Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The last morning of the month, of the year, of the decade.

Peace.

Monday, December 30, 2019 Time for reflection

As the year and the decade draw to a close, 'tis the season for reflection.

I love finding reflections almost as much as I like finding waves crashing over rocks.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

The clouds this time of year are so amazing! Christmas Eve after the hurricane I was driving to be with our friends Carole and Rolf and I saw this:

I thought, "We may not have electricity or Christmas lights. But we have this!"

Friday, December 27, 2019

Elaine, Maggie, Annie, and Ben

We had an amazing wonderful Christmas Day - visiting hospitals!

First, we took Christmas dinner - turkey done Puerto Rican style, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and home-made cranberry sauce - for Ben and his sisters Annie and Maggie. Ben was in a great mood and ate more than I've seen him eat in months!

Then we went to the Veteran's Hospital to see our friend Chris and his wife Isabel.

Both visits were fun with lots of laughter and joy and love - just what Christmas Day should have.

Boxing Day (yesterday) was quiet, cool and rainy all day so we really didn't do much. I planned a day-after-Christmas scuba dive but the rains washed that out. I know, I'm going to get wet anyway so what difference does a little rain make? Actually, diving in the rain is kinda fun. It's fun to roll over and watch the raindrops hit the water from underneath. In this case though, it was enough rain to mess up visibility.

Today was pretty quiet too. That's not all bad.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019 Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays - whatever holidays you celebrate! May this season and the coming new year be full of joy, love, and wonder for you and yours.

It's a quiet Christmas morning here. Ranch chores with dogs and horses this morning, then we're off to San Juan and the hospital to take Christmas dinner to Ben and his sisters Annie and Maggie.

It has been an odd Christmas season for me. I've felt very disconnected from just about everything. Since August, so much has been focused on Ben and his needs and treatments. While I'm incredibly grateful his sisters are here for him and taking over much of the care, I fell a little displaced. There has been so little time and energy for other people and activities. I'm not blaming it all on Ben situation. Part of my disconnect is a product of our new lives away from Ola Lola's. People I used to see regularly I don't see or talk to hardly at all. Others have left the island completely. It's hard and I'm struggling with it.

Enough of that. It is a season of joy and celebration! Let's celebrate and be grateful for all the goodness we have.

Thanks for reading this. I will try to be more regular with my posts.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

December dawn

Mornings have been clear and comfortably cool. I love getting to the beach early to see what Mother Nature gives us to start the day.

Friday, December 6, 2019

On a golden beach. Sunrise on Baño de la Princessa, one of the beaches Coda and I walk a lot.

Elaine, Carole, and I went snorkeling yesterday. We did see lots of fish but visibility is still pretty bad. So, no pictures.

Medical updates: Ben is back in the hospital. His cancer is spreading and not responding to treatment the way his doctors and medical team hoped. They are "starting over" running all new scans, tests, and getting new biopsies, literally looking at everything. From this should come a new, more aggressive treatment protocol.

Our friend Chris is out of ICU. He has started physical therapy and is standing for short periods. His mind is ready to get out of the hospital and start moving on. Unfortunately, his body isn't quite there yet. Horses of Hope/Caballos de Esperanza, Elaine's therapeutic riding center, just got a grant for a year of equine-assisted therapy for Chris. At the same time, he will be paid as a consultant to help develop and improve the therapy so we can better serve other people - especially veterans - with disabilities.

Waiting now for the latest set of waves to subside so we can get back in the water.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Reflection. It's that time of year. Thanksgiving - a time to reflect on just how fortunate we are, how much we have to be grateful for. I am grateful we have at least one day set aside to be grateful. I try to be live with gratitude every day, not just one day a year

"Gratitude is an attitude. Gratitude is a choice. And gratitude is a habit."

"Gratitude is perhaps the most important key to finding success and happiness in the modern day. Knowing what we appreciate in life means knowing who we are, what matters to us and what makes each day worthwhile."

My list of people and "things" I am grateful for is huge - and ever-expanding. I put "things" in quotes because, with a few exceptions, what I am grateful for is not things, not stuff. People, beings, attitudes, intentions, actions are way more important than things.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by people you love and care about. Take a moment now and be grateful for that.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Hello, December.

Good-bye, hurricane season!

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

I had not been in the water since mid-September! No wonder my nerves are jangled! Last week I got in three times in four days.

