We figured out how I became ill…See our many photos below in the second half of this post…

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Views across the Huon River.

There’s no doubt we’re running low on photos. Having been increasingly ill over these three months, I wasn’t feeling well enough to go sightseeing once we arrived in the Huon Valley, five weeks ago. I’ve barely been well enough to do much of anything. 

Tom makes the bed, does the laundry, washes the dishes, and helps make dinner. The cleaner comes once a week leaving us with not much more than tidying up after ourselves. 

I had mentioned that I wouldn’t continue to discuss this health issue. This was prior to having a diagnosis anticipating that our readers would tire of my whinging. But, now that I have the diagnosis of Helicobactor Pylori (the bacteria that causes ulcers and gastritis, we both felt it was important to share this information with other travelers. 

These conditions may become prevalent for travelers to certain countries and after eating certain foods. After all, to the best of my knowledge, I may only have exacerbated this condition while living in Bali for four months. 

These comments are by no means intended to criticize or berate the two lovely cooks, the property, or the diligence of the owners or managers. They were very conscientious to ensure our visit was safe and sanitary. 

Rolling hills in the Huon Valley which apparently were bright green in the spring, before we arrived.

However, certain climates with ultra-high humidity and rampant insects and ants may be a breeding ground for illness.  Also, one never knows the handling conditions when purchasing produce, fish, meat, chicken, and eggs from vendors in farmer’s markets which we’ve done regularly.

We often hear of infectious disease as a result of bagged lettuce and other produce purchased in the US and other highly developed countries in traditional chain supermarkets where one may easily assume everything is safe to consume, only to discover it is not, in some circumstances. 

When looking back and discussing where we’ve been these past few years and when in fact this illness may have started we reviewed many of our past posts. Most of us carry the H. Pylori bacteria which may be activated over a long period of time, often exacerbated by certain conditions.

Sailboat on the Huon River on a cloudy day.

When we received the diagnosis a few days ago, we both racked our brains trying to recall when, in fact, some of these symptoms began. Without a doubt, the symptoms started with an outrageous and uncomfortable sense of fullness after eating a normal-sized meal, once we arrived in New Zealand where we lived for three months on an alpaca farm.

Most of our meals consist of medium sized portions of protein, one or two cooked vegetables and a salad.  Eating none of this foods should or previously caused any intestinal distress. 

Previously while in Fiji, where we spent three months living on the island of Vanua Levu we literally cooked every meal.  During this period we didn’t consume a single portion of seafood when we’d discovered all local fish was caught close to the shore.  See this photo below and our post from December 29, 2015 for our mention and fears of eating fish in Fiji.

Photo and caption from December 29, 2015:  “We’d been warned against purchasing locally caught fish when its often caught close to the shore where bacteria is heavy in the waters from sewage disposal.  As a result, we never purchased any fish during the past four months (in Fiji).  I’m looking forward to cooking fish once we arrive in New Zealand.”  Eventually, I did eat the fish.  See text below for details.

At the end of the three months we left Vanua Levu to fly to Viti Levu where we stayed for one additional month.  This was during the busy holiday season that we dined out a few times, once on Tom’s birthday on December 23rd and again on Christmas Day.  On each of these occasions I ate shell fish and/or squid both of which meals were consumed in a five star hotel. 

Here’s my dinner on the night of Tom’s birthday in this photo below with more seafood.  Here’s the link to that meal:

My fresh plate of food on Tom’s birthday on December 23, 2015.

But, here’s the one that tops it all from Christmas brunch December 25, 2015:

This is what I ate for Christmas brunch at the five star hotel in Vanua Levu, Fiji; baby octopus all of which are caught close to the shore.  Please see this link for these facts.  Those heads were a bit tricky to chew.  I ended up eating four of them, less one head, never giving it a thought since we were dining in an upscale environment.

Once we left Fiji on January 4, 2016, we cruised from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand where we lived on the alpaca farm for three months. It was during this period the bloating symptoms began, most likely the onset of full blown H. Pylori.

On January 11, 2016, I posted this story with a seafood photo on a cruise, here again exacerbating my condition by eating bottom feeding, caught-close-to-the-shore seafood.

This is the entrée I ordered for four evening meals in a row on the cruise to new Zealand, seafood on a bed of cooked cabbage and vegetables.  Here again, more high risk seafood.

