Little Road Trip

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 46 degrees, high 70 degrees, mostly clear skies

After the news we received from the doctor at UAB yesterday, you'll never guess what we did today. Well, maybe you'll guess if you know us at all.

We got out of bed at the usual time, had breakfast, and did some talking about what we were told yesterday. Talking about it is not off-limits to us, because what we're facing is life, in it's most basic form. But, that's not what I was talking about doing earlier.

We got in the truck and went on a road trip. Yep, that's right, a road trip. Being on the road makes us happy, and we felt we needed to do something that we like after all the stress we have been under. The trip was not as long as some we did when I was healthier, but it made us feel good again about the possibilities of life.

For some time, we've been wanting to go on the Natchez Trace again, and travel a part of it that we had never been on. The portion we drove on today was from near Summertown, Tennessee, to near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Getting there was most of the fun of the trip.

We left Elkmont and drove north to Pulaski, Tennessee, where we took US 64 west to Lawrenceburg. This little town has the most decentralized downtown we have ever seen. Almost all the town appears to straggle along US 43, running north and south.

We stopped in Lawrenceburg at McDonald's so I could get a fish sandwich, one of the few things that still tastes good to me. Along with unsweetend tea, that was lunch for me, and not too bad.

After lunch, we continued north on US 43, seeing several Amish horse and buggy teams along the way. No pictures, as we saw them too late. I have to admire these people for standing by their beliefs in this world of temptation. We eventually turned west and drove toward the Trace, eventually coming to what we thought was one of the highlights of the trip, Yoder's Store. This store is located in the middle of nowhere, and is run by a Mennonite family. Imagine our surprise to find that they had a large inventory of dried fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and home canned jellies and relishes, along with all types of other stuff that's hard to find. We bought several items, including a natural granola bar that was very tasty. I wish we had bought a half dozen. To top off the great place we found, the prices were what I would consider very reasonable.

Continuing on to the Trace, we entered the Trace at the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Area. Now, here's where we learned the history lesson for today. Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame) was traveling from Louisiana to Washington, DC, when he stopped for the night at this point on the Trace. That night, he was shot under mysterious circumstances and died the next day. He was buried in a cemetery near the Tavern, where the State of Tennessee erected a monument over his grave. Here's a picture of the monument where Lewis is buried.



And, here's a picture of the plaque detailing what happened.



After leaving the Meriwether site, we drove south on the Trace at the speed limit of 50 mph. This section of the Trace doesn't seem to have as much of interest as other sections we have driven, but the natural beauty and quiet of the road was enough to make us happy with it. One thing that did stand out was the beauty of the dogwood, red bud, and wild plum trees. Here's an example.



By the time we got to the Lewisburg exit, we were ready to head home. Our total drive on the Trace wasn't that long, but it helped us get rid of some wanderlust. I think you'll see us doing this more often as a way to fight the downer news that we sometimes get. We're tired tonight, but it's a good tired.

Hmmmm. I wonder what we can get in to tomorrow?

Today's Town - Lawrenceburg, Tennessee: The Home Of Southern Gospel Music

More later, be safe.

Not all who wander are lost.

Doctor's Appointment In Birmingham

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 35 degrees, high 65 degrees, clear skies, frost this morning

The day for the doctor's appointment in Birmingham finally arrived, and I was more than ready for it to happen. Judy and Roger had to go to the same general area for Roger to see his pulmonary specialist, so they invited us to go with them. What a help they were in finding the clinic we needed to go to! We would have been lost in all that hustle and bustle, but they knew exactly where we needed to go. Thank God we had their help. And the company on the ride there and back was good.

We arrived in Birmingham early enough that Judy asked that we all go the cafeteria for breakfast at the VA hospital. I had eaten before we left, but Carolyn ordered something, since she wasn't hungry before we left home. After eating, Judy took us to the Kirklin Clinic, which serves just about every specialty known to man, with about 500 doctors under one roof.

