And the doctor says….

We saw the cardiologist today and learned more about cardiac myopathy.  Since reading the echocardiogram is a subjective thing and he has no other signs of heart problems, the doctor made some med changes and in six months when we are back in the home area we will have another echo cardiogram done.

Gracie in the window on another cold and rainy day

If the next echo-cardiogram shows continued problems, he will then have a cardiac MRI to check for any scar tissue or evidence of heart damage.

It appears this was a onetime vasovagal event (fainting) and may have been due to dehydration.  He does not expect this to happen again as long as Left Brain drinks enough water and cuts back to one brandy in the evening as an extra precautionary measure.

When stopping at Walmart to get the new meds, I picked up a battery operated carbon monoxide detector.  This was requested by my friend Becky as an extra precaution.  Hey…I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we’re safe up there. This is now in place near the steering wheel.

In addition to Left Brain’s little glitch, our Honda has arrived at each campground with a dead battery.  We had the wiring altered to prevent this problem and it was working just fine until Medora ND.  I’m suspecting a loose wire from some awful roads, but in the meantime I picked up a small engine charger to carry with us.

I figured if Left Brain conks out again those jumpers could be used as nipple clamps and I could jump start him as well.  It also has an LED light and USB ports which may be handy when boon-docking in the desert.

We are both relieved and it feels a weight has been lifted from our shoulders.  

I will continue doing the majority of the driving for the immediate future as I need to have this experience and since we’ll be on interstate it’s much more relaxing to me.

Now I need to find a massage therapist somewhere and get the kinks and tension out of my neck and shoulders and all will be good.

Even though we got in to see the doctor right away, we paid for a week and we’ll just take our time to enjoy this area.  The Welcome Wagon lady (yes, seriously) visited us the first night and I have brochures for covered bridges and waterfalls that I want to photograph.

The younger people are probably wondering what the Welcome Wagon is, but I’m betting most of my readers are familiar with this quaint blast from the past.

Long Live the Queen

Observations from behind the wheel

Here are some of the thoughts I had while driving today...along narrow twisty roads.... and in the rain:

1)  Our highway system is woefully inadequate.  The roads all need to be at least five feet wider with a five foot shoulder.  This is a ridiculously skinny area for an RV to be on.

2)  There should be guardrails where ever there is a drop of more than six inches.  It should be a minimum of three feet high and preferably lined with rubber.

3)  There should not be any one lane bridges....ever.  Enough said.

4)  Tunnels should be just as tall on the edges as in the center to avoid having to go over the center line to fit.

5)  The grip strength in my hands has increased by about 40% now.  I do believe I could crack walnuts with them.

George is more relaxed now that we've landed some place for a week.

I got my first taste of driving on the interstate again today, only for twelve miles, but they were glorious miles.  "Why?" you ask?  Let me tell you...

I don't have to look for a turn out to allow the parade of cars following me to pass, they just go in the passing lane without any public displays of rudeness.  I am very sensitive and all those raised fingers may be a salute of some kind to the Queen, but they appear to mean spirited.  At least in the rain people keep their windows closed, so that was nice.

I can actually go the speed limit (when possible) without worrying about a sudden turn at 25 mph....with no shoulder or guardrail (refer to items 1 and 2 above).

There are waysides to pull over and take a lunch and potty break - no need to look for a spot large enough to fit See-More into.

We have just arrived at the Escapee Park in Sutherlin OR and Left Brain got a call that he can see the cardiologist tomorrow at 1:15.

Unbelievable.  

I was sure we'd have to wait here for a good long time to get in, so this is wonderful news.  Things are looking up.


Long Live the Queen of the Road

Exploring Florence OR before we leave

 You can see the sense of relief on our granddog, Zeke's face when he found out Grandpa was going to be okay.

On Sunday Left Brain watched the Packers win their game.  I took some long overdue laundry next door and worked on a jigsaw puzzle while it washed and dried.  

Then we went out for lunch and ate for the first time at Mo's and we are hooked!  Great seafood.  I had the grilled blackened shrimp with mashed potatoes and a cup of clam chowder.  Flavorful and in portions that are realistic...can't beat that.

A brave (or foolish, not sure) couple walking closer during the low tide

Since I really have no interest in football, I went back to the rec room and finished the puzzle.  It was only a 500 piece one, so it wasn't too bad.  It's hard to quit once it gets going.

On Monday we toured more of the area and went to the Heceta Head lighthouse.  This is one of the most photographed lighthouses and we were blessed with nice weather.

Our next stop was the Sea Lion Caves, but this time of year there are very few to be spotted.  To access the cave you walked down 37 steps and then took the elevator down another 200 feet.

Look closer at that lighter brown "rock" on the shore and you'll see one of the few I spotted.

Lunch was some seafood pasta for me and grilled salmon for him - another tasty treat.

Our original plan was to work our way down Hwy 101 along the coast and then into Hemet for our long term stay in November.  But, being full-timers our plans are written in jello to start with....throw in a health concern and the old plan is out the window.

The next step is to find a cardiologist for the next step in his treatment.  There is an Escapee RV park in Sutherlin OR and it shows several specialists at a nearby medical facility.  Since this park is only $120.00 a week, it's an affordable place to land until we get things underway for Left Brain.

