After Wrightsville Beach we went to an anchorage we've used in the past right on the NC/SC border. Then we went to a marina in Myrtle Beach for laundry, fuel, showers and a chance to meet with one of Carol's former co-workers for dinner. Carol inspired her to retire and they upped and moved out of Connecticut to Conway, SC in record time.
It rained while we were in Myrtle Beach but the weather improved after a gale blew through the next day. It forced us to find a new spot to anchor in the Wacamaw River, but that wasn't bad. Thanks Skipper Bob!
We stopped in a spot we used early in our ICW cruising just north of Charleston and then went offshore out of Charleston Harbor. Because we were not as close to the ocean as we usually are we got to the ocean and turned south in late morning instead of our usual early morning. We had a decent offshore and overnight passage with following 1-2 ft seas and 10-15 kts directly on the stern. Overnight we had a brief time when the wind shifted west and gave us some beam seas but all in all it wasn't bad.
We got to St. Augustine in late afternoon and picked up a City mooring. We got showers and fuel and got underway in the morning. Back in the ICW. The next day was an easy leg to New Smyrna and then the whole theme of this years' southern cruise changed dramatically. UGH!
About 0300 I awoke to extreme abdominal pain. Gas! Constipation! Food poisoning! Something! Something bad.
After several hours of delay for male stubbornness and denial we had Fire/Rescue and the USCG take us to shore and to the nearby hospital. Minutes from our boat to the ER. There I got pain medications and a CT scan. They were happy to tell me that of all the nasty possibilities I only had a kidney stone. ONLY! 5x6 cm. That's big. And no previous symptoms. This was the start of my 'procedures'.
A stent to my kidney. Lithotripsy to blow up the stone with sound waves. And then one more time under anesthesia to remove the stent and remaining stone pieces with a basket. A basket up in my kidney! I still shudder thinking of that one. Unfortunately all these body invasions left my plumbing very annoyed and swollen. I had trouble urinating and it was decided I finally had to deal with my long term prostate issues. BPH.
I spent five days in Bert Fish Medical Center, an OUTSTANDING facility with amazing staff, and left on Thanksgiving Day. 10 am discharge, underway at noon. We had planned to be in Fort Pierce for Thanksgiving with our long time friends, Mike and Carol but we were a few days late.
We anchored in Faber Cove for about a week while visiting and Carol went off to work. Then we got a slip in a real crappy (but cheap) marina so we could drive back up to New Smyrna for one more procedure, a T U R P. It's a removal of parts of the inside of the prostate from the inside of the prostate. No external incisions. Figure it out. Just one night in the hospital which was cheating because it's supposed to be day surgery (NO WAY!) and one more night in a hotel in nearby Daytona Beach and we came back home to the boat. After a day we removed my catheter. FINALLY, after two weeks! This was a trade of one discomfort for others but the new discomforts are fading daily.
This we hope will be the end of our adventures (medical or otherwise) for a while. We get underway Sunday for Marathon unless other sh... I mean stuff happens.
Christmas in the Keys are still the plan.
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