Feeling so grateful again!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.  ~William Arthur Ward

Once again I find myself so filled with gratitude – gratitude that I just can’t even begin to express.  Where do I begin? 

I will get back to the wonderful arrival of Mom, Freeland, and Nancy in a minute, but I have to begin my blog by saying that 2 nights ago, the 3 of them presented me with yet another HUGE check!  Yes, you read that right.  Another huge check!  In the amount of $1000!!!  And once again I found myself totally overwhelmed and overcome with emotion (see photos below; the tears are very real, not just from the watery eye syndrome).  The subject line on the check says:  Suzy Fund from Anonymous Donors!  They refuse to divulge the donors, as the donors apparently insisted on remaining anonymous, so all I can say is “THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH” from the very bottom of my heart – in the hopes that the anonymous donors are readers of my blog.  The money is going to be deposited into our “special account” for my medical bills/deductible and the special trip we’re planning to take, most likely to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The “special account” is also where the big beautiful Bank of America check from my family – immediate and extended – and friends of the family resides.  THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH for your generosity and your continued love and support!!!  I really honestly cannot even begin to tell you how much Kenny and I appreciate it.  There are no words to express my true feelings.  I just hope you all understand how much it means to us and how much YOU all mean to us!!! 

Mom and Freeland arrived in sunny Florida last Friday (3/2) after spending 4 days on the road driving from Maine to Merritt Island.  Such a long trip, and the grand finale was that the trusty ol’ GPS had them get off I-95 one exit too soon, so they were heading west towards Orlando instead of east towards Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach.  Of course, the next exit was 10 miles west – the first opportunity to get off SR528 West and get back on SR528 East.  After that minor mix-up, they arrived at our RV around 1530 on Friday, and we were so happy to see them.  We had some very luxurious accommodations (not!) for them in our pop-up camper, although we had actually planned on staying in the pop-up ourselves and giving them our bed in the RV, but they wouldn’t hear of it.  We had a nice evening at the campground, and enjoyed a campfire together under a beautiful starlit night.  They said they slept well in the pop-up.  Would they tell me otherwise??!  On Saturday, we checked into the condo that Mom and Free have rented for a month right on the beach in Cape Canaveral – very nice place with a balcony overlooking the beach and ocean.  We picked Nancy up at the airport on Saturday afternoon -- so happy to see her, too -- and she will be here until Monday (3/12) – can’t you stay longer, Nance??!!  Please??!!  I know she would love to, but she has other commitments.  The four of us have been enjoying our time together (Kenny is staying at the RV with the doggies, although he joins us for occasional dinners and outings) – shopping, walking/running on the beach, happy hours in Port Canaveral, games of Mexican Train in the evening, relaxing, etc.  We even had one day nice enough to sit on the beach for several hours and enjoy our lunch there.  The last couple of days have been extremely windy and not really “beach days” but still enjoyable.  I really look at life differently now and try not to complain about trivial things, such as the weather.  Every day is beautiful in its own way, whether it be sunny, windy, rainy, chilly, warm, whatever.  Of course, I favor the beautiful, sunny, blue sky, 80-degree days, but I have no complaints about the other days that are thrown our way.

I had my INR checked on Monday, and it was 2.4, which is perfect.  What wasn’t so perfect was that I had to wait for 40 minutes in the waiting room for my 2-minute appointment (or was it a 1-minute appointment?).  I had put in a request the week before to change my INR appointments to every 2 weeks instead of every week, but “she” said she hadn’t heard back from Dr. Sprawls about that request yet, so I would have to continue every week.  I politely explained that since my INR has been in the normal range for the last 8 weeks, I would have it checked again on March 16^th, the day I’m scheduled to see Dr. Sprawls.  That way I can have it done just before my appointment since I’ll be there anyway.  And then hopefully he will let me go every 2 weeks, or maybe every 3 or 4……or better yet, get OFF the Coumadin!  I would LOVE that!!

I went back to see Dr. Kutryb, the ophthalmologist, last Friday.  He was sorry to hear the “reamings” didn’t help my eyes at all.  He said he could do a 3-snip simple surgical procedure to open up the top of the tear ducts, but he said it would probably be best to go see an oculoplastic surgeon in Orlando to see if the ducts are collapsed throughout the system or just at the top.  He recommended somebody in particular, so that is probably what I will do.

And now it is time to call it a day!  Hugs to everybody!  And thank you all so much again for your love and support and generosity!       

      

They just presented me with the $1000 check!

Tears of amazement and gratitude!

Sunday lunch at Rusty's

Mom and Freeland on the condo balcony

View from our balcony (Disney ship leaving port)

Happy Hour at Fishlips