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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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I played a lot of baseball when I was young.  I played just about every position, but mostly catcher.  It wasn’t my favorite sport, but it was probably the sport that I excelled at most in a team setting.  On one of my most memorable days, I stole second base easily–so easily that I decided to go into the base standing up instead of sliding. 

For whatever reason, the catcher decided to throw late anyway, and the ball sailed high a bit.  The second baseman didn’t think the throw was coming either, so he was not in position to catch the ball.  Instead, my nose did, breaking in the process and gushing out huge amounts of blood.  As they loaded me up in the ambulance, I thought, “That was unexpected.”

This week, life threw another one of those curve balls.  My adult son Justin, who already has a full plate of medical diagnoses, including life-threatening Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, was hospitalized for previously undiagnosed mental health issues. I thought that I already experienced all of the suckiness of hospitals, but the locked-down psychiatric ward presented a new level. 

Everyone agreed that he needed to be there, but I just kept thinking, “what more could happen to this kid?”

We’re taking things day-by-day.  He is getting the medicine and therapy that the doctors think he needs. In hindsight, this was probably a long time coming and explains certain behaviors and perceptions.  We just weren’t prepared for it–kind of like that baseball to the nose.

In the meantime, Elvis the service dog isn’t allowed to stay with Justin at the hospital when I am not present, so I am playing UN peacekeeper at home between the docile Elvis and the aggressive, jealous Callie.  For hospital visits, Elvis comes with me, while Callie stews at home in her crate.  Julia’s father-in-law Gene, who had a stroke just before Christmas, has been home and back to the hospital by ambulance several times.  He is convalescing at an area nursing home with the hope to transition eventually to home, but even he agrees that their current house needs to be sold in favor of more accessible living.  Gene has good days and bad days.

I am still hoping for a trip south in the Brew Hut in early April, but there are a lot of balls up in the air right now.



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