Summer 2022

      As we come to the end of the summer of 2022 and prepare for our fall migration this will be a summary (or summery) of the season. I'm kind of thinking of it of the summer of not seeing because of cataract surgery in each eye but let's start at the beginning. 

     After our arrival in May we spent time tied up at the dock at Old Lyme Marina. This is because our mooring is not installed until mid-May usually. It helped being on the dock because of the colder than normal spring weather and we could plug in to get some heat at night. Not to run full time but to just take the chill off. The marina was way behind schedule due to winter weather issues and Covid running through the staff. They were vaccinated but caught an Omicron variable. No one had very serious symptoms, fortunately, but, of course, it wasn't fun either. We have not caught it. Yet. Still alive. It would be very serious for us with our compromised (nearly nonexistent) immune systems. 

     By the end of May we had started our seemingly endless medical visits. I have a PCP, endocrinologist, dentist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist, oncologist, dermatologist and I'm probably forgetting someone. Then there are various blood draws and scans thrown in. Carol has the same visits to schedule, removing the endocrine and oncology doctors and adding pulmonology and rheumatology. Scheduling is fun as we try to get all these done in Connecticut. In Miami we only do my oncology follow-ups. Faith in, and comfort with, the medical options available here are why we cram in most if our medical visits in the summer. Yes, there is quality care in other parts of the country but there are places where there is not. There are known unknowns and unknown knowns. Huh? 

     This year we opted for my cataract surgery in both eyes. Knew this was coming after observing the changes over many years. Wish I had done this last year. The problems we had were unique to us living on a boat. You can do no lifting,  bending down or pulling for one week. This is an impossible restriction while living on a boat. Then there is two weeks between each eye surgery. Of course there are multiple doctor visits before, during and after each procedure. The actual surgery is not long, difficult or particularly uncomfortable but suddenly one eye has a new, clear lens and sees much better than your old eye did. It still needs correction however and you no longer have the right prescription/correction in your glasses. One eye is new, one is old. Then you have the second eye done a few weeks later and you have correct glasses for neither eye. You have to wait weeks before you can be measured correctly. Your eyes have to settle after having your original eye lens lasered into oblivion and replaced with an artificial one. Once both eyes were done I could read just fine but could not quite see well enough to drive. You can opt for close vision or far vision but the combo option has not been perfected yet. I had 20/60 vision which is not quite legal to drive. This was a tremendous improvement over my 20/200 previous vision but I still needed glasses and there was a built in delay before the exam for, and the eventual delivery of, new glasses. Hence the summer of not seeing. About a month and a half all together. 

     Our first summer venture was to Hamburg Cove for our Memorial Day Rendezvous. Not too many Waterbury Squadron members have boats any more so only three boats showed up. Our starboard saildrive/transmission started making a strange noise and then failed to be in gear while maneuvering around the moorings. It took more than two months to get a mechanic to come to the boat to make repairs. Still makes noise but it is working. Because we sat for so long barnacles grew crazily on the boat and props. Not much rain made for saltier river water and very unusual growth. Because of my eye surgeries I could not go in the water and no paid diver would come to us. Sue and Al of Gelato came to the rescue (THANKS AL!) and dove to scrape our props which let us get to Block Island with the kids. The boat bottom was still covered in marine growth and we were slow but, with the props cleaned by Al, we could get underway. Cobbe's behavior mostly okay in an almost 5 years old kind of way and Kaia's 5 month old developments were nonstop. 

     I had fewer days at the Museum due to my eye surgery issues but I worked in a rotation of the different exhibits we interpreters (docents) man and the variety helped pass the time. As much as I love having the deck of the last wooden whale ship in the world, the very hot, dry summer combined with my health situations made the air conditioned exhibits much more comfortable than the Morgan. The Museum had several social/dining events for the staff and volunteers as well as the workshopping of a new play and CPR/AED training. There is something special about being an 'insider' at the Museum and having 'inside information' and background knowledge and then sharing it with visitors. Plus, after nearly 40 years, I still love just wandering around the grounds. It's a special, historical place. 

     Carol's health issues, after several dormant years, crept up. MOHS surgery on her temple for Basal Cell skin cancer was relatively minor but the process was, uh, interesting. Except for the actual cutting, I observed. Close up. Like I said, interesting. The photos are kind of gross, however. Not posting them. But, all good. No trace left. Stamina became more of an issue, too. Very brief walks led to heavy breathing and fatigue. Cardiology thought it to be a pulmonary issue. The pulmonologist believed it to be a cardiac issue. Sigh. At least her non-original equipment heart valve still seems to be working fine. Warranty has long expired, however. 

     We had planned to go to Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island for Labor Day Weekend to meet the kids. Unfortunately Kaia caught Covid. She was the only one not fully vaccinated yet and, of course, everyone else also developed it. Much milder in the vaccinated but still not fun. 

                            Sick baby

     The passage to Coecles was surprisingly quick considering it was mostly against the current. The first night was breezy and a bit choppy but not terrible. Then it turned beautiful. I managed to do some bottom scraping and to put new zincs on the props. The used zincs I put on a few weeks earlier vanished. Hope these stay put. They are very expensive but neccessary. The hull was badly covered in growth but the props were okay after Al scraped them for us and I touched them up a few weeks ago. The passage back home on Labor Day was fine, too. Poor current direction but the forecast rain held off until we were home several hours. When the rain started, it went on for 40 hours. And heavy. Major flooding occured all over southern New England. 

     The last week in Old Lyme was for stocking up, putting things in and taking things out of storage, and a few more medical visits and tests for Carol. At least I am done with medical until November in Miami. Done with chemotherapy for good. Bloodwork and oncology visits will continue every three months or so. CT scans will be periodic, too. If/when my remission ends the treatment will be in pill form unless there are further advancements in treatment options before then. Not pessimistic about the future, it's just the type of lymphoma I have. Chronic. Not curable. Not aggressive. Should be years of remission. It's been 2 1/2 so far. Could be worse. 

     As I post this entry I have one more weekend at the Museum and Carol has one more doctor visit. Can't head south without the cardiologist's okay. Carol is also going to see the kids for our last weekend in Conn. and I'll join her briefly to leave our car there in Long Island for the winter. 

     The next posting should be from Pasadena or Annapolis, MD.