Rick had appointments at Moffitt for radiation treatment on Monday through Friday for the first two weeks of this month. There were no side-effects – just a little tiredness.
I got my hair cut on the 1st. Rick helped JP rehang a door on the 2nd before going to a late afternoon appointment. Then, we drove to Ocala and spent the night. We drove from Ocala to Moffitt on Wednesday afternoon, the 3rd. Just as we got on the USF campus, the car started giving off a high-pitched squeel. When Rick was done with his radiation treatment, we drove to a nearby Tire Kingdom where we got new break shoes and a new tire. Later that evening, we went out with Bill Baker and his family to celebrate his birthday at the Blue Rooster in Sarasota. During the night, Edward sent e-mails telling us that they had discovered a blot clot in Mom’s broken leg and she had been readmitted to Halifax Hospital. On Friday August 5th, we went to JP’s in the morning. While I watched Emma, Rick and JP installed new blinds on the downstairs sliding glass door and then a new towel rack outside. The pool is just about ready to use. They still have to hook up the electricity to the pool light. We took our daily drive up to Moffitt. They were running really late (one machine was down), but he finally got his radiation treatment and then we saw the doctor. He told us that Mesothelioma is usually resistant to radiation, so he is giving Rick a “stonger” dose and that may show up as some skin irritation by the end of the treatment next week. He told us that this would be the only radiation treatment for this area. If other tumors should arise, they could consider radiation again. We drove from Moffitt to Ormond Beach. Edward said that he had talked to Mom’s doctor via phone today and she had recommended that he contact Hospice. Our nephew, Mat, came in around midnight from Tennessee.
Saturday afternoon Edward, Mat and I went out to the hospital to visit Mom. I told the nurse that we had hoped to speak to someone today from Hospice while we were all here together. The nurse said that she would make a call. I called Rick at home and asked him to come out so that he could be part of the conversation. We all joined Cassy in the lounge on the 7th floor to learn what services Hospice provides. We asked if Mom would qualify for their services and she said that she would. She also told us of a surprising statistic – 70 to 80 percent of the elderly who break a bone die within a year of the break! Edward signed the papers to consent to hospice care when she leaves the hospital. We also talked about the possibility of her going to a hospice care facility as opposed to going home. We had finished talking with Cassy when the doctor told us that they had discovered a second blood clot in Mom this morning – this one in her arm. This appeared while she was already on blood thinner to prevent clots. They don’t know what is causing them, but they are now thinking that they might need to put in a filter to keep a clot from traveling to a vital organ. I asked what her prognosis is. The doctor said that she thought it quite likely that she has dementia and it will just get worse. Mat and I went back to the hospital to visit Mom on Sunday morning the 7th, before leaving Ormond with him returning to Knoxville and us to Palmetto.
We attended the Bradenton Yacht Club’s power fleet dinner on Tuesday, the 9th, where we joined friends, Bill and Ruth and Ken and Jackie, along with a total of 44 others. We had a wonderful guest speaker. He is the head ranger at the Desoto National Monument Park in Bradenton. He gave a very interesting and enjoyable talk about the history of Hernado De Soto and how it relates to the Tampa Bay area. He also spent some time telling us about the types of boats that they sailed. On our drive home from Moffitt on Wednesday, a rock flew up and chipped the windshield of the car. Rick helped JP run some wiring from the house to the pool light while the windshield was replaced on Thursday. Our attorney called and we accepted a settlement offer on our pending lawsuit regarding Rick’s Mesothelioma. Agreeing to this settlement offer means that we will not have to go through the trial that was scheduled to take place in Tampa the last week of September. Edward sent an e-mail saying that Mom was released from the hospital on the 11th and that he had decided to bring her back home. Friday morning found us going two separate ways as Rick went to his last radiation treatment at Moffitt and my friend, Jackie, picked me up to take me to a doctor’s appointment for more tests. While Rick returned with a Certificate of Completion for his radiation treatment, I just ended up with another test being scheduled.
