Friday, 7/1/16 – I drove into Ocala to see Dad at his rehab center this morning. I wish I had taken my camera because he was outside under the trees participating in a 4th of July barbeque and he ate some chicken and watermelon. I am planning to bring him out to the cabin for a short visit in a few weeks. In the afternoon, we drove to Ormond Beach. We stopped to see Rick’s mother and then went to settle in at her house for the 4th of July weekend. We are expecting our nephew, Mat, and his girl, Lindsay, to arrive from Tennessee this afternoon. They will be here for about a week.
Saturday, 7/2/16 – We visited with Mom and then Mat, Lindsay, Rick and I went to the Publix to buy what we need for our 4th of July BBQ. We bought Ribs and Chicken and the fixin’s for potato salad, mixed green salad, corn on the cob and baked beans. We also bought the ingredients needed to make a mixed fruit cobbler as well as a watermelon. We found places at Mom’s to put everything away and then we went back for another visit. The four of us had supper at the nearby Stonewood Restaurant while Edward stayed with Mom again until 10:00 tonight.
Sunday, 7/3/16 – We had every intention of attending the service at the Daytona Drive-In Christian Church this morning. My niece Melissa is in charge of the Sunday School there. But, we overslept. When I realized that we would not make the service, I started cooking the eggs and potatoes for the potato salad. I called Mom and told her that I was cooking and we would be late coming over. Edward got there about a half hour before we did. Mat and Lindsay went to the beach with the intention of coming to see her later in the afternoon. We only stayed about a hour, as Rick was not feeling well. We stopped at the Winn Dixie store on the way home to buy some charcoal and some wood chips for tomorrow’s “shin dig”. We got a e-mail from cousin, Louis, saying that they had just taken his mother, Mom’s sister, to the rehab center for a visit. They are bringing shrimp and scallops to grill along with beans and a water melon. It sounds like we’ll have a very good time watching the fireworks and enjoying each others company before they start. I know that Mom is very disappointed that she will not be a part of the barbeque, so we reserved a private dining room for tomorrow afternoon and we are going to bring a 4th of July picnic in to her. She seems to be looking forward to that.
Monday, July 4th, 2016 – We went to the rehab center around noon and set the table for our 4th of July picnic with Mom. She had requested shrimp cocktail; so that’s what we had. Edward wheeled her into the special dining room.
She sat at the end of the table with grandson, Mat with his girlfriend, Lindsay, her sons, Edward and Rick and me. Of course, we’re not all in the picture below.
After eating lunch, we went outside for a short time, but it was way too hot, so we came back in and visited in the rehab center’s activity room.
We left the rehab center mid-afternoon to go back to Mom’s house on the intracoastal waterway aka the Halifax River. Rick got the charcoal going in the grill and then added ribs to cook for a couple of hours. Just after 5 p.m. Aunt Delores Vigliotti, Mom’s sister, arrived accompanied by her son, Louis and his lady friend, Nora, with his two sons, Michael and Anthony, and Anthony’s lady friend, Ashley. They brought along a lot of food to add to the bunch of food that we had made. We feasted until 9:30 when the City of Ormond Beach shot off fireworks over the river.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016 – We said goodbye to Mat and Lindsay and headed out for one more visit with Mom. After an hour, we set out for Ocala, stopping by the cabin to pick up Dad’s mail, then getting a bite to eat, and then going to Ocala Health and Rehabilitation Center to see Dad. I brought him out on the front patio and just a few minutes later, my brother Bill, his wife, Mary, and her mother, Joyce came up to sit with us. We had a nice visit with them all and then said our goodbyes and drove south to Palmetto to return to our boat. Rick grilled some chicken breasts for our supper which we had with some leftover potato salad and corn on the cob.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 – In the morning, I went to the eye doctor for my yearly exam and then Rick went to the dentist to get his bridge. We went to JP’s house to pick up our mail and for him and his Dad to discuss the quotes he has received to refurbish the pool and deck. They want to get it done before Emma’s birthday on August 31. While there, I got a call from Ruth saying that they were at Blu Mangrove for lunch and had brought our swim ladder cover with them. Rick had taken it to Bill’s shop to have it repainted. So, we left JP’s and met them for lunch. In the evening, we went to the Bradenton Yacht Club’s Sail Fleet dinner meeting. Bill and Ruth joined us there to hear the guest speaker, Past Commodore Joe McClash, give a slide show presentation about the recent cruise to Cuba which he led. It was very well attended and very interesting. The group (there was only 3 that made the crossing) stayed at the Hemingway Marina. Their website says, “Marina Hemingway, run by the governmental Cubanacán, is Cuba’s largest marina with an official capacity of up to 400 vessels. In reality, there are closer to 100 slips that are usable – the others needing repair and installation of basic marina services (power & water).” While there, Joe, and Casey took a vintage car tour with their son, Sean, and his fiancé. The ride lasted about an hour and cost approximately $30. The car looked something like the one pictured below.
