Thankful

Ruth and I made the trip from Michigan to Florida and arrived safely on Thanksgiving afternoon.  While skipping the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, we opted for two whoppers at Burger King.  They were running a special.  About an hour prior to our departure from our new condo, it started to snow.  I later learned that the folks there, and the neighboring Canadian Lakes, were looking for their snow plows the following morning.  We dodged that bullet.

Thankfully, the drive was uneventful.  We took our time, shared driving duties, and spent much of our non-driving time napping.  It’s a great way to  shorten the trip.

Three days prior to our departure, I wasn’t sure we would leave at all.  Ruth woke up Saturday morning with a “racing heart”.  We knew nothing about where the local hospital was located, and she needed to go.  I called 911 and an ambulance arrived in about fifteen minutes.  We sat calmly and waited.  About a minute behind the ambulance, the local fire department arrived.  Two EMTs evaluated Ruth while preparing to take her to Big Rapids, and the fire chief, Allen, introduced himself and welcomed us to the neighborhood.  By the time we were set to move out, the next door neighbors sent over their contact information and told me to let them know if we needed anything.  It was an unusual way to be introduced, but it was effective.

As we set out the EMTs told me that I wouldn’t be allowed to go into the hospital.  “It’s Covid protocol.”  We took the twenty-five minute drive slow and easy.  No flashing lights or sirens.  That helped me remain calm.   If they weren’t  in a hurry, why should I be?  Once we arrived I was able to get her phone to her, and we text updates to each other.  I sat in the parking lot, while they ran several tests.  One of her texts indicated that it was “going to be several hours”, she was “fine”, “in good hands”,  and I should “go get breakfast”.  So I did.   While I was away, I got the oil changed on the car too.  I had planned to, so I made lemonade from the lemons life dealt us.

About four hours after we arrived, she was released.  She has AFIB, is wearing a heart monitor for two weeks, and is on medication.  They told her she could do anything she wanted except take a shower.  She had to wait twenty-four hours to do that.

After they released her, she wanted to go shopping for a couple of new chairs for our new condo.  So we did.  She was able to find just what “we” wanted.  The new chairs won’t be available for twenty-four weeks, but neither will we, so everyone’s happy.

We’ve had a lot on our plate lately.  In the last six months we bought a new car, a new pontoon, wrestled with the demands of Covid, the sale of our 43 year home, news of the upcoming birth of our third grandchild, the purchase of a new condo,  the scheduling and cancelation of two “just because” trips, and finally, Ruth’s recent health hiccup.   I was thinking about all of this while sitting in the rest stop just outside Lake City, Florida as I was biting into my Thanksgiving whopper.   While things have been more challenging than we would have liked, we are moving forward.

And that’s a lot to be thankful for.