The place was bustling, but the staff seemed to be able to pull order out of the people, doing what I thought was a pretty good job of getting people to where they needed to be and served. My first stop was at the lab, where they pulled enough blood to keep Dracula happy for half a night or so. Next, I had an EKG performed, then moved to another area where I had the most complete echocardiogram performed that I have ever had.

After all that was finished, the results were interpreted by specialists on the spot. Then, I was called in to see my primary specialist, Dr. Bourge. I had heard many good things about him, and had seen his picture before, but was really impressed with the way he came in and introduced himself. Then, he dropped the bomb.

After meeting and greeting was out of the way, I was told I have a very bad disease. He explained where I was at in the progression of the disease, and it appears that some doctors may have missed an opportunity to diagnose the disease sooner. Like, 2-3 years ago, when it was just starting to grab me. I think it may be understandable that a diagnosis may have been missed, since this is such a rare disease. But, I'm still disappointed that I didn't have better results than what I did. Maybe I could have gotten treatment sooner and slowed down the progression of the disease. As I mentioned before, there is no cure, but in many cases it can be slowed with an increase in quality of life.

At this point, the disease has affected the electrical signals to my heart to such an extent that he recommended I have a pacemaker installed as soon as possible. Another option he offered was to do nothing, and my heart would stop pumping to the point that, as he said, I would drown. I agreed to the pacemaker, obviously, and the appointments are being set up for as soon as possible. Dr. Bourge thinks the pacemaker will help my quality of life, and relieve some of my symptoms. At this point, I'll be thankful for any help I can get. The pacemaker will be installed one day, I'll stay in the hospital overnight for observation, then go home the next day.

The pacemaker is not a cure-all for the disease I have, but if it can help me feel better, I'll be happy. The doctor did not give much hope for alternative treatment because of my age and the advanced stage of the disease. He did say he was the resident expert on the disease and keeps up on all the new treatments that arise, and he would call me if he heard of anything that might help. He also offered to help me with any second opinions that I might want to pursue. At this time, I haven't decided on second opinions, since I think it is important to have the pacemaker installed quickly.

The next question that comes up is how will this affect my daily life, and does this mean the end of RVing for us? Those questions remain to be answered, but we are hopeful that the pacemaker will give me the energy and strength to want to be out on the road at least part time. If the doctor advises against it, we'll face that when the time comes. In the meantime, the RV is in safe storage, waiting patiently for us.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Birmingham, Alabama: The Pittsburgh Of The South

Not all who wander are lost.

Ice Cream And Moche Frappe'

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low degrees, high degrees, clear skies, breezy, chilly

The weather today is a far cry from what we went through yesterday. The rain continued until about midnight, and it feels like winter around here again. Carolyn loves the cool weather.

My doctor's appointment for Thursday was moved to today, so that meant I had to go see the doctor who performed the biopsy on me last Thursday. He said everything looked good, and I didn't have to go see him any more. Okay, one doctor down, how many to go?

After leaving the doctor's office, we went to lunch at Mickey D's, primarily because I have found I can eat their fish filet sandwich. Along with unsweetened tea, it was food that tastes much like what I remember. As I have said before, most of the food that used to be my favorites no longer tastes good. It's great to find something that still allows my taste buds to operate like they should.

After lunch, we stopped at the WalMart Mall for a few things we needed. It's amazing how little we buy now that my eating choices are so restricted. I have to make sure Carolyn gets what she needs, since it's so difficult to cook for me.

On the way home, we stopped back at Mickey D's and got us a treat to have on the road. I had ice cream (I can still eat certain ones), and picked up a mocha frappe', for Carolyn, which she loves. I'm not a coffee drinker, but this frappe' doesn't taste bad. I might get myself one next time.

Tomorrow, we have to go to Birmingham for what we hope is the beginning of aggressive treatment for the disease that I have just been diagnosed with. I'm looking forward to getting started, but we have backup plans in case we don't like what we see or hear.

I like college basketball, but I think the national collegiate championship last night between Connecticut and Butler was one of the worse college games I have seen. And, to have it be the championship game with the amount of ineptitude that was shown last night is even worse. The coaches did an awful job of preparing their players to play the most important game of their lives.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Blakely, Georgia: Peanut Proud!

