We Didn’t Click Our Heels, But…

 “There’s no place like home”….Dorothy

We are so grateful for the opportunity to spend this season in Alaska, well, most of this season.  As you likely know, my treatment has us in Houston every 28 days.  Since the travel from Alaska to Texas is extensive we actually travel to Texas every 23 days with a stop in Phoenix each trip.  

Since my last blog entry we have traveled twice from Alaska.  Following our June appointment I had an unexpected hiccup.  Alaska weather was stunning around Father’s Day weekend.  Long, sunny days spent outdoors playing pickleball, cleaning up outside and inside following the long winter and reconnecting with our Alaska life.  I began feeling some symptoms like fatigue and diarrhea.  (Under the category of TMI, diarrhea for the owner of an ileostomy means my bag filled up frequently with liquid)

I began to think I was experiencing another bowel blockage so I agreed to go to the ER to find out what might be happening.  The Alaska doctors diagnosed my problem as dehydration.  It seemed odd considering we had just returned from 100+ degrees in Arizona to 70 degrees in Alaska.  The good news is the solution was simple.  They kept me overnight and filled me with 24 hours of fluids.

My Sister The Superstar!

Roughly a week later I received a call from my sister Melissa’s husband, Garn.  I could sense the stress in his voice as he told me Melissa had experienced an aneurysm!  The doctor told him the survival rate is  50% for people with this type of aneurysm, a Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.  Garn said, “you should come right away”.  That was June 26th.  We got on a plane to Phoenix at midnight after arranging for Mom to get a ride to the airport when we landed and the three of us made it to Tulsa, OK by 4:00 pm the next day.  

By the time we arrived she had already had emergency surgery which placed a drain in her head to eliminate the fluid causing pressure on her brain.  Even though she was on heavy medication she was alert and talking…(always talking!).  She said the headaches were indescribable.  Her medical team on the neurology ICU floor was amazing.  We knew from the start the drain would be a key element of her success and it would remain for a minimum of 14 days.  

I’ll spare you the many serious moments, but over the next 18 days or so, she improved dramatically and by the time we left she was up walking and had become the darling of the unit.  The staff on that floor must have one of the toughest jobs in the medical field.  During the 3 weeks Melissa was there they lost 7 patients.

She has been home now for about two weeks and is doing great!  Yesterday her doctors released her to full activities, including driving and riding her horses.  

Here’s some background.  Melissa has been texting me almost every morning since my diagnosis several years ago.  Our love for each other has never been stronger.  In my previous blog about being “Off Script” she was touched enough to send me this message through the Blog comments: 

MelissaJune 23, 2024 at 8:02 PM

Well better later than never at all. I really love this blog. It is so universal. It's like going through those days again. But now, many weeks later, it's equally poignant because we know that as quickly as life was disrupted, it righted itself just as fast. I have this happen to me so so often. I have my plan all laid out. Clear as a bell then boom, God changes the plan. Naturally HIS is a better one. I just ordered this book. (OFF SCRIPT, what to do when God rewrites your life) Again, He showed it to me in a very round about way. ❤️❤️

Did you notice that date?  Three days before she had a major Off Script experience of her own? The day we arrived at the hospital was the day she received her copy in the mail.   To me, that’s another example of the Holy Spirit intervening on our behalf.  

I’m so proud of my sister.  Even though we grew up with the same religious background we previously never really had any significant spiritual discussions.  Now we do!  Mom raised us in the Lutheran church and after our confirmation at age 13 we were free to choose to atteend church.  Since Dad was an Easter/Christmas Christian I tended to drift from my Faith.  Now Melissa and I understand how God has protected us and patiently waited for our to return to His Kingdom.  

In their hearts humans plan their course

But the Lord establishes their steps

Proverbs 16.9

A successful Superstar!

An Alaska Update

I want to make sure you guys know that visiting hospitals is not the only fun we have!  Our Alaska time has been amazing. 

For the second year in a row we have been included with a group of Alaska friends who take an annual camping trip to Homer, Alaska, the Cosmic Hamlet By The Sea.  The group consists of about 12 families, most of them young families with awesome kids!  We take over an RV park with every kind of camping rig for 5-6 days.  The primary objective is to dipnet Sockeye Salmon at China Poot Bay. This year someone gave us an official moniker: Pootie Netters Social Club!

Here’s a quick rundown.  Dipnetting is an activity reserved for Alaska residents only.  Once enough salmon make it into a stream to ensure a healthy reproductive number for future returns, Alaskans are permitted to “fish” near certain rivers using only a large hoop net.  It doesn’t seem fair but it’s really quite wild fun.  At China Poot dippers are allowed to harvest 6 fish a day.  

The Pootie Netter Social Club has quite a system.  China Poot Bay is about a 15 minute boat ride across Kachemak Bay from the Homer Harbor.  Josh shuttles us in groups of 7-8 with our nets and then he returns to the harbor.  He picks up another group and returns within an hour or two.  By then group one is ready to return with their limit.  

We do that everyday and 12 families have salmon for the Winter!  If you ever plan a trip to Homer.  There is plenty of activities and the views are spectacular.  Here’s proof:

Kachemak Bay at low tide

Skip and Cheryl on the shuttle ride to the fishing grounds

Diane and Skip coaxing the salmon into their net.  Sometimes you get 2-3 in the net at the same time!

Here’s a typical catch.  Notice the size of the nets.

We dubbed this spot Blood Beach!

I’ll try posting a video that gives a nice overview of the process:

Erica brought her drone this year and did a nice job capturing China Poot Bay and the small creek we do our dipnetting.

Homer has nice Microbreweries for an after-dip cocktail!

Last but not least I’ll share that my treatment is still on track.  My latest scan in July showed stable disease with no growth or shrinkage of the tumors.  We consider that a huge success.  Our medical team is happy with the results…so we are too.  We are “living” with cancer!

Thank you as always for following our journey.  Live every moment with joy and treat everyone the way you would like to be treated