2010-12-20
The following are entries that have been on hold for nefarious reason until after our arrival in Texas.
2010-12-06
Follow up (F. U.) visit # 1
I scheduled the first f.u. visit for Tuesday 2010-12-07 to allow us to get to Texas before Christmas. Travel insurance broker extraordinaire Barry Guttormson (http://www.execfamily.ca/) conjured up suitable / reasonable travel insurance that will kick in 2010-12-15.
Weather permitting we will arrive in Sun Valley Village Dec 18th for mother-in-law Glenda’s birthday…. it’s a secret so “Mum’s” the word …. In fact I won’t post any of this until after we arrive in S.V.V. to try and trick them.
It’ll be a surprise if we can pull it off …. as initially it appeared that we may not get away at all this winter, or at best not until mid January or February. This is due to my recent medical treatment and travel insurance company policies. I’ve been telling the folks down south that I’m hopeful we will be there by mid –January. This is not fibbing just …. withholding.
Anyhow …. back to Monday 2010-12-06 .... I was up at 3 a.m. and we still didn’t pull out of Oaks North until 5:15 a.m.. We picked up (chauffeur) Dori at 5:30 and got to the airport by 6. Ya gotta like West Jet; they sure do a good job. With all the checking, searching, patting and groping we only had a 10 min wait before boarding. Bonus …. got bulkhead seating ….. more legroom and easier to get in / out of the seat.
Calgary was a whirlwind …. Pam told me when I went in for a potty break that we had lots of time before our flight. When I returned all of a sudden we were in “PaMic mode” to get on the plane. I ended up leaving the security line with just my boarding pass, wheeled to the gate, got carried onto the plane by several women (as I should be )…. it’s the wheelchair ….. it’s a chick magnet …. while everyone already on the plane was no doubt thinking …. “Watta a stud” …. (hey don’t scoff …. in my little world everyone knows me and likes me.)
After I was seated and squared away (bulkhead again …. yay) Pam finally showed up with a West Jet attendant helping her carry our bags, my shoes, fleece shirt, etc, that I had to leave behind when I bolted after the security pat down / fondling area.
We are over Carson City now – home of the Ponderosa, halfway to San Diego …. to be continued.
All went well on our arrival and we got to Sanoviv by 14:30 and they even held a lunch for us. The tiller on my chair was knocked off again during baggage handling and the Sanoviv McGuyver guy had to “fix” it again.
After lunch I met with one of the Sanoviv MD’s who took a medical history, then I’m off for some wrist treatments, and an I.V. Chelation treatment to assist removing accumulated deposits (metal, rotten peanut butter, s__t , etc, in my head) due to poor drainage re: my blocked jugular.
On Tuesday 2010-12-07-09:00 I met with both Dr Meza who also acted as interpreter for the Spanish only speaking Hospital Angeles Neurologist who did another case history and clinical exam. They felt all was good as far as the jugular and blood flow was concerned. They assured me that because of the healing process and the (bladder) infection I would have ups and downs in how I feel. I was advised not to be alarmed by any perceived negative changes. This was very reassuring because I had been going thru some sky is falling days when things weren’t seeming to be working as great as the day before.
We caught some rays, watched the waves and enjoyed the Sanoviv atmosphere in the afternoon. Visited with some other guests, some Usana Associates, also some Winnipegers there for their CCSVI follow up, and some of the staff.
The Doppler Ultrasound test was at 15:30 and my anxiety was unwarranted as the flow was deemed normal … so …. I’m insurable to travel and can leave for Texas Dec 15th.
I was up early Wednesday 2010-12-08 for a 5 a.m. Chelation treatment and the nurse hooked me up to the I.V. in our room. I got some more ZZZ’s in my own bed until it was finished at 7:20.
We met with Dr Meza at 08:00 to review my status and left for the border at 08:30. Apparently the border is very busy re: Xmas shoppers going into the U.S.. As a result we had a 3 hour wait to get across …. a month ago it took us 20 minutes …. go figure .... so we missed our flight and the next West Jet flight out was Friday.
It was cost less to stay 2 nights in San Diego and rebook for Friday’s flight so that’s what we did.
