Oh, we are so grateful to be back together at the RV.
We will both continue to say that the experience at Intermountain was wonderful (and yes, I will be messaging our former Clinic & former Intermountain colleagues to share that their impact on the culture was clearly significant). Rick struggled to rest, only getting a couple of hours of sleep, as is to be expected in a hospital setting. He did finish another book, though. The staff was super responsive and he said that the meals were really good.
But the best part was the efficiency! When they said that they would get him an Echo in the morning, they meant it. They had all of his testing done, evaluated (positively) and a “ready to discharge” status by 9. They sent over his prescription and so my first job was to get that picked up and then meet him at the hospital.
So I hopped in yet another uber. We were happy to have the same uber driver again today for both legs of our journey. He was so kind and said he had been worrying about us/praying for Rick last night. We bonded over a total of 5 rides. Definitely not your typical uber driver.
Rick mentioned yesterday how wonderful the pharmacy was. Unfortunately, they are not in network, and the closest in network pharmacy is 50 miles away. So I will be seeing if we can get back some of the $800 for the 30 day prescription. We know this, but healthcare is so broken… many people would not have been able to fill the prescription at all!
But I digress about the healthcare system… the discharge was efficient and we were so glad to get back to the RV. Rick got a well deserved shower and nap. I decided to do laundry, since a) I need something to do in times like this; b) the sheets now had hospital “ick” lingering from last night; c) we are staying in cool weather for the rest of the trip, so clean sweatshirts make me happy; and d) moving around was what I needed to do!
We had to then, of course, decide what the road to recovery should look like. He is on a blood thinner for PE, and was discharged with no restrictions. He is encouraged to keep moving but told that he is likely to be exhausted/in pain for the next couple of weeks, especially if he does too much. We were encouraged to keep travelling, but take lots of breaks. It is amazing to me that with such a serious diagnosis, we were sent on our merry way. Medicine is amazing.
So we have adjusted our course again. This involves, most importantly, avoiding any deserted areas. Neither of us are comfortable with being remote, either on the road or overnight. Great Basin National Park will be deferred since it is probably the most remote place we would have been to. We can catch that on a future trip out this way (along with Death Valley, which we deferred due to heat).
Rick was able to cancel our next 2 stops, and we replaced them in more populated areas that are are on our route to Estes Park. We do plan to keep our plans for a wonderful extended holiday in Estes Park, although it will involve ZERO hiking. It’s a good time for us to be tourists, with scenic driving, strolls and lots of snacks 🙂 After Estes we are on a path East towards home anyhow. We know that we are likely to be better at resting in Livvy than we would be at home, as long as we travel smartly. So smart travel it is!
I’m still processing all of this, as is Rick. But when I couldn’t sleep early this morning, I sent Rick a long rambling email (so as to not wake him with a text). I share some parts of it here, as it sums up a lot of things for me…
I, too, am grateful that you listened to your body and went in. I love everything about you, every day and always. You can’t help it if these things happen, as much as I couldn’t if it were me. So no “I’m sorry” any more. As my post said, and your mom’s gift said, we just find joy in every day.
It is a little funny because after I posted the “joy” post, I realized that there was more that I had intended to say, but forgot to include it (this happens pretty much every day; it takes me longer to compile my thoughts to paper). Anyhow, I will have a chance to tell you now and then include in today’s post since it is a feeling that is even more pronounced now.
I firmly believe that we are right where we are meant to be. As in Cedar City vs Las Vegas. As in a park so close to great medical care, settled safely for a few days with no specific plans, even before you had these symptoms. Both a place and “gap” in our schedule that we didn’t know we would need. I felt it before you went to the urgent care, thinking that it was just for rest. Clearly it was for so much more.
My faith leads me to believe that this is divine intervention. My faith leads me to believe that while things happen throughout our lives, we are here together (ok well not in this moment) to incorporate this as part of our new normal. Thanks to you listening to your body (and soul), we get more time together. We don’t tend to take things for granted, I know. But I tend to get so excited about the big things, especially when we are on the road. Yes, the grand stuff is oh so grand. But the every day stuff is oh so grand as well.
So when you are back here safely with me, I will enjoy it all even more. Again, I am not saying I took the every day stuff for granted because I think we do a good job in appreciating the every day stuff. And I know that the doctor said no restrictions.
But it is ok for us to take time and re-evaluate together. If we need to do things differently, we can. I just love you and want to enjoy each and every day. Whatever that brings us.
And that, my friends, is our road to recovery. We’re currently enjoying some quality time in the shade with the temps in the low 60s. Perfect night to warm up some of our homemade chili, enjoy each other’s company and turn in for a good nights sleep. We head North tomorrow.
Thanks to all who reached out to show care and concern. We appreciate you!
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