How many times did I mention the risks of eating seafood caught close to the shore which is often infected with a wide variety of bacteria, including Helicobactor Pylori?  More times than we can count. 

Any yet, foolishly, I continued to eat squid and bottom feeding fish which seems to be the biggest culprit in causing my illness as shown in these photos. At the time, I made the assumption that dining in upscale restaurants and aboard cruises would eliminate these risks.  How wrong I was!

Today, as I experience some side effects of the massive doses of two different antibiotics, one of which includes 2 grams  (2000 mg) of Amoxicillin per day, twice the recommended dose for strep throat or penumonia.   The other antibiotic is Clarithromycin at 1 gram (1000 mg) per day.  The third drug is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) always taken in combination with these two antibiotics is intended to reduce the acidity of the intestinal tract during the treatment and for two months thereafter (by continuing the PPI).

The course of treatment ends next Monday at 7 pm.  Thirty six hours later we’ll board the cruise in Sydney.  I can only hope I’ve learned something here:  that the cosumption of squid and other close-to-the-shore and bottom feeding fish will now be forbidden in my diet, eliminating one more of the foods I’ve enjoyed over the years. 

We’re grateful for our almost 1700 daily posts.  Through researching our photos, we were able to piece together why, when and how I developed this bacterial infection.

However, no food(s) is ever worth a serious health condition of any type.  We hope this post may have provided some insight into what may be recommended to eliminate from one’s diet while traveling.  One can never be too cautious, a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.

Be well.

__________________________________________


Photo from one year ago today, February 22, 2016:

These foals in NZ were hard to get close for more detailed photos when they’re very shy  If you click on this link, it will take you to last year’s post where, if you scroll to the bottom on the page, you’ll see a hysterical horse photo we’d taken in Hawaii.

Best birthday gift ever!…I got a diagnosis and hopefully good solution!…Happy day…

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Tasmanians seem to place various means of transportation atop buildings, as shown in several of our past photos.

Yesterday morning, while working on the post, I stopped for a moment to check my email. Since it was my birthday, it was fun to see how many email messages I received from family and friends, along with a variety of adorable online cards.

When I noticed a message from the doctor’s office I visited in Geeveston as recommended by Anne, I was shocked to see another blood test result had come in indicating it was positive. I was instructed to return to the office of Dr. Angela Retchford for a new prescription.

Yesterday, while at the pharmacy in Geeveston, we noticed this antique wagon atop the bakery/restaurant.

Honesty, I was thrilled. Who’s ever thrilled to get a positive test result? I was. After almost three months of suffering from an awful gastrointestinal issue that didn’t improve regardless of what I ate or what remedies I tried, I was excited to have a diagnosis.

Maybe now, with the new medication, I could improve. So last Tuesday, the doctor prescribed a PPI (proton pump inhibitor), which I was to take for 60 days, stop, and head to a gastroenterologist in Sydney if not improved. 

It was raining with the sun shining.  In South Africa, Okee Dokee taught us the Afrikaans expression, “Jackals trou met wolf se vrou.” In Afrikaans, this phenomenon, i.e., when it rains, and the sun shines, is referred to as Jakkals trou met wolf se vrou, meaning ‘Jackal marries wolf’s wife.”

With our plans to leave Sydney for the US on April 22nd, the 60 days will end about one week before we were scheduled to sail away, leaving little time for more tests and doctor appointments.

When the prior blood tests came in only two days after blood was drawn, with only one anomaly I’ll deal with later in the US when I have the test repeated; I assumed we were done until the doctor explained at my second visit that one test was outstanding. Then, after nearly a week had passed and I hadn’t heard a word, I assumed all was well. 

The doctor and receptionist explained that “negative” results on a test wouldn’t require communication with us, saving them time and money when avoiding contacting patients when all was well with tests. But, of course, with no local phone number, I asked for all communication to be accomplished via email.

The Pie Shoppe in Geeveston.  We avoided it.

