Well, this break has been far too long. The Portland road trip was amazing. It was such hard work that I never had energy to blog, though I have hundreds of pictures. Immediately upon our return, I had another low blood pressure and syncope incident. I wound up in the hospital for one night. My doctor offered that I could stay for an additional four days (it was Friday night, so I would be stuck there for the weekend before we could run most tests) and run a few more tests that were unlikely to determine a diagnosis, or I could go home and we would continue to investigate. I chose home.

Moab and Arches National Park

It turns out our trek to Moab was nearly spoiled by fire. On the back route we drove, we spotted this fire to our east, which had shut down roads connecting to our highway. The next day, it shut down the highway we used. An alternate route would have added hours.

After my last blog, our road trip continued in Moab. Jacob flew in to join us for the rest of the vacation. He would be the driver for the drive back to Austin while Spencer and his girlfriend, Sydni, spent some time in Portland and then flew home. Rachel’s cousin Audrey, who was a ranger at Arches and has lived in Moab since, gave us a tour of Arches and the Moab area. Arches National Park is amazing. I love the weird big rocks on small spires and arches that result from having a lower layer of rock that is more soluble than the upper layer. She also took us to some beautiful petroglyphs, and we spent some time with her husband, Tim.

Salt Lake City

Then we moved on to Salt Lake City for some family time with Rachel’s aunt Dee Rowland (Rachel’s Mom’s sister). We had a surprise visit at Dee’s with Hawk Mendenall’s children, some of whom we had met way back when they lived in Austin. Hawk is married to Rachel’s cousin Amber, also Dee’s daughter. Just to embarrass Spencer, I told the story to Hawk’s children. Back when Hawk lived in Austin, he was program director at KUT radio. Whenever he was on-air for fundraisers, Spencer would yell out, “Hawk on the radio!” In Spencer’s defense, he was about three, and it is exciting to know on-air personalities. We had dinner with Dee, her daughter Amy, and Amy’s husband Brian.

Idaho Falls and Drive to Portland

Then we moved on to Idaho Falls. We had dinner at a great, upscale brewpub. I loved the seared ahi appetizer, which was plenty for dinner with a few cheese curds. Our last day of driving was along the Snake and Columbia rivers, then on to Portland.

Wedding and Portland

Portland was the goal for my niece Rachel’s wedding to Geoff. Three out of seven of my parents’ grandchildren are now married, and all of the others are in relationships. I have not mentioned it, but Jacob now has a girlfriend. The reason he missed the first part of our trip is that he was on a road trip with her.

It was spectacular getting us all together. Had all my siblings, niblings, and my children. Rachel and Geoff had a beautiful ceremony, following a ritual serving of tea to their parents. Got to talk to all my siblings and their kids. We are now three out of seven of the next generation married, and the other four are all in relationships. Monday night, we had dinner with two Deerfield alumni who happened to be in town. Brian Nelson (’80) has been in town a while, dealing with family issues, and Mike Nash (’81) was in for business. We had a great dinner at Jake’s Grill and found out that Brian and Mike had been on the same corridor in 1977-78.

Yosemite Valley and Sequoia

We spent two days visiting Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Forest. It was a thrill to finally get to Yosemite after years og adoring Ansel Adams’ (and others) photos

Since Then

After Sequoia, it was just long days of mostly the same driving until we made it back home. Right after I got back, I had another round of low blood pressure and syncope. Back in the hospital for one night, discharged with no diagnosis. Seeing a cardiologist soon, probably to implant a long-term heart monitor. Seeing the neurologist to have a platform test next week. Also had some blood in my urine, so going back to a urologist. Visited my PM&R doc for more Botox, which is helping the left arm and leg quite a bit. As of now, I have five neurologists (plus their staffs of residents and interns), so I apologize for personally worsening the Austin neurologist shortage.

Back now, I have restarted the Centre for Neuroskills therapy. I have been doing a lot of OT/ It is now standard to do arm mobility every session, which is really helpful. PT has worked on standing, recumbant walking, walking, with breaks to do group volleyball. Working on writing my book during ED time. CR is memory exercises, talking, writing, and occasional testing or games. CO is probably just once a week.