8/13 – I spent a quiet day on the boat while Rick helped JP with a wiring project.
8/14 – After church, we met friends, Bill & Ruth and Curt & Ann at the Bradenton Yacht Club.
8/15 – We went to JP where Rick and JP finished strengthening the new fence gate. Now Emma can play in the backyard without worry of her running into the street.
8/16 – Received an emergency phone call from Rick’s brother, Edward in wee hours of the morning saying, “please come to Ormond Beach ASAP – Mom is out of control. “ After observing her behavior, the family decided to call 911. The EMTs said that they thought she had another UTI. This was confirmed in the hospital emergency room and she was admitted.
8/17 – The orthopedic surgeon who operated on Mom’s broken leg in May saw her in the hospital and gave permission to remove her brace and said she could now put 50% of her weight on that leg. We were told by one of the other doctors that if Mom does not respond to physical therapy this time, we would have to seriously consider hospice as she will just continue to get sick over and over again.
8/18 – Mom was released from the hospital and transferred to Opis Coquina Center for short term rehabilitation.
8/19, 8/20 & 21st- I visited with Mom on both days and then Rick and I drove back to Palmetto on the 21st. We received an e-mail from Edward telling us that she was sitting in a wheel chair on Sunday. This was the first time she’d been out of bed n quite some time. But, her left let is quite swollen.
8/22 – I saw my doctor for my annual wellness visit in which I found out that I had an infection. We dropped off all of the papers with test results to my insurance office so that I can receive the minimum co-pay for next year, then we picked up the antibiotics prescribed for me.
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8/23 – We drove to Ocala and I went in to visit with Dad.
8/24 – We drove from Ocala to Ormond Beach where I visited with Rick’s mother at the rehab center.
8/25 – We drove back to Palmetto to the boat.
8/26 – We drove to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Rick’s mesothelioma doctor said that he didn’t think traditional chemotherapy will do Rick any more good. Rick agreed to try immunotherapy with a drug that is fairly new on the market called KEYTRUDA. He signed papers asking for FDA approval for him to take this drug. The doctor said that it will take several weeks to get approval. Rick’s next appointment is on October 10. The doctor did say that it was a great idea for us to take a 28-day cruise in October/November. Any treatments would be worked around the cruise.
8/287– After a quiet morning and lunch with Bill and Ruth, we went to JP’s to help get ready for Emma’s pool party which is tomorrow.
8/28 – Emma’s “Minnie Mouse” themed 3rd birthday pool party was well attended by JP and Kellie’s co-workers, friends and family, including his cousin Christina who drove up from West Palm Beach. She recently moved to Florida from Chicago. . In deference to their parent’s wishes, I do not post any pictures of Vanessa or Emma on the web.
8/29 – While I went to a medical appointment, Rick worked on cleaning the air conditioning strainer basket in the bilge of the boat.
8/29 – I had more tests done in the morning before we drove over to Ormond Beach. I visited with Rick’s mother, along with Edward and Aunts Tillie and Joan and Uncle Jimmy. Tillie and Joan are Rick’s mother’s sisters-in-law, but they are in the same generation as Rick (his grandfather’s daughters). I received a phone call from my doctor’s office telling me that the results of Monday’s tests were that I need another test.
8/31 – Today’s is our granddaughter, Emma’s, 3rd birthday. We woke up in Ormond to rain. Ricked checked the weather for the west coast of Florida and saw that it was already flooding because of an impending tropical storm. We decided to drive back to the boat in Palmetto , going through the forest to check’s Dad’s house to be sure if would be OK in the storm and pick up his mail. We arrived at the boat in pouring rain about 4:00 in the afternoon and it continued to rain most of the night.
Summary: In the past two months, Rick has had 20 medical appointments and I have had 15. I’m afraid I may catch up to his 20 in the coming month of September. In the month of August, we stayed on the boat 19 days and in Ormond Beach 10 with the remaining 2 in Ocala.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at