Wow. Another week has flown by. For the most part, it was a fun and sunny week. Normal day-to-day activities (still hitting the aquafit classes 3/week and the yoga classes 3/week). Haven't made my way to the quilting room yet, but that will probably come in the next week. I now have the materials I want to start a project, and have a couple of small projects in mind for Christmas gifts.
Last Thursday was US Thanksgiving, and we had a fabulous communal dinner with 5 other couples (two American couples and the rest Canadian). Smoked turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, scalloped potatoes, amaretto carrots, ambrosia salad, pumpkin pies and cheesecake. A fantastic spread and wonderful company. Lots of laughs until well into the evening.
Robin headed out to see what Black Friday was like down here. I wasn't the least bit interested in the possible crowds and insanity, but he said that other than being a bit busy in a couple of stores, it wasn't bad. Of course, his choice of stores (Harbor Freight and Home Depot) could have had something to do with that. He came back with a couple of purchases, but nothing exciting. In keeping up with the neighbours, we started decorating for Christmas when he got back. We've just done the outside stuff so far. Unfortunately, we forgot to pack the small box of indoor stuff we had from last year, so may just limit indoor decorations to a couple of strings of lights.
Now we get to the not-so-fun stuff. Saturday I headed off to aquafit bright and early. Afterwards Robin cooked a "weekend" breakfast of bacon and eggs and he fried up the leftover scalloped potatoes. About 1/2 later I started feeling a bit queasy, then I started feeling uncomfortable in my right ribcage. I tried lying down for a while, but couldn't find a comfortable position to lie in that the low level pain didn't return. After a couple of hours of increasing discomfort, we decided to head to an urgent care centre. The doctor I eventually met with felt certain, based on my symptoms and time line of things, that I was having a gall bladder attack. SAY WHAT!! As a precaution, and because women don't seem to have a standard way of presenting for heart attacks, she decided to do an EKG. She did it twice, and both times it showed a slight anomaly - one of those things that, for me could be quite normal, or could be a sign of worse things to come. Without being able to see previous EKG's for comparison (it was Saturday and I knew I couldn't contact my home doctor), she felt it best that I visit a hospital and have them do the necessary blood work, etc. to be sure I wasn't experiencing a heart attack.
After about an hour at the clinic, off we went to a nearby hospital. Blood work, chest x-rays and lots of waiting (Saturday on a long weekend, you know). But, all of the staff were great and we shared a few laughs with them. They had a really cool gizmo called a vein finder (that was the name actually written on it), and when the red light shines on your skin, it shows them the veins underneath. The veins in my inner elbow are quite deep and hard to find, and even with the vein finder, they still ended up using the back of my hand. They didn't want to, in case they had to use the veins in my hand for some other possible test later on, but they didn't have much choice if they wanted my blood.
The doctor eventually advised that all my tests showed everything good with my heart, and re-confirmed that it was probably a gall bladder issue. No need for follow-up unless I experienced the same problems again, but I should discuss with my home doctor when I get back there. Of course, if I'm careful about what I eat, it shouldn't be a problem again. By the time all the results were back, the discomfort was pretty much gone. About 3.5 hours at the hospital and we were on our way back to the rig. Stopped for dinner and while Robin feasted on a burger and fries, I settled for a bowl of soup and a bun. Early to bed once we were back. The constant discomfort had really worn me down.
Aside from the fact that it was nothing serious, I am so thankful that we have travel medical insurance. The young man that took care of our registration and contacted the insurance company for us advised that just walking through the door at the hospital and getting an initial consultation costs about $1400-1500 (which works out to as much as $2,000 Cdn). I have no idea what the final tally was, once you add the x-rays and blood work, etc., but I'm glad I'm not paying it. It certainly far exceeds my insurance premiums.
Sunday was pretty low key, although I did venture out later in the day to get some fabric. We had a visitor in the morning that helped brighten the day. We were sitting in the motorhome, with the door open, and Robin spotted a small bird (can't remember if it was a chickadee or junko, or what it was) on the patio and said something along the lines of "Hey dickie bird. Come on in." A few seconds later he says to me "Don't move. Look." and suddenly the bird jumps up from the top step (where I couldn't see it) into the motorhome. It looked around for a few seconds then turned around and hopped back out again. So cool, although we were concerned that it would start flying around in the motorhome and we would have to try and catch it. Been through that experience a couple of times in the past, and didn't really want a repeat.
Sunday night, the winds kicked up around 7 and the rain poured down for about an hour or so. We were concerned that we might be picking up our gazebo somewhere down the block, but it held its ground and is still intact. It seems to be a turnaround in the weather, as they are forecasting around 60 for the next couple of weeks (historical average is around 70). Still, it's an improvement on the weather at home.
Another low key day today, to make sure I've recovered (rest was one of the recommendations). A bit of walking in the park, but otherwise hunkered down in the rig for most of the day, as it was quite cool outside. Our good neighbour, Mike, made more pizzas and sliders for everyone tonight. Robin cooked up some chicken wings, and others brought salad and fruit, and we had another wonderful feast with a great group of folks. Laughed until our sides hurt, and met some more new faces. The cold finally drove everyone inside when a breeze started up.
As I mentioned, the Christmas lights are up outside. Normally, at home, we don't turn them on until Dec 1st at the earliest, but we must keep up with what's trending in the street, so they have been on now for a couple of nights. In addition to the lights on the tree, and the spiral trees, there are a few strings of red and white clusters strung up in the gazebo. It's looking quite festive.