We had a free day on Thursday 2010-12-09, walked the bay area, saw lots of boat action, helepopters, navy vessels, the aircraft carrier Midway and lots of navy memorabilia. It was sunny and warm …. very enjoyable.
We were up early Friday 2010-12-10 to make calls back to Wpg rescheduling appointments missed on Thurs and Fri. We made it to the airport 3 hours early and met up with several folks who had come down for the liberation procedure and had been on Monday’s flights. It was like old home week comparing experiences. One couple from Calgary was not pleased with their stay at Hospital Angeles.
The flight home was uneventful ‘cept for the excellent pre-loaded vids I played on the net book …. 4 Craig Ferguson shows in a row …. I kno-o-o-w …. how gr-r-eat was that. We got to Oakeybank by midnight and to bed by 2 A.M..
2010-12-11
We had our girls and Nana over for a birthday / xmas combo dinner re: Dori and Keith's b.d.'s. Lots of food, laughs and tears as we were leaving after probably staying. What selfish parents we are to abandon them at this time of year .... we both feel a little guilty.
2010-12-13
Packing and and prepping for our trip south.
2010-12-14
I took my wheelchair in for maintenance in the morning, arranged for our autopac renewals to be forwarded, got some U.S. cash, stopped in for a visit with Dr. Wiebe re: continued bladder infection monitoring, and ran out of time to make all our stops.
I was up late unhooking / packing our electronic equipment for taking south and Pam was up til the wee hours getting ready.
2010-12-15
We had some last minute business to attend to and didn’t get away from Oakbank til 09:30 but made good time to Emerson.
We stopped at Canada customs to declare new items we were taking down and will be bringing back with us. The agent wanted to see them so all these items had to be lugged in, opened, inspected, documented, repacked, lugged out and on our way in 30 minutes to the run the U.S. border gauntlet.
No problemo. The agent noticed Cat on Pam’s lap, said he likes cats and have a nice trip …. go figure …. using Pam’s pussy for at quickie at the border!!!!???.
It snowed off and on from Fargo South to Omaha. Traffic was slow, vehicles in the ditch, accidents, poor visibility at times …. made for a 10:30 pm arrival in Omaha. This was our first real use of Garmi the GPS, and it led us directly to the La Quinta …. excellent …. thanks Andi and Keith, what a wonderful present.
2010-12-16
We didn’t get away till 11:00 but left Omaha and the snow behind. With good following wind we sailed across Nebraska, Kansas and ½ of Oklahoma to Oklahoma City …. made the La Q by 19:00.
2010-12-17
On the road by 08:00 and into Victoria Tx by 17:00. We took scenic, quaint, enjoyable, and slow Hwy 77.
2010-12-18
Away by 07:20 and really “moving” this morning as Pam drives. Our e.t.a. is 11:00 and we are giggling at our anticipated surprise. The joke will be on us if there is now reaction as in …. “Oh hi. It's about time you got here."
The La Quinta’s have been very clean, well appointed and reasonably priced …. we are staying there re: having Cat with us and la Quinta allows pets, even cats.
We arrived in Harlingen at 11:30, washed an inch of road grime off the van and trailer, and knocked on the G’s door after noon.
Both Glen and Glenda were flabbergasted, glad to see us, and chastised us for tricking them. It was a real good gotcha.
When we pulled up to Buhr Park Place, cousin Lynda was just walking her dog Polar nearby.
When I rolled down the window and called to her she too was totally shocked to see us. It was way worth the trip to surprise them. Lyn thankfully had the presence of mine to drop her goodie bag of Polar poo before we hugged.
Next up was Lorenzo and family who came out to greet us. Though I had alerted Lorenzo that we would be arriving in mid-December (so he would have the work done we had contracted with him to complete over the summer) he had kept it secret from everyone else including his wife and kids. His wife Fabbi was happy to tears and the kids were jumping …. but all the work isn’t finished. The tile and laminate flooring is down but there is lots of finishing to do plus other jobs on the “to do” list we left in April. It appears to have become a “manana” list …. oh well it will be a today to do list now that the Pamatollah is on the scene.
I went and visited neighbours while Pam went for provisions. All in all jt was a successful trip and trick.
Until the next installment …. take care.
luego
el gordo
