by Judy Handley | Jun 5, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 227, Year 9: Successful Surgery
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014
Weather: Overcast with Rain All Day
Location: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
It has been a long day, but I have great news to report. Mark’s surgery was a success—the doctor used the new nanoknife procedure around the perimeter of the cancerous mass and then removed it, as well as five more inches of colon. The possibility of having to cut into the colon next to the mass had been mentioned, but not removing a five inch segment. This sounds huge to me, but the doctors assure us that Mark still has plenty of colon left. This unexpected part of the surgery was necessitated due to the location of the blood vessels that were involved with the mass. Dr. Ferrone explained that she had to ‘dissect’ the mass from the vessels. If the blood vessels were in any way damaged that piece of colon would not get the blood supply it needs, so best to take it out. The doctor said it was a tedious surgery due to the location of the mass but other-wise she classified it as a success. The fact that she was able to remove the cancerous mass is the best news that we could hear, so we are elated. They did not do any radiation as planned, but markers were inserted so they can radiate with complete accuracy if that would be necessary later.
Mark went into the operating room at 10:05 am and was sent to the recovery room at 3:45 pm. The surgery took about five hours. It was 5:45 pm before they let me see him and he was awake and feeling fine. Just after I arrived he started feeling a bit nauseous (Is he trying to tell me something?!!) but seems to be fine now. Hospital rules have changed and they will not let me spend the night with him, but his room is located right across from the nurse’s station so he can yell at them if they don’t answer the buzzer! Just kidding. But it is reassuring to be so close to help if it were needed. Right now Mark is sleeping peacefully, so I’m going to leave and drive across the river to Cambridge to spend the night with Sue and John Reed (Jed’s aunt and uncle).
I want to extend a huge thank you to all who sent messages of support. It means so much to know that friends and family are there to support you. Thanks to Sue and John for letting me stay with them. And a huge thank you to my very good friend Linda Stuart who drove down from New Hampshire to spend the day with me. She and her husband Mike are retiring early to become full-time bicycle tourists. So we had plenty to talk about today while waiting for the results of Mark’s surgery.
by Judy Handley | Jun 4, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 226, Year 9: Tomorrow’s the BIG Day
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Weather: Rainy, Overcast with Fog Near the Water
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Tomorrow’s the BIG day. We head to Boston at 5 am. Mark is mentally and physically ready for surgery. His positive attitude is amazing to me. And I know it helps him to know that so many people are cheering him on. He has talked to his brother and sisters and my sister and has received emails of support from so many of you. It means so much. So thank you for taking the time to let us know you are thinking of us. I will be sending out an email to family and friends as soon as I know the results of tomorrows’ surgery and will keep you posted on Mark’s recovery through this log. So stay tuned.
We had a wonderful dinner at Heather and Jed’s this evening and then headed back to Windbird. It rained hard early this morning and was then overcast during the day. But this evening as we headed out to Windbird, it was misty and foggy. As we slowly motored through the harbor, I felt a bit like I was on a movie set. The sound of the distant fog horn added to the drama of the mist and fog. It was really beautiful.
by Judy Handley | Jun 3, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 225, Year 9: Getting Ready to Leave Windbird for a Bit
Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Weather: Sunny and Warm, High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Don’t you just hate it when you find yourself doing the things your mother always did that irritated you so very much when you were younger? I do. But increasingly I find myself doing these things. Today Mark and I spent our time at Heather and Jed’s taking care of Ollie and at the same time, getting ready to leave Windbird for a bit. Filling the water tanks yesterday was one of those jobs. Today’s job was washing sheets and towels, mattress cover and duvet cover. Just in case someone comes to visit while we are away in Boston, I want to make sure everything is clean. My mother always irritated my dad by delaying family trips by hours because she had to clean just one more thing. My mother died seventeen years ago, but she is here with us every day insisting on these insane cleaning practices!
We have decided to stay here on the boat tomorrow night and get up and leave for Boston at 5 am on Thursday morning. Mark’s check-in time at Mass General is 7 am, so it will be an early morning. I won’t be back here for at least 5 days and Mark won’t be back for almost 2 weeks, so tomorrow night we will be packing and checking the list twice. It is so wonderful that we have family and friends that will welcome us into their homes while we are in Boston, but I have to admit that it is hard to have to stay away from home for so long. I’m sure the time will pass quickly and we’ll really enjoy visiting with friends, but I’ll look forward to our eventual return to Windbird in a couple of weeks. There’s no place like home.
by Judy Handley | Jun 2, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 224, Year 9: Water, Water . . .
