Moving day…Holding my own…For our US readers, please have a safe Labor Day!…

We booked the Residence Inn by Marriott, Cleveland Clinic, a few days ago, from today, September 2 to December 2. Without enough info on my prognosis and treatment yet, we have no idea how long we’ll have to stay in Cleveland. If we need to stay longer, we’ll book more days accordingly.

Again, by contacting Marriott’s Bonvoy Club, we got a better rate than at any other site, saving as much as $50 daily. When we booked it for three months, we didn’t have to pay for all three months in advance and could pay weekly, as we did at another Residence Inn in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. We prefer not to pay for hotels so far in advance.

Paying weekly works for us, making reviewing the weekly room charges easy. Since they don’t have a regular restaurant, we’ll unlikely incur additional charges. As in most residence-type hotels, breakfast is included; although it’s basic with processed scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, bacon, sausage, bacon, cereal, toast, processed pancakes, coffee, and tea, it’s OK for us.

I don’t eat processed foods and usually choose hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and decaf coffee. Since we don’t eat lunch, we’re on our own for dinner. With several tests at the clinic this week, we’ll most likely order dinner from a delivery service. A few tests are somewhat invasive, and I may not feel up to preparing dinner.

Also, after being off the Afib drug for the fourth day, I am experiencing a few symptoms of suddenly stopping the Flecainide as required by the cardiologist I saw on Thursday. So far, I have only had a few quick bouts of Afib and heart rate increases, but overall, I am feeling better being off of this FDA Black Box drug, which ultimately is a dangerous drug.

We are mostly packed, although we didn’t start until yesterday. We’ve already wrapped up the remainder this morning. We hardly unpacked anything for this one-week stay, but once we arrive at the new location, we’ll unpack everything we’ll need to use in the next three months.

We are locked into a 91-day stay and will be charged a one-month penalty if we leave early. Based on the nightly rate savings, we figured it would be worth it if we could leave early. We won’t head to South Africa until after Christmas and the hot summer months have ended. (Seasons are opposite in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere).

If all goes well, we can head to Marloth Park around April, seven months from now. If we leave here early, we’ll have to find somewhere to go while we wait to leave for Africa. We aren’t concerned about that now. As Tom always says, “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” which is hard for me as a perpetual planner.

We’ve received an unreal number of messages from our family members, friends, and readers. A special thanks to each of you for your kind and supportive comments. I try to respond to each one individually, but I will never get to everyone. If I don’t reply, please know how much we appreciate your comments, love, and support! We read every message that comes our way, which is taking up the better part of each day right now. What a meaningful way to spend an otherwise uneventful day in a hotel room when we’re not at the clinic!

Tomorrow, tests begin again at 9:30 am. If it takes all day, we won’t be preparing a post. If we get done early, we’ll write to all of you.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 2, 2014:

No photos were posted on this date as we made our way to Stonehenge, England. More tomorrow.