Last Thursday was US Thanksgiving, and we had a fabulous communal dinner with 5 other couples (two American couples and the rest Canadian). Smoked turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, scalloped potatoes, amaretto carrots, ambrosia salad, pumpkin pies and cheesecake. A fantastic spread and wonderful company. Lots of laughs until well into the evening.
Robin headed out to see what Black Friday was like down here. I wasn't the least bit interested in the possible crowds and insanity, but he said that other than being a bit busy in a couple of stores, it wasn't bad. Of course, his choice of stores (Harbor Freight and Home Depot) could have had something to do with that. He came back with a couple of purchases, but nothing exciting. In keeping up with the neighbours, we started decorating for Christmas when he got back. We've just done the outside stuff so far. Unfortunately, we forgot to pack the small box of indoor stuff we had from last year, so may just limit indoor decorations to a couple of strings of lights.
Now we get to the not-so-fun stuff. Saturday I headed off to aquafit bright and early. Afterwards Robin cooked a "weekend" breakfast of bacon and eggs and he fried up the leftover scalloped potatoes. About 1/2 later I started feeling a bit queasy, then I started feeling uncomfortable in my right ribcage. I tried lying down for a while, but couldn't find a comfortable position to lie in that the low level pain didn't return. After a couple of hours of increasing discomfort, we decided to head to an urgent care centre. The doctor I eventually met with felt certain, based on my symptoms and time line of things, that I was having a gall bladder attack. SAY WHAT!! As a precaution, and because women don't seem to have a standard way of presenting for heart attacks, she decided to do an EKG. She did it twice, and both times it showed a slight anomaly - one of those things that, for me could be quite normal, or could be a sign of worse things to come. Without being able to see previous EKG's for comparison (it was Saturday and I knew I couldn't contact my home doctor), she felt it best that I visit a hospital and have them do the necessary blood work, etc. to be sure I wasn't experiencing a heart attack.
After about an hour at the clinic, off we went to a nearby hospital. Blood work, chest x-rays and lots of waiting (Saturday on a long weekend, you know). But, all of the staff were great and we shared a few laughs with them. They had a really cool gizmo called a vein finder (that was the name actually written on it), and when the red light shines on your skin, it shows them the veins underneath. The veins in my inner elbow are quite deep and hard to find, and even with the vein finder, they still ended up using the back of my hand. They didn't want to, in case they had to use the veins in my hand for some other possible test later on, but they didn't have much choice if they wanted my blood.
The doctor eventually advised that all my tests showed everything good with my heart, and re-confirmed that it was probably a gall bladder issue. No need for follow-up unless I experienced the same problems again, but I should discuss with my home doctor when I get back there. Of course, if I'm careful about what I eat, it shouldn't be a problem again. By the time all the results were back, the discomfort was pretty much gone. About 3.5 hours at the hospital and we were on our way back to the rig. Stopped for dinner and while Robin feasted on a burger and fries, I settled for a bowl of soup and a bun. Early to bed once we were back. The constant discomfort had really worn me down.
Aside from the fact that it was nothing serious, I am so thankful that we have travel medical insurance. The young man that took care of our registration and contacted the insurance company for us advised that just walking through the door at the hospital and getting an initial consultation costs about $1400-1500 (which works out to as much as $2,000 Cdn). I have no idea what the final tally was, once you add the x-rays and blood work, etc., but I'm glad I'm not paying it. It certainly far exceeds my insurance premiums.
Sunday was pretty low key, although I did venture out later in the day to get some fabric. We had a visitor in the morning that helped brighten the day. We were sitting in the motorhome, with the door open, and Robin spotted a small bird (can't remember if it was a chickadee or junko, or what it was) on the patio and said something along the lines of "Hey dickie bird. Come on in." A few seconds later he says to me "Don't move. Look." and suddenly the bird jumps up from the top step (where I couldn't see it) into the motorhome. It looked around for a few seconds then turned around and hopped back out again. So cool, although we were concerned that it would start flying around in the motorhome and we would have to try and catch it. Been through that experience a couple of times in the past, and didn't really want a repeat.
Sunday night, the winds kicked up around 7 and the rain poured down for about an hour or so. We were concerned that we might be picking up our gazebo somewhere down the block, but it held its ground and is still intact. It seems to be a turnaround in the weather, as they are forecasting around 60 for the next couple of weeks (historical average is around 70). Still, it's an improvement on the weather at home.
Another low key day today, to make sure I've recovered (rest was one of the recommendations). A bit of walking in the park, but otherwise hunkered down in the rig for most of the day, as it was quite cool outside. Our good neighbour, Mike, made more pizzas and sliders for everyone tonight. Robin cooked up some chicken wings, and others brought salad and fruit, and we had another wonderful feast with a great group of folks. Laughed until our sides hurt, and met some more new faces. The cold finally drove everyone inside when a breeze started up.
As I mentioned, the Christmas lights are up outside. Normally, at home, we don't turn them on until Dec 1st at the earliest, but we must keep up with what's trending in the street, so they have been on now for a couple of nights. In addition to the lights on the tree, and the spiral trees, there are a few strings of red and white clusters strung up in the gazebo. It's looking quite festive.
SO IT'S GAME ON!
Until next time, dear readers.