Today is June 13, 2011

Five years ago today, June 13th, while hiking near Rock Springs, WY, Carol had a heart attack which was followed a few hours later by a stroke. On the 14th, we were to meet up with a group of friends to drive to the Lazy Daze Golden Caravan being held at the fairgrounds in Cheyenne. We made it to Cheyenne alright, but we were in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. This was exactly 41 days after Carol retired from the college where she was the director of the Medical Technology Department.
During Carols four week stay in the Cheyenne hospital, the three dogs and I lived alternatively, in an RV park and on the street by the hospital. One day while I was in ICU with Carol, two police officers came in looking for me. Seems the bank near where I was “camping” reported me as a suspicious person/vehicle. After seeing the circumstances, the officers contacted their supervisor and then gave me permission to camp on the street as long as Carol was in the hospital.
Carol finally flew home on a special jet staffed by a flight nurse to continue her very extensive rehabilitation in Ft. Pierce.
While in Physical Therapy, we told the staff our goal was for Carol to be able to go up and down three steps; that’s what’s required to get in and out of the camper. If they can teach her to do three steps, the PT would have been a success.
On October 17th of that year, we made our first trip since the stroke. I installed a few grab bars here and there, and we traveled with a cane and a wheel chair and Carols electric scooter, but we were back to our retirement plans after only four months. A very difficult four months to be sure, but we’re back on track. Our days of bike riding, hiking & kayaking are behind us , but we have simply adapted to the new reality. Today we’re at the Ocracoke Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina. Since the stroke, we have visited every state in the Lower 48 at least twice, five of the Canadian Provinces and bought our second Lazy Daze. We have no plans to slow down.

We got to Ocracoke on this mornings 7am ferry from Cedar Island, NC. We found a really good bakery. Searching out really good local bakeries is part of our new reality. :-)

If you have never tried the App. on your iWhatever, or the website, YELP! It’s worth looking at. It lists, and gives user ratings, for all sorts of things like restaurants, bakeries, etc.; a big help when you’re new to an area. It also will find barber shops, Laundromats, grocery stores and such. We use it often.

Tomorrow we plan on just drifting around here and there.