As soon as I uploaded the post, Tom and I jumped in the rental car and headed directly to the doctor’s office, Geeveston Medical Centre found at this link, to discover the blood test resulted in a “positive” diagnoses of Helicobactor Pylori, aka, H. Pylori is a gastrointestinal bacterial infection as follows from this site:

“What Is H. pylori

H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori) are spiral-shaped bacteria. H. pylori bacteria are unique because they produce the enzyme urease that allows the bacteria to live in the harsh environment of the stomach. The urease enzyme it produces reacts with urea to form ammonia that neutralizes enough of the stomach’s acid to allow the organisms to survive in the tissues.”

This is one of the possible conditions I’d researched online. In speaking with Tom over and over again, trying to figure out when in fact, the symptoms may have begun, we realized it was in Bali when I’d complained of bloating, which prompted me to stop drinking coffee, iced tea, and hot tea. Why was I getting bloated from drinking liquids?

In thinking back to our total four months in Bali, I’m now certain the symptoms began there. Not in control over the most sanitary of conditions under which I prepare meals, and with ants crawling all over the kitchen counters and dishware, I could easily have picked up the condition while there. 

“The Bears Went Over the Mountain” is a Geeveston boutique hotel with a cafe and tapas bar.  Click here for details. 

I was often in the kitchen wiping up when the girls weren’t there preparing meals, tossing out dirty-looking sponges and rags, and often concerned when food was left out longer than safe. During that period in Bali, I contracted an awful bacterial infection from eating squid.

Also, during this period, I took Aleve daily for the back injury, only exacerbating a potential breeding ground for H. Pylori. Thus, it was the right combination of circumstances to make me vulnerable for the full-blown infection, which was later exacerbated by drinking the wine on the ship.

After we left Bali the first time, we headed to Vietnam and Cambodia for the Mekong River cruise after a two-month stay, including multiple hotel stays. Unfortunately, we never ate anything off the street but could easily have made the situation worse, eating in various restaurants/hotels along the way. As a result, the bloating continued to worsen.

View of a farm on the Huon River.

I’d always joked that I had such a tough stomach that I could digest my shoe if I ate it. No longer is that the case. Traveling the world makes us all the more vulnerable to a wide variety of conditions and infections. Also, over the past few years, I contracted other infections requiring a few rounds of antibiotics.

By the time we got on the ship for the 33-night cruise, the infection must have been full-blown when I suffered from worsening bloating and the associated discomfort day after day, never connecting it with anything I was doing other than perhaps drinking too much liquid. 

I’d never had this problem in the past. Was it an “old age” thing I didn’t want to face? I’d noticed a lot of people my age with a distended abdomen, both women and men. 

Even driving along the roads in Tasmania is scenic.

I’d never discussed this with a doctor or even a friend. But, wouldn’t my “grain-free” lifestyle prevent me from a “Wheat Belly” when most of my life I’ve had a relatively flat stomach?

Now I know. What a relief! H. Pylori, a bacteria most of us carry harmlessly in our intestinal tract, was “brought to life” due to these myriad circumstances. With a prescription pack to treat the condition, which included two antibiotics and a smaller dose, I was taking a PPI to be administered once every 12 hours. 

This morning I took the first dose recommended by the pharmacist (since I’d already taken the PPI early yesterday morning). One day before our leaving from Sydney, I will have completed the one-week dosing. Then, in four weeks, it’s suggested I have another test to ensure the infection is gone. We’ll do this in Sydney during the 40 nights we’ll spend in Manly.

River views through the trees on a sunny day.

Need I say, this was indeed a divine birthday gift. Not knowing what was making it nearly impossible to eat without awful discomfort for the next five or six hours, I’d begun losing weight when finally I succumbed and started eating tiny meals, leaving me hungry all the time. 

It was a good birthday. Finally, finally, I’ve returned to my “old” (now older) cheerful self. Now, I must be patient and give the medication time to eat tiny portions to avoid discomfort in the interim.

So there it is, folks, hopefully, the culmination of my continuing health problems beginning this past June, almost eight months ago. We hope this resolves the problem and I can become more active while embracing the many exciting adventures yet to come. 

Thank you for all the kind and thoughtful wishes for good health and my birthday. You, our dear readers, be well, too!


Photo from one year ago today, February 21, 2016:

The cook at the Orangery in New Plymouth, NZ, fired up Tom’s Steak Diane Flambé using Pernot and white wine while taking this shot during my birthday dinner one year ago. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…Time to come clean…A medical issue over the past almost three months…

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Pointy mountain top view from Southport, Tasmania.

