We left Anaheim on Wednesday, June 24 and headed south. The drive on Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) down to San Diego was so pretty. We stopped in Laguna Beach for a late lunch at a great restaurant that sits on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, (thanks, Mark, for the tip to check out Las Brisas!), and walked around enjoying the scenery a bit. We then headed down to Torrey Pines where, of course, we had to stop to check out the golf course and Ron had to buy a new golf cap from the Pro Shop since he (conveniently?) inadvertently neglected to pack any caps. We also enjoyed watching hang gliders take off of the cliffs and glide up and down the coastline. Beautiful! We continued on, driving through La Jolla and many other beachside towns before arriving in San Diego .
Our bungalow at Paradise Point overlooked the bay where we were able to watch the sunset each night. Paradise Point sits in a great location on Mission Bay within 10-15 minutes of all the places we wanted to check out while in Southern California . We stayed very busy, but it was definitely relaxing and so very nice to have such a beautiful change of scenery.
Ron did great!!! It was wise to have a wheelchair with us throughout the trip, although a little tiring for me, well worth it to save Ron the exertion and allow him to be out longer. We decided to splurge and rent a motorized scooter at San Diego Zoo and again at Sea World--what a life-saver! I would have died trying to get him up and down the terrain, especially at the Zoo; I was already feeling the pain from the two days I had spent pushing him around Disneyland and California Adventure and we still had several days to go!
We visited Sea World, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Animal Wildlife Park , Coronado Island , Gaslamp Quarter and took a harbor cruise. We even visited the Gaslamp Quarter Strip Club one night. GASP!!! Yes! I said strip club!!! But, no, not THAT kind of strip club...this was a steak place where you cook your own steaks on grills set up around the restaurant. You choose the steak (get it, strip steak--strip club), season it with any of the multitude of seasonings provided, and stand around with everyone else grilling! (they advise you on how long to cook depending on how you like your steak) Quite fun! We ate at so many unique places. We like to watch the Food Network and had seen a "Tasty Travels" episode where Rachel Ray had gone to San Diego, so tried out several of the places she recommended; which took us to many fun places to explore.
The boy ate like CRAZY and handled it pretty well! A couple of nights he felt kind of icky and one morning had a very sudden yakking episode, but otherwise things were good. He slept in each day; we typically didn't get out until close to noon and tried to be in by early evening so he could have plenty of down time, but I know I brought home one VERY TIRED pup!
No problems with PICC line, huge relief for me. He even got in the hot tub one day and then a quick dip in the pool, as well. Before we left we had found a pharmacy that had a special rubber "sleeve" that covers 3/4 of his arm (including PICC line) and also has a device that sucks out all the air to make it watertight. Worked very well.
We were blessed abundantly by everyone we encountered throughout our travels. Again, on the plane home they moved us to a bulkhead row with an empty seat between us despite the plane being packed tight otherwise! Paradise Point even provided us an extra mini-fridge to ensure we had plenty of room to store TPN, protein drinks and other medical supplies and still have room for anything else we might want to keep cold. Only small incident we encountered was on the day we were leaving; I took our sharps container to the desk when we checked out for them to dispose of and they were a little freaked out as to what to do with it. They finally decided I needed to turn it over directly to security! Quite comical, I thought!
Ron has spent a good portion of this last week resting/recuperating (slept about 14 hours a couple of days), while I played catch-up on laundry, yardwork and general household stuff, as well as spending as much time as possible with my sister, Tami, and her family while they were here for a few days (they live in Georgia). Thanks, Deb & Charles for being so willing to have an open door policy at your new house (and especially pool!) We've all had a great week together.
Ron's looking very good, and actually gained 5 pounds while we were away! He really pushed the envelope but is back to only eating once a day along with his typical protein drinks and continues on TPN 12 hours a night. He's only had one yakking episode since returning home. He still has a very long way to go but we are encouraged by his progress. He has not gained muscle mass and continues to lack stamina and endurance, but is now able to walk about 15-20 minutes before requiring rest and usually doesn't need to nap much. Stairs are still very hard for him, his leg muscles get really shaky when he has to walk them. He typically sleeps about 12 hours a night. Physical therapy was put on the back burner since returning home to allow him to recuperate from our big adventure, but it's time to whip him back into routine. Now that it's gotten so hot, we've had to cut out his daily outdoor walks so we need to come up with another plan of action to keep him physically active, we don't need any backward trends. I know he's really wanting to get out on the driving range to see how his body would tolerate swinging a club, but he'll have to wait 'til things cool down a bit.
For the first time in almost 2 years we enjoyed lunch out with friends after church today! Thanks Troy, Sherry and Tanner for this special treat...so good to spend time with you. And so wonderful that Ron has progressed to the point that we are able to do this! God is GOOD!!!
We have another busy weekend ahead, family wedding next Saturday (Whitney and Jorden, the BIG day is almost here!!!). We'll be gone a couple of days enjoying bridal luncheon/girls day, rehearsal dinner, wedding and just general spending time with our extended family! Always a great time!
I've reflected often over the last few weeks on Isaiah 30:18
"..the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him."
He is exceedingly gracious to us in so many ways! And you are all a huge part of His graciousness towards us!
Thanks for praying for a good trip! God was faithful to answer! We appreciate each of you!
Christie
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