Day 79, Year 7: Appointments and Reservations Finalized
Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Weather: Sunny AM, Cloudy PM, Rainy Evening, Temps in the 30’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Much of today was spent finalizing plans for our trip to the Carolinas to
see my sister-in-law. This required coordination between family members,
the resetting of one medical appointment and the scheduling others. We were
on the phone a great deal, but in the end all was successful. Again with
the help of the most cooperative physicians and medical assistants
imaginable, all of Mark’s appointments have been arranged and his oncologist
appointment here on the Cape rescheduled. We are constantly amazed at the
Mass General physicians and assistants who go out of their way to
accommodate our schedule and the efficiency with which they do that. Mark
knew he needed to go to Mass General in Boston on either Monday or Tuesday
of next week to meet with his urologist and sign the consent forms for that
upcoming surgery. Once that appointment was set for Monday, Dr. Kwak, his
oncologist at Mass General, became aware of this and arranged for his C-T
scan and a genetic cancer test to be done on Monday as well. She is also
trying to arrange to have the port necessary for chemotherapy to be
“installed” at the same time as his upcoming surgery. And add to that the
fact that she talked to him personally three times this afternoon. We have
tried for months to get our primary care physician here on the Cape to call
us with no luck. So once again Mass General gets a huge round of approval
from us for their caring, efficient service.
And then there is the amazing fact that both Mark and I can fly to the
Carolinas and back for less than $200, with both flights being non-stop.
Unbelievable. I don’t know how or why Spirit Airline has these cheap
flights to a few designated cities, but since Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
and Fort Myers, Florida are two of the places, we like it. My sister lives
near Myrtle Beach and Mark’s brother and two sisters live near Fort Myers.
So if we watch carefully when we fly, we can actually afford to fly to visit
family more often. Two of my nieces that live in Massachusetts are going to
be flying with Mark and me on this upcoming trip. We will fly to Myrtle
Beach on Saturday, February 4 and spend that day and night with my sister
Patsy and her husband Joe. We hope to see our friends Lee and Lynda Kaufman
while there. They just bought their second sailboat and we can’t wait to see
it. Wade and Nora Hickam also live near my sister and we always look
forward to seeing them when we are there. Wade was a very close friend of
my brother’s. So Wade, if you are reading this log, try to fit us into your
schedule. It will be a jam-packed Saturday, but one we look forward to, and
then on Sunday, Patsy and Joe will loan us their van and we will drive the
four hours to Charlotte to my nephew Tommy’s home to spend a few days with
my sister-in-law Conda. February is not even here yet, but with the trip to
the Carolinas and all of the medical appointments, I think it will be over
before we know it.
Things are falling into place and we are looking forward to the short trip
south.
