by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 261, Year 7: One of Those Days
Date: Thursday, July 26, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Threatening Skies, No Rain
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It was just one of those days. We headed to shore early as the visiting
nurse would arrive at Heather’s at 9:30 am to remove Mark’s pump . . . for
the last time! Amy has been his visiting nurse and when she left she said
she hoped she would never have to see Mark again. We all laughed, but it
was one of those times when you do hope you don’t have to meet in the same
circumstances ever again. After Amy left, Mark and I decided to stay and
help Heather with the boys, but that might have been a mistake. Sam had a
banner bad day and I wonder if he would have been the same if there hadn’t
been an ‘audience.’ But we did stay and Sam did have a bad day, and because
of that and because of all the work-related things she had to do, Heather
had a bad day, and because of that Oliver wasn’t quite his jolly little self
either. Mark was feeling terrible, so that left Jonah and I to try and make
it through the day with a smile. Actually, Oliver was smiling, but he went
from smiles to cries in no time flat. Everyone was just a bit fragile.
We are still struggling with the car issue. In fact, we got a call this
morning that the car wouldn’t be ready for pick-up today because the rack
was the wrong size and they had to wait for another one. What rack? Mark
didn’t ask and we decided to wait until tomorrow to inquire, but it sure
sounds like they are replacing more than a pump in the power steering
system. Mark was assured that there will be no additional charges, which is
a good thing. But I can’t believe that we weren’t called and told that
something other than a pump needed to be replaced. As frustrating as it is,
we’ll probably end up paying the bill and getting the car back if they ever
get it put back together in working order. But I think this will be the
last repair on that car. We will start planning now for a replacement.
Tomorrow is another baby sitting day as Heather has to work all afternoon,
but we’ll have the morning to check on the car and just relax. Normally
tomorrow would be Mark’s low day, but he has been low since the chemo
session on Tuesday. I guess we’ll find out just how low he can go.
by Judy Handley | Jul 25, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 260, Year 7: Ford Taurus Blues
Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Weather: Rain Overnight, Mostly Sunny Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
The Ford Taurus has been in for repairs to the power steering system since
late last week. Finally this afternoon we were told that it will be ready
to pick up tomorrow, but the price tag attached to the pick-up is
astronomical. We bought the car for $1200, so hearing a repair price of
$1800 threw us for a bit of a spin. We own the car with Heather and Jed as
we thought we would be heading south for the winter when we bought it last
June and that they could take possession when we left. But more than a year
later we are still here, so we now need to sort through what to do with
Heather and Jed. We can either pay the price and hope that there are no
other repairs needed in the next year, or we could just not pick it up and
spend the $1800 on another car. Decisions, decisions.
Mark is having a harder time with this last chemo treatment than in the
past. He usually feels great until they take the pump off three days after
the infusion, but this time he started feeling really rough immediately. He
is just thankful that this is the last time he will have go through this.
He feels awful, has a very low energy level, and is nauseous. It sure
doesn’t sound like fun to me! But hopefully by this time next week, he will
feel good again and will be able to build from there.
Heather had multiple appointments this morning, so we went in at 9:45 am to
pick up Oliver and bring him back to Windbird. Mark went in at noon to pick
Heather up and bring her out to Windbird to nurse the baby and then Heather
and I took Oliver back to shore for Jed to take care of while she went back
to work and I went into town to pick up Sam and Jonah. We continued to
juggle throughout the afternoon, with Sam and Jonah napping on Windbird and
Oliver going back and forth between Oma and Mommy. It was a good day, but
the frustrations of figuring out whether or not to keep the Taurus dampened
the spirits a bit.
by Judy Handley | Jul 24, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 259, Year 7: Final Chemo Treatment
Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2012
Weather: Thunderstorms Early and Late, Partly Sunny During the Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Yippee! Hurrah! Hooray! Mark had his final chemo treatment today.
Unfortunately it is hitting him a little harder than usual, but he will
suffer through anything without complaint to leave these treatments behind
him. And he received a mid-day gift that really lifted his spirits.
Friends Lee and Lynda who live in Little River, South Carolina, sent him an
edible surprise. It was a fruit arrangement that looked very much like a
bouquet of flowers. It was delivered to Heather’s while we were there
babysitting. I’ve seen edible arrangements before, but I have never seen
one with what looked like little white pom poms. These were actually
bananas, strawberries, and oranges dipped in white chocolate and rolled in
coconut. Yummy!!! Thank you to Lee and Lynda. It was a very nice surprise
and made this special day festive.
Oliver had his four-month check-up today and with no surprise to us he is in
the 95th percentile for weight for babies his age. He is in the 50th
percentile for height, so average height but over the top for weight. He
got all sorts of shots today, but he was still his happy little self this
afternoon. Tomorrow morning we will keep Oliver aboard Windbird so Heather
can attend meetings. I’m not sure yet where we will spend the afternoon,
but probably back at Heather’s.