Thursday, July 7, 2016 – We spent a quiet day on the boat.
Friday, July 8 through Thursday, July 14, 2016
We met friends for lunch at a new restaurant in Palmetto called the Clubhouse Sandwich Café; stopped by JP’s house to hear about his plans to get the swimming pool refinished; and had supper with friends at the Riverside Café on Friday.
We drove to Ocala Saturday morning. JP’s dog, Bo, died during the night. We had just seen the dog yesterday and he appeared to be fine. He was a chocolate brown bindle color; part Bull Dog and part Great Dane; and weighed about 125 pounds. Below is a picture taken of him in November, 2014, stretched out on the love seat.
I dropped Rick off at the cabin and went in to visit with Dad in the afternoon.
Aunt Delores, her son, Louis, and Nora were with Edward visiting Mom when we arrived at her rehab center in the early afternoon Sunday.
We saw Mom at her rehab center in the morning and then drove to the doctor’s office where we were supposed to meet Edward and Mom on Monday. Unfortunately, there was a “snafu” with her transportation and the appointment had to be rescheduled to later in the week.
We stopped by JPs on the way back to the boat to pick up the mail on Tuesday. He showed us samples of all the tile they picked out for the pool. In the evening, we attended the BYC Power Fleet dinner meeting. Our new Power Fleet Captain Tom, along with his wife Jody, gave a slide-show presentation about their trip on the Florida Loop. They left here, on the west coast of Florida and went south to the Florida Keys, then east towards the Miami area, then north through the east coast Intracoastal Waterway to Stuart. At that point they headed west through the Okeechobee Waterway to return to the Ft. Myers area on the west coast and then back north to Manatee County. We have made the same trip and have stopped at many of the same places. They said that they had a very good time and would recommend it to all.
We spent the day with our 17- year-old granddaughter, Vanessa, on Wednesday. The three of us had lunch and cooled off in the pool at the Bradenton Yacht Club. Then we went to JP’s for a short while before returning Vanessa to her apartment. She is now working at an assisted living facility in Palmetto.
Rick’s had an appointment at Moffitt Thursday morning. He was in and out in 15 minutes! We drove back to Palmetto from Tampa, stopping at the grocery store to pick up some things for this weekend’s cruise-away. After eating some lunch on board, we fired up the engines and moved the boat from Riviera Dunes Marina to the Bradenton Yacht Club. There are about 10 boats from our yacht club planning to spend the weekend at the Field Club in Sarasota. Edward sent a text saying that Mom had seen the surgeon and, since she doesn’t seem to be responding well to the therapy at the rehab center, he recommended she go home next Tuesday or Wednesday. Edward will hire someone to take care of her at home. We all think that Mom will be happier there.
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Friday, July 15 through Thursday, July 21, 2016
I woke up sick Friday morning and went to the doctor’s office at 8:00. After an exam, she referred me to another doctor and scheduled additional tests in the afternoon. We cancelled our trip to the Field Club and remained at the Bradenton Yacht Club for the weekend.
We drove to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Monday morning. Rick’s Mesothelioma specialist, Dr. Tan, told him he thought it would be best if they try some radiation treatment on the lump that has formed in his chest. We met briefly with a radiation doctor, Dr. Brad Perez. He said someone from his office would be calling to set an appointment up for a PET/CT Scan. This will be used to determine just exactly where the radiation can do the most good. Once that determination is made, Rick will be scheduled for daily radiation treatments for two weeks (10 sessions – Monday thru Friday
Tuesday afternoon, I had a follow-up appointment with the cardiologist who ran an echocardiogram and a stress test on me. He said that they didn’t find anything wrong with me and recommended that I try to get more exercise. He wants to see me again in six months.
On Wednesday, we went to the drug store to pick up a prescription for pain meds for Rick. I went to two different doctor’s offices and we joined Bill and Ruth, along with his daughter Tracey and her friend, John Parker for lunch at the Yacht Sea Restaurant just over the De Soto Bridge in Bradenton.
