Month: October 2022

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Should We Stay Or Should We Go?

“Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know…”    The Clash

All year, Betty & I have planned on leaving the inevitable Winnipeg winter for the warmth of the Arizona desert sun, toward the end of October. Campsites around us are quickly emptying, and large flocks of Canada geese overhead constantly gaggle the message: It’s time to go.

Every day and night, Canada geese are calling us to join them.

We have already celebrated Thanksgiving, along with five October birthdays. A great time – including a delicious turkey dinner with full trimmings – was had by all at Andrew’s home. And Betty (Mom) gifted everyone with handmade, sparkling, brightly coloured Christmas socks, to be worn in December. Now it should be time to go!

Isabella, James, Aurora (hidden), Annie, Valerie, Dad, Andrew, Luke, and Georgia gather for a pic taken by Mom (Betty).
Valerie holds her phone so that Lisa and Adam can join by FaceTime. Andrew checks out the cake recognizing Annie’s, Georgia’s, Luke’s, Lisa’s and his October birthdays.
Everyone test-drove their sparkling Christmas socks, made with love by Mom.

On the other hand, I still have a CT scan happening today, and a bone scan scheduled for later this month. An Androgen Deprivation Therapy injection will come this week. Meetings with the rheumatologist and family doctor are booked for the next few weeks, and the oncologist won’t predict the need for future cancer treatments until after he sees the scan results. On top of all that, I came down with a painful case of shingles last week. And it may take up to a month to clear. Aahh, so much uncertainty!!

Painful shingles were an unexpected surprise when I woke up last week. Fortunately, I was able to get immediate treatment, adding to my long list of daily meds. I think my body’s trying to tell me something, but I’m not sure if I’m learning the lesson…

If we go there can be trouble, because my health is not stabilized and I would be unable to get travel health insurance. In the event of a health issue, I would either have to fly back, or we would need to turn our home quickly north. Uninsured health treatment in the U.S. can be bankrupting!

If we stay it will be double, because all Manitoba campgrounds close at the end of October. We would need to winterize our motorhome – which we never wanted to have to do again – and find a place to live until my health issues are resolved.

Can we find short-term, furnished accommodation (that accepts Charlie)? Or will we have to rent an apartment and ask our kids to move furniture in for us?  Can we leave in November or December, or will we need to stay until April? Everything is up in the air until I have a clear prognosis.! 

“So come on and let me know, should we stay or should we go…”

Cheers anyway!

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Haven’t The Need For The Pain

“…No I haven’t the need for the pain
No I haven’t got time for the pain
I haven’t got room for the pain No, No, No
I haven’t got need for the pain No, No, No
I haven’t got time for the pain
I haven’t got room for the pain
The time for the pain is over.”   Carly Simon

These days I’m in full agreement with Carly Simon: I haven’t the need for the pain!    Notwithstanding the constant “molten lava” flowing down my arm (as the Shingrix for Shingles commercial says), I haven’t got time for this pain! It’s been three weeks, and the meds I’m taking to combat it are leaving me dizzy & dopey. (Although Betty wonders if that isn’t just my normal self. Lol.)  And the pain doesn’t seem to want to go away…

Betty googled the contributing factors to Shingles, and they include age (check), compromised immune system (check), recent surgery (check) and stress (check). I didn’t ever think I’d get it, so never considered the Shingrix vaccine. The doc says I’ll have a natural immunity for the next year, but could get the vaccine after that. Among other vaccines, Betty will be looking for this one soon.

On the topic of our last post “Should we stay or should we go?”, the oncologist says stay, the rheumatologist says stay, my brother the doctor says stay, Betty the nurse says stay, our kids and grandkids say stay, and our friends say stay. And I say I can’t wait to get to the Arizona winter sun! Lol.

Ok, I’m outvoted, and recognize that my current unstable health condition would be very problematic if we were to go. 

Betty & I haven’t lived in an apartment since the 1970’s, and as recently as a couple of months ago, if you had asked either of us, we would have said no to moving into an apartment. Our home on wheels is our home, and we have been more than happy with the freedom it has brought.

But under the circumstances, winterizing our motorhome (which we swore never to do again) and moving into an apartment in Winnipeg for the next six or seven months is the better option. 

So the “Ramblin’ Reddochs” travel blog is going to have to go on hiatus for the next while. Since we started full-timing five years ago, I have enjoyed posting well over 200 entries about our overlandish odyssey. But for the next while our travels will be limited to uninteresting visits to grocery stores, doctors, and hospitals – definitely nothing travel blogworthy…

Here’s hoping that you haven’t the need for the pain, and can carry on enjoying whatever life brings your way!

Cheers!