Our morning started with a bang at 6:15 am with a 30 minute thunderstorm
that neither Mark nor I could sleep through. We had another storm in the
late afternoon while still at Heather’s, but I think the stormy weather is
over for now. Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, so we’ll definitely
enjoy the day.
by Judy Handley | Jul 23, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 258, Year 7: He Made It
Date: Monday, July 23, 2012
Weather: Cloud Cover with Sun Shining Through
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Mark had the final blood test and visit with his oncologist this morning prior to his LAST chemo treatment tomorrow morning. Yeah!!! He was a bit disappointed with the results of the blood test today as his neutrophil count was down, but Dr. Crook wasn’t a bit disappointed. She walked in with a big smile saying, “You made it!” What she meant by this was that he was able to keep his blood counts in the normal range throughout the six months of treatment. Even though the critical neutrophil count was below the normal range this time, his total white cell count was still fine, so he can go ahead with the final treatment tomorrow. The low neutrophil count puts him at risk for infection, so he should stay away from crowds of people for the next couple of weeks. Once he makes it through the roller coaster ride of lows and then highs of these two weeks, the celebrations will begin. He will feel absolutely awful beginning on Thursday evening and will remain that way for the following four or five days. Then by mid-week next week, he will start feeling better, but this time he won’t have to be knocked down again. He will be under ‘surveillance’ for the next five years, but the hope is that if there were any cancer cells remaining in his body after his colectomy in January that the chemo treatments have wiped those out and that he is totally cancer-free. A super healthy diet and lots of exercise are the keys to recovery, so starting in August, we have to get our lazy selves out there exercising.
After the appointment with the oncologist, we headed back to Woods Hole so I could do my Monday walk with Oliver. Heather is on the air every Monday from 9:30 to 10:00 and Jed stays home with Oliver. Then he brings Oliver to Woods Hole and I take him in his stroller for a nice long walk while Heather continues to work. Today she decided to go home for the afternoon instead of staying in Woods Hole since internet access was on and off in the village today. So when it was time to go get Sam and Jonah, Mark and Heather, as well as Oliver, went with me. Heather got some more work done in the afternoon and Mark and I switched off entertaining or just holding a sleeping baby.
Our car is still in for repairs, so we are juggling cars with Heather and Jed. Schedules are crazy for tomorrow, but we think we have a plan worked out. Hopefully the Ford Taurus will be out of the shop tomorrow so we don’t have this daily issue of figuring out who needs to be where at what time and how they will get there.
Our thoughts are with Justin and Jo tonight. Tomorrow is Jo’s due date, but as far as we have heard that baby is staying put for now. We hoping for a smooth delivery. So hang in there, Jo. In just a few days we’ll have grandchild number five and Jo will feel a tad less inflated. And we’ll have the first baby girl grandchild.
by Judy Handley | Jul 22, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 257, Year 7: Sailing Sunday
Date: Sunday, July 22, 2012
Weather: Mostly Sunny with Winds from the SW
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
We did it. We finally got the headsail on, installed the wind indicator on
the top of the mast, and removed all of the spikey bird protection strips so
we could sail away. Mark and I got the headsail put on before the wind came
up and then when Heather, Jed, and boys arrived, Heather went up the mast
and did the rest. Once the work was done, we headed out of Eel Pond and
across Vineyard Sound to an anchorage off a beach near Edgartown on Martha’s
Vineyard. The boys played on the beach while the adults kicked back and
relaxed. I stayed on Windbird with a sleeping Oliver, but later in the
afternoon, I got my turn to head to shore. We had a great sail back and
when we got back to Eel Pond we had friends of Heather and Jed over for
sundowners. Louis and Julie have two little girls the ages of Sam and
Jonah, and even though they go to school together, you would have thought
that the dearest long lost friends were getting together. It was a perfect
fun-filled summer day.
by Judy Handley | Jul 21, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 256, Year 7: Ready or Not, Here We Go
Date: Saturday, July 21, 2012
Weather: Sunny with High Clouds
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
We’re going to go sailing tomorrow. I’ll explain more about how that came
about as I tell you about today, but suffice it to say that we both jumped
at Heather’s suggestion that we all go sailing tomorrow. Never mind that we
don’t have the headsail on, but we do have the main and the staysail and we
can sail with that configuration. Summer is slipping away so fast, so it is
time to get out there, ready or not.
I took Mark to work at West Marine this morning and then called Heather to
see what their plans were for today. I was trying to decide whether to go
to their house to work in the garden, but when she said they were headed to
Woods Hole for the Stellwagen Bank festivities and were planning to have a
picnic lunch in Woods Hole, I decided to offer to fix the lunch and meet
them onshore around 1 pm. Heather talked about coming out to the boat to
eat, but Jonah was adamant that we have a picnic, and I’m glad he did as it
was delightful. I took the lunch in and left the bags under a tree while I
walked to the aquarium to meet the gang. I love living where you can
actually leave things just sitting under a tree and be assured that no one
is going to bother them. I had thought we would eat under the shade of the
tree, but Sam really wanted to go to the Bell Tower garden which he and
Jonah call the secret garden. That sounded like a great idea, so we walked
there for our picnic. While there, Mark called and asked that I come pick
him up. He was feeling great, but there were more employees in West Marine
today than customers. And since he was not really scheduled to work, he
felt like he should volunteer to leave early. The manager, Sylvia, has been
so good to Mark and she just tells him to come to work on the weekends when
he feels like and not worry if he can’t make it. He checked the schedule
for tomorrow and decided that he will not go in as there are already ample
people scheduled. And that gave us a free day. That’s when Heather made
the suggestion to go sailing and now that is the plan. We have things that
must happen before we head out like having Heather climb the mast and put
the wind indicator up and then taking down the spikey bird protective strips
that we put up while at Fiddler’s Cove. It just wouldn’t be a good thing to
have one of our sails ripped by these strips. And if Mark and I can get
ourselves out of bed before the wind pipes up in the morning, we might get
the headsail put on. But if not, the staysail will just have to do. We
aren’t planning to go far tomorrow. We just want to get out there. We’ll
decide where we are going depending on the timing of the currents and the
direction of the wind.
When I went into town to pick Mark up from West Marine, we decided to go to
Heather and Jed’s so I could do some of the garden work. Then we ended up
staying for a dinner of take-out sushi-the perfect ending to any day!