We had dilly dallied way too long in the Pacific Northwest and now it's mid October, so it's time to pick up the pace.  The other advantage to this is being back on I-5 with much easier driver for the Queen so we can make better mileage.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I like interstates for ease of transportation.  Cruising narrow twisty scenic roads is fun in a car to explore, but not in a large rig when you constantly have to pull over to allow others to pass you.  We just can't get up those hills like they can.  I only had one guy give me the finger while driving yesterday, so most are pretty understanding of our plight.

It is illegal (at least in Oregon) to have more than five vehicles following you without using one of the pull outs.  This may not sound difficult, but often the pull outs are not terribly deep, at a weird angle and full of gravel and pot holes, all of which are terribly unkind to an RV.  Let's just say that "things go flying" when we hit this kind of road. 

Another consequence is opening a cabinet door after setting up and having stuff crash on your head.  I do a pretty good job strapping things down and securing items, but some of this is just unavoidable under horrible driving conditions.

We just got a high wave alert on the cell phones about the surf in Florence where we are, but we are quite a bit inland so should be okay.  Yup, I'm ready to get off the coast for a while.

Long Live the Queen

We have an answer!

Well, we've ruled out stroke, heart attack and brain tumors.  But it was the results of the echo-cardiogram that gave us a definitive answer.  

His doctor called him (on his day off) to give him the results and it looks like he'll need to get on some kind of meds 
 for cardiomyopathy.  

I'm betting this correction will give him more energy as well, since he's been acting like a sluggish old man lately and that's just not him.

The beauty of this is that all his recent medical treatment goes online and will be sent to our primary physician.  Plus, anywhere we stop along the way they can access the latest data as well.  Perfect for a couple on the move....gotta love the technology.

This disease can easily go undetected as people age.  It's so easy to just assume it's part of the slowing down process while getting older.  We were lucky to have the warning that we did.

So, until we get to the next clinic visit, the Queen will remain at the helm.  This is good as I need to get my skills up to date and feel more comfortable with driving this beast.

But it's amazing how much easier it is to drive See-More when your heart is not acting like a jack-hammer.  I was a bit scared to be in charge as we headed out, but Left Brain says I'm doing well and he can sense the comfort level growing.

We stopped by the side of the Oregon coast to make some lunch and take a break and really enjoyed watching these huge waves breaking on the shore.

I had Gracie all harnessed up and ready to enjoy being outside for a little bit but she heard the roar and crash of the waves and jumped right back into the RV.

Today was not a long drive, just a bit over 125 miles and we got to park in a pull through, so that was much easier.  The car battery died again and they had to give us a jump.  Not sure what's going on with this; but this needs to be addressed soon.

We are at the Pacific Pines RV Park and Storage in Florence Oregon.  All concrete sites, so much cleaner than most the places we've been.  Fast, great WiFi...ready to relax for a day or two and take in the sites before moving on again.

We really appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that came our way from our announcement of the "almost accident".  It is such a good feeling to know there are people out there who care about us. 

So far the plans are to keep on keeping on and continue our full-time RV adventure.  

Long Live the Driving Queen and Co-Pilot Left Brain

Still alive and much relieved

It's been a scary couple of days, but it seems the worst is behind us...and most of the worst that was possible never happened at all.  We are thankful.

Left Brain spent the night in the hospital under observation and had more tests done in the morning.  They did a stress test, EKG, barium test, ultrasound on carotid arteries, an MRI on his head (which actually did reveal he has both a left AND right brain...who would have known!) and an echo-cardiogram.  

The doctor said if he was a pilot he'd certify him to fly, we'll never know for sure exactly what happened to cause him to lose consciousness. But we do know he's totally healthy in every way.  Now we're hoping the insurance accepts billings from this hospital as we never found out if they were a preferred provider or not.  When you have a medical emergency and this is the facility near....you just go and hope for the best.

We celebrated by going out to lunch after the last test was done. 

Can you see the relief on his face?

Then we did our tourist things in quick succession to get caught up.  Our first visit was to the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we watched them package the cheese and had our free samples.  This was followed up by some of the creamiest ice cream I've ever had.  Hey!  His arteries are open...why not?

After leaving here we went up to Cape Meares to see the lighthouse and Octopus Tree.  The lighthouse was very short since it's already situated up quite high.  It was an odd sensation to walk down the path and be eye level with the beacon.

The Octopus Tree is a giant multi-trunked Sitka spruce.

Before leaving our plush accommodations here I just had to share the campground post office with you.

Here it is!  Right between the crab traps and the pop machine.  I think it's a pop machine, that might be where the bait is kept...who knows.

Here it is open with little cubbies for the residents to get their mail.  Ours came in a box and was too large for one of the standard holes, so we got to be in the freezer compartment. 

 It was good to get the mail again since the last batch we received I had a questionnaire about jury duty .....in Texas.  There was no follow up to that, so hopefully I'm off the hook for that one.

We leave tomorrow for further down the coast with The Queen at the helm of See-More.  Left Brain has no driving restrictions and feels quite comfortable taking over the job again, but I really feel a need to be more familiar with it on a regular basis.

Long Live the Queen