Rick was fitted for a cradle to be used when he has radiation treatments August 1 through 12. A few hours later, on Thursday morning, he had a PET/CT Scan so that they can see where the tumors are located that need to be radiated.
Friday, July 22 thru Thursday, July 28, 2016
I had a follow-up appointment with my family doctor before we drove to Ormond Beach. Edward tells us that Rick’s mother hasn’t been doing well since she came home on Wednesday. When we arrived Friday afternoon, we put our heads together, sought additional medical advice, and decided that she needed to go to the emergency room. We called for an ambulance and they took her to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. A doctor came in and told us that Mom has a urinary tract infection which has caused her to become dehydrated. They admit her to the hospital
Rick and I went to the hospital Saturday morning and learned from the doctor taking care of Mom that she is dehydrated and suffering from malnutrition as well as having a urinary tract infection. He said that he might have to put a feeding tube in her. When the EMTs picked her up to go to the hospital yesterday, she told them that the president was Wilson. Today, she told the doc that the president is Eisenhower! So, obviously she is very confused. The healthcare professionals tell us that is symptomatic of dehydration and infection.
Rick went to the hospital Sunday while I drove over to Ocala to pick up Dad’s mail and visit with him before going on to Palmetto
I went Monday morning for a blood draw. Then I got on the road back to Ormond Beach. The doctor called the house that morning and said they had found e coli in her urine and she would need IV antibiotic every six hours. Rick went to the hospital to see her and didn’t notice the sign on the door that said you had to wear a gown and gloves. The nurse quickly told him to come out of the room. Once he explained his medical condition to the nurse, she told him that he should not go in the room at all for his own well-being. We went through all of this with my Dad as well last August when he had e coli in his bloodstream. I went out to the hospital to “suit up” and visit in the afternoon. Steven brought his mother, Aunt Delores, out to visit her sister and I took that opportunity to speak with her nurse. The nurse said she wasn’t sure yet how long Mom will have to stay – it could be as many as 14 days. She also said that the infection has not spread to her bloodstream at this time. Rick told me that the doctor told them this morning that he is no longer considering a feeding tube, but they are monitoring closely the amount of food she is consuming. She seems to be eating more since they started an appetite stimulant.
Edward left us a note Tuesday morning saying that the hospital called at 4:20 this morning to tell him that Mom had been pulling on the catheter so they put mittens on her (a form of restraint). About 9 am, they called again and said that they wanted to put a pic line in her so that they would not have to stick her every time they needed blood and also for a place to administer 14 days of IV antibiotic. The nurse said with a pic line in place, a home healthcare nurse would be able to administer the antibiotic at home as well as remove it at the appropriate time.
The hospital Wednesday morning saying that Mom was going to be released today. Rick said that we would stay until she gets home and then decide if it is necessary for us to leave to keep him from being exposed to anything he shouldn’t. She arrived at approximately 4:30 and the CNA got Mom settled in. Rick spent most of his time in another part of the house.
We left Ormond Beach after breakfast, on Thursday, driving west on State Road 40 to Dad’s cabin in the Ocala Forrest. I left Rick there fixing the broken water line to the ice maker to go in to town for a meeting with the staff at the rehab center where Dad lives. The meeting attendees included the dietician, the social services director and a lady from the management care staff, along with myself and Dad. Dad said that he has told his restorative therapy tech that he would like to walk every day to build up his strength. He set a goal to eventually move back home. In order to do that, they will start decreasing the amount of nourishment they give him through the feeding tube and give him menu choices for food to eat by mouth. He told them that everything he ate lately had given him indigestion and they said that they would work closely with the doctor and dietician to ease him in to eating again with as little discomfort as possible. They will also keep a close watch on his weight
Friday, July 29 thru Sunday, July 31, 2016
We had lunch with Bill and Ruth on Friday before driving up to the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Radiation wing. Sadly, Ruth had to have her dog, Gizmo, put down this morning. Rick’s tumor was measured at 11 centimeters which equates to 4-1/3 inches in size. Everything is ready for him to start the radiation on Monday.
Ken and Jackie joined us to grill steaks at Riviera Dunes Saturday evening. We were very glad to hear that her mother’s health has vastly improved since the docs changed her thyroid medicine.
Rick went to the yacht club for a short time Sunday afternoon. When he returned, we went through our stock of boxed and canned foods and pulled out everything that had a “best by” date of 2015 or earlier. Rick filled up a dock cart with the food that we were going to donate and gave it to one of the dockworkers before even getting out to the car with it. The dockworker said that he was going to give it to a young man who had just moved away from home.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at