Mind the Gap
Yes, there has been quite a gap in time since my last entry,
and I do have a very good reason for it, which I shall elaborate on a bit
later. Let’s fill in those gaps of where
we’ve been and what we’ve been doing for the last 3+ months, shall we?
My last entry was from Branson, MO, so let’s pick up from
there!
We stayed an extra day in Branson because the weather was
forecast to be miserable and rainy the day we were originally planning on
leaving. Nothing worse than bringing in
the slides when it’s pouring rain – the floor gets soaked and you can’t clean
it up until you unhitch and set up in your next landing spot. We left there and stopped in eastern Missouri
(Sikeston) for a couple days. Nothing
special there, except we did have dinner at the famous Lambert’s Café – Home of
Throwed Rolls. So much food, and hot
rolls being flung at you by the servers from across the room. I kid you not. There’s a website, as well as Youtube
videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlqXc0z2Cgo
We moved on to Nashville for a couple days, with no plans on
doing anything touristy. Been there
already, wasn’t impressed. It was just a
stopping-off spot to our next destination, which was Dandridge, TN, just
outside of Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. As you may recall from my last entry, we were
in dire need of having our landing gear repaired, which was the reason our
original itinerary was trashed. We were
able to get a service appointment in Knoxville, at our RV dealership where we
bought the 5er. However, they couldn’t
take us in until May 14th, so we needed to kill some time.
It just so happens that there was another DRV
rally taking place in Dandridge right before our appointment, so we were able
to get ourselves invited to that. It was
a fun time, meeting, greeting, and eating with folks we’ve become friends with
on the DRV Facebook page, and seeing a bit of the sights we hadn’t seen when were
at the rally right after we picked up the Beast in May of 2017. We stayed on an extra week, and we were able
to make the Cades Cove loop in the evening through the Smokies. We were treated to quite a few mama and cub
sightings of bears, deer and fawn, and a big old Tom turkey strutting his stuff
for the ladies! We also took a drive
over into Cherokee, NC and back through the Smokies, with a stop at Clingman’s
Dome. Definitely got some flora and
fauna viewing in on this trip.
View from Clingman's Dome
Our trip back to Knoxville was painless, and the repairs
weren’t so difficult. We were pretty
thankful for that, although we will have to stop back on our way south this
fall. We have to have our roof ladder
replaced (due to the little incident with the tree in the Catskills May of last
year). They didn’t have it in stock, so
we’ll have to order it and have it delivered here, and then pop back in to Knoxville
when we pass that way in October. We’ll
have a few other things to get spiffed up by then, so it’s all good.
From Knoxville, we had both decided we just wanted to get
back to Vermont, so we pushed ourselves – and the poor cats - stopping for the night only twice, and
hitting the road again first thing. It
was exhausting for Tim, and the cats were pretty stressed, but we’ve been
parked for 2 months now, and the kitties are happy.
So, I guess I should discuss the reason for the 3-month
delay in making an entry. As I mentioned
before, I had a bit of a breathing scare back in Colorado at the 7200 foot
elevation. We didn’t think anything of
it, attributing it to altitude sickness.
I didn’t really have any other issues after that which would raise any
red flags. Oh, a bit of getting winded
walking up the hill at the campground in Dandridge and at Clingman’s Dome
perhaps, but since I am also carrying excess weight, I feel like that was
probably the cause. However, once we
returned to Vermont, I started getting fatigued frequently, requiring at least
2 or 3 naps a day. I also started having
breathing problems, getting winded just walking short distances, as well as
when having a conversation. This was
unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, and Tim made the executive
decision to haul me into an urgent care clinic.
After a thorough once-over by the APRN, listening to my lungs, etc., a
chest x-ray was taken, and then……well, then came the “suspected” diagnosis
based on their on-site staff’s opinion.
Interstitial lung disease. A
prescription for Prednisone, as well as for a rescue inhaler was given, as well
as a referral to a pulmonologist. The
scrips were easy enough to get. The
appointment with the pulmo doc? Not so
much. After waiting for 2 weeks to hear
back from the clinic, I finally had an appointment – 4 weeks later. Frustration doesn’t begin to explain how I
felt.
The initial shock of the diagnosis (and head-spinning from
looking at “Dr. Google” to see what I was potentially facing) wore off as I
just went about going on with my life.
The meds helped considerably, although there is still difficulty
breathing when exerting myself or on bad air quality days.
And today, we finally made our way to Lebanon, NH for my
appointment. The doctor, as well as the
radiologist, concur that it is NOT interstitial lung disease. WOOHOO for that. What I most likely am experiencing is
adult-onset asthma – not at all like what I had as a teenager. To be on the safe side, I have to go for a CT
scan to rule out any other off-the-wall diagnosis, but the doctor was quite
certain this is what I have based on my pulmonary function tests as well as the
x-ray. The CT scan is mostly to be on
the safe side. In the meantime, I have a
prescription for a steroid inhaler, which should help (and is not meant for
long-term use), and also a new scrip for the rescue inhaler.
Suffice it to say that my mood and outlook have been lifted remarkably,
and I now feel quite ready to keep everyone who is interested informed about
how and what we’re up to. That said, I
have 2 months of stuff to catch up on, but I think I’ve prattled on long
enough. All that is for another entry.
Sending out lots of love and gratitude for family and
friends, and heaving a great, big sigh of relief!
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