After our granddaughter’s high school graduation in May, we looked forward to getting back on the road in June to go to our grandson’s lacrosse tournaments in the SE states. We made it to two of the tournaments with our RV, but then another interruption happened.
This 3rd trip to the ER was because of horrible pain in the center of my chest. Scans didn’t pick up anything, so the doctor attributed the pain to gas. I never knew this pain could be so bad. I thought the trip to the ER was the end of this situation, but a month later more symptoms showed up and I was sent to a GI doctor. An endoscopy showed H pylori bacterial infection in my stomach that resulted in inflammation all the way up to my throat. The doctor’s assistant said that the only thing worse than the infection is the treatment.
After 2 weeks of 2 antibiotics and a heavy duty amount of Nexium, I agreed with her. Since I started feeling better, the doctor had me scale down the amount of Nexium. However, the inflammation came back with a vengeance, so I had to start doubling the amount again. After 2 more weeks, I started to feel better and have more energy, but I’ll probably be on this double dose for a couple more months. This has been a nasty experience that I sure don’t wish on any of you.
Back to my first stay in the hospital, the staff had picked up an irregularity in my heart beats. Somehow, between Covid in February and the appendectomy in March, the electrical connections in my heart stopped working the way they should. Two separate times of wearing a heart monitor for a month to track the rhythm of the heart beats showed I’ll probably have to take medication for the rest of my life to keep from having a heart attack or stroke. Oh the joys of getting older (my heart doctor said this condition often happens as we age).
These 2 medical challenges meant we had to stay local for the summer so I could heal and get back my energy. But we still had some outings, as long as I could get in a nap.
May – HS graduation
Family get-togethers this spring included celebrating Mackenzie’s graduation from high school. We don’t get to see this family very often so are delighted to be with them whenever we can.
June – RV short trips to watch lacrosse games
In June, grandson Tucker had lacrosse tournaments. Originally we planned on taking our RV to each area where the tournaments would be played, but after the first 2 trips, I was too exhausted to make any more. Heat didn’t help my energy level either.
All of the lakes in Georgia are man-made because of dams that were created to handle runoffs from heavy rains. Allatoona Lake is the oldest multipurpose project in the Corps’ work done in this part of the U.S. Work on it started in 1941 but had to stop when WWII broke out. The lake was finally finished in January 1950.
Our 2nd weekend trip in June took us to Charlotte, NC, just inside the state line from Georgia. Our friends Mike and Sherri moved to the area last fall, so we accepted their invitation to stay on their land and use their electricity. This is called mooch-docking.
While we missed the last 2 weekends of tournament games, times with family and friends didn’t stop.
July – family and friends
August – soccer games, etc.
While grandson Tucker loves playing lacrosse, his sister, Montana, continues playing soccer after moving to Georgia with a couple of teams.
Our old and well used clothes washer started giving out in August, so we had to buy some new units.
One day in the mail, we got a notice that our homeowners organization didn’t like our flags around our mailbox (the only place we can display flags along the street since our home is behind the house in front of us). Their thought was that the flags were a holiday display (July 4) that can only be up for 30 days.
While I’ve been recuperating the past 3 months, Barney had to have something to do. A local golf course needed volunteer help 1 afternoon a week to help golfers get started playing, so Tuesday afternoons he goes to Sugar Hill Golf Course that’s only about 3 minutes away from Matt and Peggy’s home. The volunteer position allows Barney to play once a week for free and a guest to pay a reduced price. Grandson Tucker loves to play with his grandpa, and Matt and Jason get out with Barney when they can.
September – family get-together
A grandson’s birthday is a great time to get the family together. Table games are a favorite.
Chris asked for cheesecake for his birthday dessert. Each person got to choose a flavor from a Publix variety pack, so each one also got to have a candle to blow out. Then we each gave Chris a wish for his new year.
Hopefully this is the end of our summer of interruptions to life since I’m almost back to normal. Hope to see you back on the road again later this month!