Not all who wander are lost.

Diagnosis Confirmed

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 56 degrees, high 63 degrees, heavy rain, thunder, lightning, wind, hail, tornado watches.......

What a weather day this was! At it's heaviest, the rain resembled some of the torrential downpours we came to associate with Texas. Add in the wind, thunder, lightning, hail, and tornado watches, and it made for a rather interesting day. This is the type of weather that Carolyn can't stand, so it was not a good day for her. Fortunately, tomorrow should be much better. Cooler, but no bad weather in the forecast.

My brother Keith and his boys left this morning, bound for parts unknown. That means when they left, they had not decided where they would go from here. I talked to him in the afternoon, and they had decided to go to Florida to visit family down there. I gave him some directions on a shorter route to where they want to go, so hopefully it will help save them a few miles of driving.

I had a lab appointment this morning to take care of. Carolyn was busy cleaning after the weekend, so she stayed at home. While I was at the hospital giving my blood samples, I decided to go by my doctor's office to see if they had the results of the biopsy that was performed on me last Thursday. The results were in, and were as we expected. In other words, the biopsy confirmed what my doctor said he was 99% certain was what I have that's making me so sick. The news is not good, but we don't know the full ramifications of what all this means to us at this time. I should be able to find that out when I go to see a specialist at the University of Alabama in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Repeating what I said in a previous post, the disease affects about 2,000 people in this country each year. Basically, it is a disease of the bone marrow, where too much of a protein is produced by the bone marrow. Normally, the excess protein is absorbed by the body, but with so much being produced, the body is overwhelmed, and the excess protein begins attacking different organs in the body. In my case, we know that the excess protein has attacked my heart, and may have attacked other organs. All that is still to be determined. Because the disease is rare, there's not a lot of research that's been performed in an effort to conquer it because the resources are being spent on diseases that offer a higher payback. That's unfortunate, but the way it is. Some treatment options are available, and you can bet that I will be doing everything I can to get the best treatment possible. I have people who love me and need me around, so I have no plans to check out any time soon.

Regardless of the treatment options we choose, we know that at least the near future will be devoted to finding the right doctors and the right treatment plans to give me the best chance possible in this fight. That probably means no RVing for at least the near future. Longer term, we don't know what it means, but at this time, it's important to get treatment started in an aggressive manner.

I have not listed what the disease is that I was diagnosed with for the purpose of maintaining some semblance of privacy over the Internet. I think we all know what I mean, with kooks and spammers out there that are looking for any way to get in to our systems. If anyone might be having similar medical problems and would like to know more that might help them, leave me a comment on the blog and I will respond to your personal e-mail address or telephone number. If you ask, your comment will not be published, and under no circumstances will I publish e-mail addresses or telephone numbers.

What does all this mean for the blog? At this time, I intend to continue writing the blog every day. I realize there may be times that I don't feel like it, or may not have access to a computer, but I get a lot of pleasure out of the blog. It has developed in to a little diary for us that we can use to go back and see what was happening in our lives. Like, 14 months ago, we were in Big Bend National park, enjoying the majestic beauty of a place that we never dreamed could exist in Texas.

On a better note, I ate better today than I have in several weeks. For some reason, all the experimenting to find food that tastes half-way palatable paid off today, and I feel fairly decent tonight. Now, to keep building on that little success.....

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Cincinnati, Ohio: Porkolopis

Not all who wander are lost.

Family Meal

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 37 degrees, high 77 degrees, clear skies, breezy - nice day

The company slept in this morning until about 0900 hours. They were tired from their long drive from Hope, Arkansas, to here yesterday. After they were up and had breakfast (breakfast wraps), we spent the morning sitting and talking about what's happening in each of our worlds, as well as cussed and discussed the state of political and other affairs in this country. A good visit with family that I wish could happen more often.

At lunchtime, we went in to a local hamburger place (where else?). I couldn't eat a hamburger, but was able to get the fish sandwich down. On the way home, we stopped at Publix and picked up all the fixings for homemade hamburgers as a family get together with Keith and his sons, as well as Judy and her family.