Date: Monday, June 2, 2014
Weather: Sunny and Warm, High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Water, water . . . so precious. According to the EPA, the average American family uses 300 gallons of water per day. By being super water conscience here on Windbird, we use only half that much water in a whole month. To be fair, there are only two of us, we don’t use ‘boat’ water for washing our clothes, and we use sea water for flushing our toilets. But still the comparison is stark. I use 3 gallons of water for a shower when I wash my hair and Mark averages 1.5 to 2 gallons of water for a shower. The average American with the ‘best of the best’ water saving shower head uses 1.5 gallons a minute when taking a shower! So we are super saving on the water use issue. When you are out here on a mooring with no ready supply of water, and when your watermaker is not working, water becomes quite precious. We have two 70-gallon water tanks and with careful water usage, we can go for a month without having to fill-up. But we have been here three weeks now and we switched to the second tank a few days ago. So it was definitely time to take action. Mark didn’t have to be at work until 11 am, so we got up, ate breakfast, had showers, and then released from the mooring and drove into the inner harbor to the Quissett Boat Yard dock to fill up with water and to wash down the boat. We are in the midst of the spring pollen season and everything on deck was quite yellow. The wash down did wonders. But a trip to the dock is always nerve wracking. I love this boat, partly because she feels indestructible like a tank. But that is the reason she is so hard to handle in tight spaces. She is HEAVY and steering in tight quarters is just hard. We came up to the dock just fine but then the wind blew us against the dock and we put a ‘little’ nick in one of the posts with our anchor. Everything was fine except for me. I was on the bow trying to fend us off, but just couldn’t fight the wind. When we finally tied up, my knees were shaking from the stress of little encounter with the dock. Sailing around the world is easy compared bringing Windbird to a dock for any reason. But now the water tanks are full and we shouldn’t have to brave this event for another month . . . and maybe not then if we can get the water maker working. This is one of the reasons why I love living aboard Windbird. It helps me feel like I am doing my part to save the resources of Planet Earth.
by Judy Handley | Jun 1, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 223, Year 9: Finally . . . A Day That Felt Like Summer
Date: Sunday, June 1, 2014
Weather: Sunny and Very Warm, High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Finally . . . we had a day that felt like summer. So June is off to a good start. Mark worked at West Marine today and I spent the entire day at Heather and Jed’s working in the garden. We did some replanting of early crops that didn’t germinate evenly and planted cucumber, squash, and bean seeds. It doesn’t sound like much, but it took all day. Mark worked until 5 pm so we were back on Windbird by 5:30 and got to enjoy some of today’s warmth and sunshine by just sitting in the cockpit and staring at the horizon. It was glorious!
Tomorrow morning we will attempt to motor Windbird into the dock in the inner harbor to fill up our water tanks. We’re trying to get jobs like done before Mark heads to Boston on Thursday morning for surgery. I don’t want him to have to worry with things like this when he first returns.
by Judy Handley | May 31, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 222, Year 9: Last Day of May
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Winds from NE, Feels Cold Out Here
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
It might be the last day of May, but it felt more like the last day of March on Windbird. The wind was blowing from NE and even though the weather report tells me it was in the 60’s today, it was cold out here on the water. But despite the wind and the cold, Heather, Jed, and boys came out to do a little fishing. We all met at West Marine to get a little advice on what type of lures to use to catch whatever is out there this time of year. We got out to Windbird and started fishing, but it didn’t take long for everyone to agree that it was just too cold to stand out on the deck to fish. So the boys got comfortable in the enclosed cockpit and threw their lines out from there. No luck, just fun. We had lunch while fishing and then Sam, Jonah, Jed, Mark and I headed to shore while Heather stayed on the boat with a napping Oliver. We took the dinghy to the dock on the yacht club side of the harbor and the boys delighted in the fact that the Ctenophores (teen-a-fors), commonly known as comb jellies) are back. These jellies are harmless and can provides hours of entertainment for children. After catching and ‘petting’ Ctenophores, we walked out to the Knob on the easy high path and came back by walking along the water. It was a fun, relaxed day.
After Heather, Jed and boys headed home, Mark worked on the watermaker. He rebuilt the pump this morning and then installed it this afternoon. It is still not working and Mark doesn’t know why. As he says, “I have my suspicions.” He thinks one of the valves is not seating right, but he will have to continue work on this on Tuesday as he works at West Marine tomorrow and Monday. I will spend tomorrow at Heather and Jed’s to help with gardening. The calendar tells us it is time to plant the warm weather crops, although warm weather seems to be eluding us.
