someone who will be here in another month. Oh, we could get the fitting, but having the pieces mailed would be quite impossible. Once they arrived at the office we’d have to return for the test fitting before we could get our hands on them. This is the fourth or fifth time we’ve had to rework around other people’s plans for us; J has had enough of it, so we just walked out.
In this case, I’ve been paying careful attention to the daily wrapping of his arm to reduce swelling from lymphedema (even doing myself under the therapist’s supervision) and his therapist had some helpful suggestions for commercially available gloves in case he has to fly somewhere for work. So we’ll wrap as needed, get a pair of regular gloves, and work around the issue until we’re someplace where we’ll be staying for a while. Then we’ll have the time for both fittings and follow-ups. And we’ve learned our lesson; when doctors want to set up appointments, we need to be sure to ask how many they’ll need, and how long that will take.
My quilting and handy-work have slowed way down as I turn my attentions to making sure we’re ready to get back on the road, but I’m still doing a little sewing every night, and hoping to have time on our run to Baton Rouge to work in the afternoons on the TV install. We went to the hardware store earlier in the week and got most of the rest of the supplies needed for that project.
Our planned route (south and then east across the widest part of Texas) should take us nine drive days, and the hope is that we will be able to take at least one rest day between drive days. We haven’t made any reservations, though we’ve marked out campgrounds we’d like to stay at. That allows for weather and/or health delays; we won’t tow if there is ice on the roads, nor if J gets too tired or too sore from the jostling ride of the truck. This upcoming run is faster travel than our optimum, but if all goes well we should be able to get to Baton Rouge in time for Mardi Gras. And after that, we’ll be eastward bound with a more relaxed schedule.