Have you ever noticed that family get togethers of any size are nice, but the more people there are, the better? Let's see, if we were able to get everyone together one more time, that would be about..... 70 people. Wow, that would be a good gathering. I wonder what it would take to make that happen?

This next week is going to be a busy one for us, as I have lab appointments tomorrow, as well as hope to hear from my doctor what the results were from the biopsy last Thursday. Then, I go to Birmingham on Wednesday to have at least three more tests performed, then see a specialist from UAB about my issues. On Thursday, I go to see the surgeon that did the biopsy so he can remove the stitches from my stomach. That's what scheduled now. Who knows what else will turn up. I hope Carolyn and I can find some time to get out for at least a short road trip of some type, just for pleasure.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Las Vegas, Nevada: Glitter Gulch

Not all who wander are lost.

Keith And Sons Arrive

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 38 degrees, high 65 degrees, clear skies, breezy

The weather today was glorious, even if the wind was a little brisk. Tomorrow is supposed to be even better. Maybe the cold weather has finally broken. At least until Blackberry Winter arrives.

I slept the best last night that I have in a couple of months. I was only up once last night, and then for only a little over an hour before I was able to go back to bed. I hope I can repeat that tonight.

The nice weather seemed to boost my spirits, as I felt the best that I have in several days. It may have been partly due to my brother Keith and two of his sons coming to visit from Hope, Arkansas, that helped me feel better, but I can stand more of it.

Keith and sons arrived in the middle of the afternoon, and we spent the time until supper catching up on what's been happening withe all of us. At suppertime, we went to El Olmeca Mexican Restaurant in Ardmore, and everyone said the food was good. I suppose it was, since everything tasted off to me. I ate enough that Carolyn didn't fuss at me, so I guess I did okay.

After supper, we all went to my sister Judy and her husband Roger's house for a visit. As always, that was a great visit, and I think Keith enjoyed it. There will be more visiting back and forth before Keith leaves.

All in all, it was a good day. Great weather, and I saw family. I love it!

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hope, Arkansas: Birthplace of President Bill Clinton

Not all who wander are lost.

Sleeping

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 40 degrees, high 50 degrees mostly cloudy skies, but the sun did peek out in the late afternoon

One side benefit of the drugs I received at the hospital yesterday was that I slept a good part of the night last night, and Carolyn says I slept about half of the day today. I'm not sure how much I slept, but I do know that I felt sleepy all day, and it was easy to fall asleep.

When the biopsy was taken from my stomach fat, the doctor made an incision about six inches long to be able to get the samples he needed. As a result, I'm suffering from a lot of soreness, but so far, it's not been bad enough to take pain killers. I'm sure the soreness will get better in the next few days.

Since I was under the weather (again), we stayed at home, where Carolyn took the opportunity to do a lot of research on genealogy. She concentrated on my family, with a little help from me when I was awake. She has found records all the way back to 1813 on my maternal grandfather's side. She found records dating to 1781 on my maternal grandmother's side. Previously, she has found records dating to the 1200s on her father's side, and back to the 1500s on her mother's side. The hard area to find information remains on my father's side. We're hoping for a breakthrough, eventually. We don't like to think we will have to do it, but we may have to seek help from a professional on my father's side.

Our niece Traci came over for a visit this afternoon, and brought some rare old plants with her that she had found in a secret location. Carolyn loves that sort of thing, so she spent some time looking them up on the Internet. These are probably not the sort of plants that would do well in a typical yard setting, but it's still nice to know that some of the old stuff is still out there, tucked away in hidden places.

My baby brother Keith is supposed to visit tomorrow with two of his sons. I hope that I feel better so I can be a good host. In fact, I'll be a good host, whether I feel good or not. I enjoy being with family, and am looking forward to seeing them. They are on a man trip, and I don't really know what their destination is. It's great they are coming this way.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee: Once Known As The Phosphate Capital OF The World

Not all who wander are lost.