A SAFE RETURN FROM ST KITTS ... Martha and I returned Saturday, November 3rd from a week's vacation at the Marriott St Kitts Beach Club. Flying standby on a Saturday wasn't easy and turned out to be yet another
non-rev adventure, but we successfully just "squeaked" our Miami to Charleston connection and made it home as planned. It was our first trip to St Kitts and to be perfectly honest we found St Kitts somewhat "boring" (and expensive) compared to other Caribbean islands. We had absolutely beautiful weather all week and enjoyed the beach and pools at the Marriott. St Kitts is a great place to get away from it all and simply relax. The island itself is quite lush and the tropical rainforest very beautiful ... just not a whole lot to see and do. We were told the population of St Kitts is approximately 20,000 people and 80,000 green monkeys! We did see a few monkeys and got plenty of rest ... Martha read several books and I listened to lots of music. We enjoyed a nice half-day catamaran sail, a three and a half hour cab tour around the island, and celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary at a very nice restaurant ("Marshalls") with a table overlooking the sea. I wouldn't recommend St Kitts unless you're seeking a very quiet vacation experience.
CHEMO ROUND 27 ... received as scheduled this past Wednesday, November 7th. Blood work was good and the 2-1/2 hour session went smoothly ... I think I slept through most of it! Treatment side effects have left me a bit more fatigued than normal and with some light-headedness these first three days post-chemo. Hopefully "tomorrow will be a better day" as we keep saying. Following chemo I met with an oral surgeon at MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) to check my ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw) issue which has unfortunately progressed a bit (i.e. a bit more dead jaw bone is now protruding through my back gum line ... ugh!). We remain in a "wait and watch" mode relative to this Xgeeva drug side effect issue ... surgical intervention only as a last resort. Good oral hygiene daily, antibiotics as needed and pain killers seem to be doing the job for now.
ELECTION DAY SOUP and SALAD at 612 KING COTTON RD ... Martha and I hosted a small gathering of 18 Edisto friends at our home Election Day evening. We shared a simple soup, salad and bread meal together while watching the (disappointing) election returns come in. In spite of the election results we enjoyed some great fellowship and got to know each other a bit better. Martha assigned me the task of preparing a soup of my choice from scratch. Yes, she actually let me take over her kitchen for a few hours as I prepared a "potato and asparagus
soup" complete with bacon chunks and lemon peel. It actually turned out pretty good!
KODAK'S BANKRUPTCY COURT DECISION ... We were very disappointed to learn the bankruptcy court approved Kodak's request to terminate all retiree benefits at the end of this year. It's very sad when you give a corporation like Kodak the very best years of your life (33 years in my case) and then lose all retirement health, dental and life insurance benefits. We're hopeful we'll be able to sign up for American Airlines' health insurance when Martha turns 55 the end of April 2013, assuming of course AA comes out of bankruptcy in better shape than Kodak! As it stands right now we should be eligible for an MVP Healthcare COBRA insurance plan to cover us from January through May of 2013. While disconcerting, we should be okay.
New grandbaby "Capers" is doing well and growing like a weed! She (and her parents) are coming down for an overnight visit tonight. Capers will experience her first Buffalo Bills game via DirecTV tomorrow along with Auntie Julie and Grandy.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims of Hurricane Sandy along the NY and NJ coastline. The images coming across our TV are devastating and sad. Still hard to believe a hurricane actually came ashore in NY!
May the good Lord continue to bless you and yours ...
Dan and Martha