CAROL

July has been an incredibly busy month thus far. So busy I haven’t even thought about blogging. And then I thought how sad all of you must be. Today I decided to change all that by sitting down at the old laptop and cranking out another blog.

We finished up our June/July camping expedition at Spaulding Lake. We really enjoyed our month there, even though we had a few tornado warnings and one real nasty storm that managed to miss our camper. We plan to return for another month probably for the month of August.

Even though I think we know where our apartment will be, we did check out several other possibilities. Mary Ellen always tells me that we have to ‘shop’. She has accused me (unfairly) that I don’t ‘shop’, I ‘buy’. This may be the case, but it’s interesting that we seem to end up buying whatever I originally wanted to buy. However, I have to admit we did find another apartment complex that we liked as much as Arbor Lakes. It’s called the Highlands. The Highlands is in NW Elkhart, Arbor Lakes is in SE Elkhart. They are both managed by the same company, so the apartments are very similar. They both are well shaded. The grounds are manicured. They both have security and full time maintenance. We are slowly getting the house ready to put on the market. The next step is to have some repairs and painting done. We’re gradually de-cluttering. It seems I mention de-cluttering every time I write. Some day I hope to write that it’s DE-CLUTTERED.

We’ve been to Stow, OH a couple times in the past few weeks. My sister, Pat, fell and got a few bruises; nothing broken. However, she has complained the last few months about weakness in her legs. This is obviously why she fell. She now is at a rehab facility getting some physical therapy. Hopefully this will allow her to get around much better.

While we were in Stow last weekend, we got another shock. This time it was my sister-in-law, Carol. Some of you know Carol. She spent a couple weeks with us at Emerald Beach the last two years. Anyhow, she has been in Manila the last few weeks. Her husband, Larry, died 11 years ago. He was from the Philippines. Carol has been back there several times. This time her daughter Mary and her husband, Doctor Marty invited her to go with them. Both of Mary’s kids also made the trip. Elizabeth is 16 and her brother, Daniel, 14. Last Saturday, Marty returned to the U.S. He could only stay for two weeks. On Sunday, Mary Ellen got a call from Marty saying that her sister had a stroke. Needless to say we were very upset by the news. When Marty called he didn’t know any medical details. All we knew was the Carol’s speech was slurred and she had some weakness on the right side. They began running all sorts of tests as you can imagine. They all were normal. The only test they hadn’t done was probably the most diagnostic, the MRI. The reason for not doing the MRI immediately was that this particular hospital doesn’t have an MRI machine. They would have to schedule it at another hospital. Carol’s speech and movement improved. She no longer has any symptoms of a CVA. This hospital sounds like something we’ll have here when “Obamacare” takes over. Cash up front. They won’t see you in the ER until you’ve paid. Mary got Carol a deluxe room. A deluxe room provides you with a cup and two other minor items. Mary had to bring a towel and soap from the Hotel!! The MRI was scheduled for last Wednesday, but didn’t come to pass. Manila was under a typhoon warning! It turned out to be a tropical storm, but sounds like it was a nasty one. Forty million people had no power. Roads were flooded and trees were down. Phone service was dead. Needless to say the MRI could not be done as scheduled. The hospital and hotel were without power or phones for a short period of time. NO AIR CONDITIONING! Manila is a tropical island. Can you say HOT? The latest communication (yesterday) sounded very promising. The MRI has been done, but no results as yet. This will determine when Carol will be discharged and how soon she can fly. You can imagine how anxious she is to get back to Stow, OH. She feels fine, and wants to get out of the hospital. Better yet she wants to get on Delta and get home. The kids are headed home. Mary flew with them to Hong Kong and put them on a plane for home. Mary is now headed back to be with her Mom. I can hardly wait for the stories Carol will tell. None of us ever know when something like this can happen. My advice is not to be in Manila when it does. Being sick while being away from home is never good, but being out of the country is a whole different ballgame. We’re all hoping to see her soon in Stow, OH.

jim