Ethan’s Journey

 Happy Easter! Vacation Day 2 We woke up and sat outside to have our coffee. We all were up by 7:30 am. We commented on what we thought the buildings were across the way. One by one, we got our swim suits on, put on some sun screen and went swimming in the pool.  We would get out of the pool and take a break, then go back in. We did this until about noon. We decided to go down to the beach. We didn’t have a cooler so we improvised. Paul found a bucket. We washed it out and threw in some ice and beer. Perfect! The beach is about a 5 minute walk, if that. There are palm trees so we got a spot in the shade. I read that petty theft seems to happen at the beach and to never leave your stuff alone.  Some guy named Kevin tried to sell us bracelets. Denied! Then he tried to sell us coconuts with rum in them. Denied. He finally left us alone. We stick out like a sore thumb as tourists. We spent a few hours on the beach. The water was refreshing but warm. The water was a turquoise....

 Day 1  Vacation has started. We woke up up and had coffee overlooking the pool. The pool over looks a beach, palm trees, ocean and mountains. What a rough life. After coffee, we went to the grocery store. Groceries are fairly expensive, even with the conversion. Every US dollar is equal to 2.67 Eastern Carribean Dollars. There is nothing for sale in the grocery store that is “bulk”. The beer is individually sold OR the biggest amount you can buy is a 6 pack. If you wanted a soda, you bought them one at a time, there were no 6 packs. There also was no diet soda. We bought water, 6 apples, 4 6-packs of beer, a small bottle of vodka, some water flavor packets, deli meat and deli cheese. The prices made me want to pass out an little. Our total came to almost $271 Eastern Carribean Dollars. We spent the least amount at the group. Mid day we decided to go to the Castries Market, which is like a big farmers market with trinkets and souvenirs for sale. Paul and I each got a little me...

  I heard my alarm going off. I woke up from a dead sleep and was kind of dumb-ish. My brain was not functioning on full capacity. We did ok for a group like us traveling. We left at 3:30 am which was the desired departures time with a temperature of a balmy 38 degrees. We made it to the airport and went to check 2 bags for the group. The lady behind the desk said we needed to fill out our customs forms prior to going through TSA. I had thought we would fill that out for the flight that was actually leaving the country in St. Lucia.  We all scrambled to fill out the forms but we did it. We made it through TSA easily and we boarded the plane.  As we took off, we got a great view of the sunrise. What a gift from Mother Nature. It was like nature’s artwork on display for us. However, it was a red sky. “Red sky in the morning, sailor’s take warning”. Hopefully we will fly away from any weather that threatened our safety. The airport is overstimulating. Multiple people watchin...

 I made it through work today! Yay! I packed up my computer and cord.  I made sure Ethan was set with his medications and food. He is in good shape with the dogs. He is excited for us to leave! The two other couples we are traveling with arrived. Immediately we started hearing about stories from “the good old days”. Even though I had my role in these stories, it is hard not to wonder how we all survived…OR how our livers survived. We have waited a whole year for this!!!!! Alarm is set for 2:50 am. Ooofffff!

 I went today for another deep tissue massage. I really want to show my back who’s boss. I am hoping it politely steps into place and doesn’t act up for the trip. Part of my luggage will be my physical therapy tools. Today and tomorrow are the last minute details coming together. Painting toe nails…Paul has to buy sunglasses but he is waiting until the last minute. We have different ways of coping when it comes to packing.  I have everything packed a month ago and he does it minutes before leaving. That’s actually not true for this trip. Clothes are in the suitcase…he just needs his sunglasses.🕶️  I have lists upon lists of things to do. Some written down, some just in my head. I am thankful we have international phone service while we are away. Did I call the credit card company to let them know I am traveling overseas?  My alarm is set so that I can check us in for our 6am flight on Friday. I have one last PT session at 7 am tomorrow morning. This week has been to...

 Ethan’s ultrasound came back fairly normal so we are onto the final diagnostic step of a kidney biopsy. Our only request to the doctor last week was to avoid scheduling between 4/18 -26th. As one would guess, they scheduled it for April 22nd. Eye roll. Ethan has already told this doctor he would like to have e me there and we let this doctor know when I would be out of town. I have already put in the request to have it changed. When it came across I. MyChart, it caused Ethan to panic. I assured him I would be there. We got it straightened out and his biopsy is on the 29 th. They said to plan on being there for at least 8 hours. Ugh! Ethan is going to hate that. We received a list of instructions to prepare for the procedure. I noticed that there was no mention of withholding Ethan’s blood thinner. I want to make sure he will be able to clot appropriately, so I put in a request for a plan for that.  Thankfully I know enough to think of that. I worry about the people that don’t...

 We went to Ethan’s ultrasound today. Just a quick jaunt to the hospital for imaging. He had two ultrasonographers. The first one collected multiple images. Some with color, some without. Some with listening to the heart beat, some without. When he finished, he called his coworker over that started asking me about the ultrasound reports from 2021.  No idea…..that was 2021. I couldn’t answer the questions as I don’t remember that far back, every detail listed. The two of them discussed branched arteries and were trying to visualize arteries and veins throughout the ultrasound. This ultrasound was looking for perfusion throughout the kidney (which is a fancy way of saying…the kidney has good blood flow). When they were done, they asked us to wait in the waiting room until the radiologist reviewed the images…..just in case they had to redo some images. About 10 minutes later, we were able to leave. Phew! Afterward, Ethan went back to work and I drove home. It is so convenient to ...