First, I snorkeled at Crashboat. I've known for a long time there was a sunken sugar barge somewhere in the area but I didn't know exactly where it was. How could I not know?!? Part of it actually sticks up above the surface.

It looks like jagged dragon's teeth. In fairness (to myself at least) the sticky-up parts blend in with the rocks around it, especially from a distance.

The wreck is bigger than I expected it to be. It is right up against the shore in very shallow water. All wrecks have some inherent dangers. The biggest issue with the barge is waves and surge knocking you into something you'd rather not bang into.

On Saturday I took Paola (one of our Horses of Hope volunteers) to Wishing Well. Shed had a tough week and (like me) needed a little Vitamin Sea therapy. It was only her third time snorkeling and we saw a turtle. She loved it! I'm guessing she'll be back.

On Sunday Carole and her niece Caroline and I tried to snorkel at Playa Borinquen. Well, we did snorkel, just not for very long. The in and out were a little sketchy and visibility was pretty bad so we cut the swim short. But we did see a turtle!

 Waves are back up so it will be a few days before we can get back in the water.


Update on our friend Chris: He is now awake and talking (as best he can). He is off the ventilator. He is feisty and itching to get out of the hospital. The internal issues they were concerned about - gall bladder, fluid in his lungs - have resolved themselves without further intervention or surgery. He needs one more surgery on his leg but then hopefully he will be moved out of ICU and into a room. Keep thinking good thoughts!

Monday, November 11, 2019 Veteran's Day

A lot of people are posting "thank you for your service" messages today. I truly hope those same people are out doing something to help veterans. It is disgraceful how little support we give veterans. An average of 17 veterans a day commit suicide. That is a national disgrace! It is so wrong. According to the House Budget Committee, nearly half of all veterans - roughly 9.4 million - depend on Medicare for health care. Cuts to the Medicare budget have left many veterans and their families stranded.

Don't we owe veterans better than this? Why are the people we send out to kill and possibly be killed not the best-taken care of people in the country? Why isn't the V.A. the best health-care provider in the world? Why isn't health care free for life for veterans like it is for Congress? Oh yeah. Congress gets to decide that.

While you're thanking vets for their service today, do something for them. Write your Congressperson. for Everybody's sake, vote! Volunteer to help. Do something beyond lip-service thank yous.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

I am just wrung out, physically but especially emotionally. Surviving Maria had nothing on this.

I think you know about our nephew Ben's lymphoma. Twice a week we leave Aguadilla at 5:00 AM to drive to San Juan for treatment. Other days, depending on the week, there are other trips to local laboratories and doctors. There are some issues peripheral to the cancer that are causing him a lot of problems. We've been trying to get these dealt with but the whole "gotta have a Primary Care Physician who will sign off on this" thing - whatever the thing is, an X-ray, MRI, prescription, whatever - has stymied us. He was assigned a PCP when he first got insurance but we've never been able to talk to her. She's two towns over so it's almost as bad as going to San Juan (not really; nothing here is as bad as driving to San Juan in the morning). It took us a month to get a new PCP. Now we're trying to get her up to speed on all that's going on. We're also trying to transfer Ben's care to an oncologist in Aguadilla so we don't have that drive twice a week. Guess what! You need a PCP to request the transfer! It's been frustrating for all of us, including his doctors in San Juan.

One of the on-going issues is a really painful swollen knee. We've been trying to get an MRI of the knee for two months. Guess what! We need the orders to come from the PCP which we didn't have until a week ago if we want insurance to pay for it. We could pay out of pocket but that ain't happenin'. Because at this point no one knows what's causing the swelling, his doctors cannot rule out that it is related to the cancer.  Tired of waiting on the PCP merry-go-round, yesterday after his treatment they admitted him to the hospital. Now he's under their care, their treatment. They can order whatever tests they want and don't need a PCP to sign off. He will finally get the MRI he's waited two months for. He may have to wait three more days: it's the weekend and Monday is a holiday so ain't nothin' gonna happen 'til Tuesday.

If anybody says, "oh that's healthcare in Puerto Rico" I will smack them. This is all base on U.S. healthcare and insurance models.

In mid October Elaine's cousin Monica found out she had a brain tumor. A little over a week after her diagnosis she had brain surgery. Needless to say, it was a shock to everyone, especially Monica! Monica has been the senior health reporter for WKYC TV in Cleveland for more than 20 years. She started reporting on her diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and recovery from day one. She is recovering. Her spirit is truly incredible. She is in pain but has stopped taking any kind of opioid. As she said, as the reporter who broke the story of how bad the opioid crisis is in northeast Ohio, it would not do for her to get hooked. She still has problems with her vision (part of the tumor was attached to her optical nerve and could not be removed) but with help, she gets out and walks every day.