As shown in this link in yesterday’s post, three factors contributed to my current medical issue, which included the following, beginning last June. Quoted from that post, the following was included:
“That was my mistake #1…long term use of NSAIDS (For back injury last June).
That was my mistake #2…consuming high-risk seafood from an unknown source (in Bali months ago).
That was my mistake #3…drinking two glasses of white wine every night during the 33-night cruise beginning on October 31, 2016.”

Why I feel slightly embarrassed to share these details baffles me. But, unfortunately, we all make mistakes that can wrongfully affect our health.  None of us are exempt from this reality regardless of how hard we strive for health and wellness.

Then again, I may have higher standards for myself of striving for healthfulness coming from a family on my mother’s side with a plethora of hereditary health issues, many of which have plagued me in one way or another over the years; hypertension; diabetes (pre-diabetic in my case); heart disease (I had already had heart surgery in 2005); painful spinal conditions (requiring my current way of eating to reduce inflammation); thyroid issues (my eldest sister had her thyroid removed. I take medication); cancer (my youngest sister had two horrific rounds of cancer).

On top of it all, obesity has been prevalent in many of the lives of my family members, which inspired me as a young person to watch every morsel I put into my mouth in hopes of avoiding poor health. As a result, I’ve exercised and maintained a healthy diet in one form or another for most of my life.

Boats in the bay.

Regardless of how hard we may try, many of us cannot avoid falling prey to heredity conditions. As a result, I question myself while taking full responsibility for my recent painful and distressing gastrointestinal situation presented during the first week upon our arrival in Penguin, Tasmania, after the end of the 33-night cruise.

In reviewing each of my above mistakes, I believe they contributed to my becoming vulnerable to the raging gastrointestinal issue, particularly the wine drinking on the 33-night cruise. In all of my life, I’d never drunk wine or any other form of alcohol so many nights in a row. 

Add the fact that overall over the past 20 years, I’d been a non-drinker before the cruise. But, unfortunately, I’d built no tolerance to alcohol and basically burned my intestinal tract pouring the two glasses of wine down my throat for 33-nights in a row which ultimately proved to be toxic.

During the cruise, I suffered no ill effects at the time. Overall, I stuck to the two glasses a night, spreading them out over an extended period, although on a few occasions where we stayed up late, dancing and carrying on, I may have consumed a third. However, I found that staying at around the two glasses of wine would prevent me from feeling hungover.

Mountains at a distance.

As we settled in Penguin, after about five days, I started noticing a burning sensation down the entire length of my intestinal tract. I had no specific heartburn near my esophagus or a sensation of GERD. Instead, it occurred from the chest down.

On a mission to self-diagnosis, I read copious reports and documents on what was plaguing me and how to treat it. I literally tried everything available from the local pharmacy, and still, the symptoms and discomfort continued. Each time I ate or drank anything at all, I could feel it going down, burning all the way.

When I attempted to eat my one main meal a day, I became bloated and outrageously uncomfortable, unable to go out or do anything until the food slowly digested. After a few days of this, I cut my meal into two small portions to no avail. Even the smallest amount of food hurt.

Bright white sand beach in a cove, off the beaten path while on a dirt road.

There was no way I wanted to go to a doctor only to have to experience endless tests. In our old lives (around 2007), we easily recall when Tom had awful IBS and suffered through one invasive test after another while we spent five miserable days and nights (he couldn’t eat anything during this period) at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He was sent home with prescriptions that ultimately didn’t help and had the potential for long-term side effects. 

It was only after we devised a severe diet change that his symptoms were gone six months later, and he stopped the seven pills a day. But I’m already eating that same way, and still, the burning and bloating persisted. So certainly, diet alone is not the cure-all for that which ails us.

Continuing to try everything I could, once we arrived in the Huon Valley, where better medical care was available in the capital city of Hobart, I made a doctor appointment at a well-known and reviewed integrative medicine clinic in hopes of a solution.

The doctor diagnosed me with gastritis and/or IBS and prescribed an herb to soothe the intestinal tract while it healed, slippery elm, and the vitamin zinc. He said to return in three weeks if it hadn’t improved. I must say the slippery elm helped, an herb that, when added to water, thickens, providing a coating along the intestinal tract. I was to drink this off and on all day and did so diligently.

Low tide at the beach.

