Family Mountain Vaca

Venice Flooded

Venice is built on a salt marshland. When you visit there, you can smell the salt water and marsh.. it smells like a swamp. It's absolutely beautiful, but I wouldn't want to live there because of my fear (and every other CFer's fear) of mold. Venice is sinking as the land is lowering and the water is rising. About 2 weeks ago, it flooded, so the people were walking in thigh-high water for awhile. From what I understand, Venice floods regularly, but this was the worst flood in awhile. I can't imagine what that must have been like. Here are a few pics from our visit and a few pics of the flooded Venice from 2 weeks ago. I hope it has receded by now.

Us in St. Marks Square 2 years ago...









And here are pictures of Venice 2 weeks ago...


St. Marks Square...


St. Marks Square...



Here is a picture that we took...



Here is Venice flooded...

Fun at the beach

Beach Trip '08

It was a really great week at the beach with my parents, my sister and her family, and Jason, Casey and me. North Myrtle is MUCH more crowded though than I remember. We are going to the OBX next year instead. It's quieter and also has our favorite restaurants there.

I was able to see 2 of my very dear friends from Virginia, Nicole and Rhonda, while I was down there. We ate at some really great restaurants and had wonderful weather. Casey and Jason both love German food, so we found this "hole in the wall" German restaurant. They LOVED it! I prefer seafood at the beach. We did get plenty of that while we were there.

The pool area/hot tub area was very nice, but the water in the pool was freezing. I wasn't able to do more than sit on a float or take a quick dip because it was so cold. It didn't bother the kids though. They are immune to the ice cold temperatures I believe.

We visited the Alligator farm, did a little shopping, bought a kite and had fun with it on the beach, and of course spent most of our time on the beach and by the pool. Casey and her cousin Caroline read most of the time. The adults also got some reading time in. It was relaxing and a lot of fun, but I'm happy to be home.

This week is going to be a busy one as I start IV iron tomorrow at the infusion center in Charlotte, have a bronchoscopy this week at Duke, and we also have Casey's open house at school. She starts back a week from tomorrow.

Casey at the beach

I'll blog about our trip tomorrow when I'm not so tired, but here are some pics of Casey that I took. I had fun with my new camera... 469 pictures worth of fun!!

Florida, Fluids, and Fatigue

Well, we managed to make it to Savannah and Florida last week. We spent one night in Savannah. I had never been, but had been told it was a small Charleston. It really was!! It was very charming. We dined on the riverfront at the Chart House Restaurant and had a very relaxing evening. The streets all have squares every few blocks which reminded Jason and me of Venice. The houses were very old and beautiful like the ones in Charleston. I wish we could have stayed there longer.

We headed to Florida and went from coast to coast. Jason had never seen the Gulf Coast, so we went to Tampa and St. Pete Beach and then came back to Daytona. The difference in the water temperature on each coast was amazing. St. Pete Beach felt like bath water.. it was THAT warm. Daytona was as cold as any south Atlantic beach.. very cold because of the north Atlantic waters drifting south. I have stayed in St. Pete Beach many times before, and we are planning on going back next year and taking Casey for a week. She was in the OBX all week with her dad and his entire family last week. She had a blast. Casey's dad flew them out there, so they were able to get there in 2 1/2 hours instead of 7 1/2. Because the roads going to the OBX aren't that great, it takes sooo long to get there from where I live.. which is in the same state.

We will be heading to the beach with my family on Saturday. I am a little hesitant to go away after the week I've had. Monday morning I had an appointment with my nephrologist in Charlotte. When I woke up, I wasn't feeling well, but just thought I hadn't gotten enough sleep. After arriving at the doc's office, I started getting very dizzy and feeling like I was going to pass out. They took my blood pressure and it was 80/40. The doc came in and said I was very dehydrated, so they gave me a liter of fluid there in the office. I was so thankful they had the supplies and the staff there available to access my port. We were there for 3 hours so that I could get fluid. He then asked if I was feeling ok, and I said that I was much better, so he sent me home.

Later that day, I started running a fever, and was feeling horrible, so I eventually went to the ER. My new port had been more sore than the ones in the past, so I thought it might have become infected. They just said I was dehydrated again and had some kind of virus they thought. They gave me more fluids. They also said my hemoglobin was only 7.7, which is very low. This is a major reason I have been having so much fatigue. My nephrologist called again the next day and said that they were going to start me on IV iron when I got back from the beach. They won't do a blood transfusion, because it can interfere with my compatibility with my mom (as far as her being a match to me in order to give me a kidney).

Tomorrow I am going to Duke for a follow-up appointment. My weight has gotten so low that I'm afraid he is going to recommend another feeding tube. I had a g tube prior to my lung transplant that was removed about 3 months post-transplant. My nephrologist talked about putting me on a few months of dialysis soon, to help me gain some strength and some weight before my kidney transplant. I will see him again in a couple of weeks to discuss that.

We just bought a new camera and I am so excited. It's the Canon Digital Rebel XSi. We have been without a camera for way too long now. We have a really cheap one that my dad found at a yard sale, but it doesn't take good pictures of course. The one we bought is very nice, and I just hope I can figure out how to use it. I will probably be reading the manual all the way to the beach. Jason prefers to video everything, but I would rather have pictures. The video camera is basically his and he says the camera is my birthday present.

That's all I've got for now!

Unaccompanied Minor

Because Casey's dad works for USAirways, Casey gets to fly free. It's a nice perk, but after flying standby for many years, I came to realize that with that perk can be a lot of aggravation. Casey flew to see her grandparents in Florida yesterday. We tried to get her on the 1:00 flight, but it was oversold... so were the 4:00 and 6:00, so we went back to the airport for the 8:00 flight last night. She FINALLY made it.

It wasn't her first time flying by herself, but it always makes me nervous. They are very careful with the kids and they escort them on and off the plane and you have to sign paperwork when you pick up and drop off a child, so I know they are safe, but I still worry. She was not nervous at all, which did make it easier for me. Kids are so tough!

Anyway, she is now going to be staying a few extra days because her cousins are coming down there from Pennsylvania. She is so excited. She is pretty homesick.. she just texted me for about an hour.. LOL, but that's because it's bedtime. Tomorrow, when she's busy again, she'll be fine.

Our beach plans

Trying to find a place to vacation at with our entire family can be a bit difficult. My favorite beach to go to is Nags Head beach on the OBX, but my mom doesn't like going there. My sister's in-laws have a house in Manteo, so they always go there around the 4th of July. They would rather go somewhere else for our family vacation in August, so...

I went on a search for a vacation spot. I am not fond of Myrtle Beach because it is way too commercialized, but North Myrtle isn't so bad, and because there are so many places to choose from, the prices are usually more reasonable there than anywhere else around. Because of health issues, I need a fairly new place when I go to the beach. Older condos and houses tend to have a lot of mold due to the fact that.. well.. it's on the water. 

After many hours of searching, I finally found us a place at the Bahama Sands Resort in North Myrtle. These condos were just built in January of this year, so they should have no mold problem and will be very clean. There is a lazy river and 3 pools, not including the kiddie pool for my little nephew Cole. 

After I have my kidney transplant and have fully recovered, we are planning on either taking a cruise to the Caribbean or going to an all-inclusive place in the Caribbean. I am hoping to get my entire family to go with us. There is nothing like Caribbean water, but I want to be very healthy when I go so that I can fully enjoy it.

Here is a pic of the place we are staying at in August...