Two weeks ago tomorrow a very dear friend of ours was in a horrific motorcycle accident here. Chris is a champion rider and horse- and people-trainer. He is also an Army EOD (Explosive Ordinance Demolition) tech. That means for fun he takes apart bombs. As a result of the accident, doctors had to amputate his right arm (yes, he is right-handed). I saw him yesterday. He has a long long road ahead but he will be back riding and training. He is strong and tough.

So all of you - please please be careful. Stay well and healthy. I can't take much more of this.

There is good news though. Our son Jason and his wife are expecting a new baby this week. We can't wait for the news of our new grandson! And we found out last night our daughter Sara and her new bride are expecting. After all the stories they've heard, they didn't expect the IVF to take the first time but apparently it did. We are so incredibly happy for Jason, Hannah, Sara, and Katie! And us!

Sunday, October 20, 2019 a music rabbit hole

As long as I'm gong down a music rabbit hole, I read that Ginger Baker died last week. Baker was the drummer for Cream and then Blind Faith. He was the first great rock-n-roll drummer I really got to know and was the first "superstar" drummer  He was the first drmmeri saw use two kick bass drums. He could do more with his feet than a lot of drummers could do with their hands. 

He had a pretty ragged tough life. I think a lot of people were surprised he lived as long as he did. So another one from that era gone. 

Saturday, October19, 2019 A Hurricane memory

I'm not sure why this popped up now. but it did so...

A while back I wrote that with no Internet, no electricity, no radio, one of the things we all craved was music. Even when stores like Wal-mart opened again, there wero little portable battery-operated CD/radios available. I finally ordered one from Amazon.

When it came, Elaine was still in the States, I was here taking care of the animals and getting whatever work done I could. This was the first song I played on my new CD player. And I played it over and over and over. I just need that reminder that There wer epeoplewho had it worse than I did and that we all need to help each other. There was so much good that surrounded us after the hurricane. This was both a reminder to pass it on and to be grateful. As if I needed reminders for either.

The other things I wanted to hear right away were the orginal cast albums of Les Miz and Phantom of the Opera.

Then I stared playing my "Waiting for the Hurricane" mix CDs. Boy, did those have new meanings!

The past few weeks have been largely full of our nephew Ben, driving back and forth to San Juan. Some day soon I will post the saga of our adventure on Tuesday. For now, you'll just have to wait for it.

Thanks for reading.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Mother Ocean has been beautiful this week. Hope the surfers are having fun.

The colors have been incretible!

I have a couple of days with limited morning commitments. May a request a few days without waves so I can go dive or at least snorkel?

Saturday, October 5, 2019 Sara and Katie's wedding

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Last weekend we made a flying trip to Michigan for our daughter Sara's wedding. (That's Sara on the right with her bride Katie.}

It was everything a wedding should be: fun, joyous, people coming together, full of laughter and love!

Aside from the beautiful wedding, the best thing for me was having all our kids together in one place  for the first time since our oldest, John David, graduated from high school. (he turned 40 earlier this week so you can do the math.)

 (Three important people are missing from this photo: the other bride, who was off doing something important, and William and Kai who were off playing and couldn't be bothered.)

Siblings were together for the first time in years.

Cousins met cousins they didn't know they had.

Kids (Kai and Kennedy) met uncles (Jason) and aunts (Hannah) they've never seen. And, we finally got to meet Hannah, our other soon-to-be daughter-in-law and soon-to-be mother of our newest grandchild.

Between travel, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, the wedding, reception, and more travel, we manage short visits with our good friends Nancy and Gwen

and our "adopted" daughter Katie, her wife Elizabeth, and out "grandaughter" Emmory.

We missed so many people we'd hoped to see. Our original plan was to go to Cincinnati for my 50th high school reunion then on to Cleveland for a visit with Amy and the grands, then a leisurely tip to Michigan with lots of time for visits and finally a relaxed weekend at the wedding. That whole plan fell apart and turned into a flying five-day trip, with two of those being travel days. To all those we messed, we are so sorry. We'll try again next time.

All in all it was an amazing wonderful love-filled weekend. We are so grateful.

Congratulations Sara and Katie!