Within a week, the burning was gone. I was ecstatic. But, the pain and awful bloating continued after eating, to a point making me fearful of eating, going out, or riding in the car when impossible bowel issues accompanied the condition. I struggled to eat enough to avoid losing weight which would only exacerbate the problem.

At three weeks, I realized the slippery elm was no longer necessary, but something had to be done. So, as much as I’ve resisted traditional medicine, I bit the bullet and made an appointment with our landlord’s recommended traditional medicine physician located down the road in Geeveston.

I couldn’t get an appointment for several days but went ahead and booked it for Tuesday this week. There were a few nights I was so miserable. We might have to go to the hospital in Hobart. I persisted in avoiding this option.

The only time I felt relief was immediately upon awakening before eating or drinking anything. After that, even organic, caffeine-free herbal tea would cause problems. So instead, I sipped small amounts of tepid water throughout the day to avoid becoming dehydrated.

As soon as I met with the traditional medicine doctor, she was convinced I had gastritis or possible IBS, depending on how soon it would resolve. She gave me a prescription for a PPI (proton-pump-inhibitor), a drug to which I’ve been strongly opposed due to its potential for long-term side effects. 

The doctor suggested a two-month course of the drug. Also, I had several blood tests for numerous possible conditions, all of which were normal.  Thank goodness.

Oceanview from Dover, Tasmania.

At this point, I had to let go of my soapbox stance on drug side effects. I needed relief, and I needed it fast. Although the drug doesn’t promise immediate results when it may take weeks to become effective, I noticed an improvement in the first 24 hours. After that, I could actually eat a medium-sized meal with slightly less discomfort.

Although I’m still suffering from the bloating sensation after drinking and eating, it’s not as painful and debilitating as it was. I can only hope and pray for continued improvement. In only 13 days, we’re boarding a 12-night cruise.

Guess I won’t be drinking the “free” wine on this upcoming cruise.  Actually, after this experience, I’ve decided to return to my former “no alcohol at all policy.” I never minded not drinking and could be just as content with iced or hot tea.

If it’s not fully resolved by the time the cruise ends in Sydney, I may decide to see a gastroenterologist for some of those unpleasant tests.  Time will tell.

Huon River view from Highway A6.

As for experiences in Tasmania, I’m grateful for those I pushed myself to do.  In each case, it’s been a struggle, but there was no way we’d stay in the entire time. As you’ve seen, some of our photos may not have been as interesting and exciting as during other periods of time in our travels. We did our best.

Adding the five months of severe back pain and now over two months of this current issue, I’ve had a painful and difficult past many months.  However, through it all, we remained hopeful, embracing our surroundings as much as possible and always feeling grateful to be experiencing the world and happy to be together.

Thank you for “listening” to my story. I share it only in an attempt to be “real” in our daily ramblings of living life on the move. It’s not always easy. It’s not always joyful. But, we continue with love and hope in our hearts and minds for the future yet to come.

Enough about that!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 16, 2016:

Our favorite photo of the day when we visited Puketi Gardens in New Zealand. Zoom in to see this bee’s facial features. Amazing! For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…Time to come clean…A medical issue over the past almost three months…

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There are patches of green grass in the Huon Valley which aren’t quite as green as they were in Penguin which may be due to weather and soil conditions.

Its not always easy living one’s life on display for literally the world to see.  Our mistakes, our foibles and our vulnerabilities come into play on a daily basis. At times, to avoid appearing redundant or as a complainer/whinger we may not mention every single ailment that filters our way. 

After all, this is a “travel blog” isn’t it?  Or, as we often say, “Its a real life story of two senior citizens traveling the world with the nuances of living a life on the move, without a home, without storage or stuff to call their own other than that which is contained in three suitcases and a few carry on bags.

At times, we struggle with the definition. However, based on the fact we’ve had so many worldwide readers, perhaps the definition has been irrelevant to our readers who’ve followed along with us all this time, now fast approaching 52 months since we left Minnesota on October 31, 2012.

Pool and river view from our veranda on the second level.

Based on our intent to tell it like it is, today, I’m sharing something I’ve contemplated sharing over these past months shortly after we arrived in Tasmania on December 3rd after a 33 night cruise.

Several things transpired to result in this illness, most of which was entirely my own fault. In part I became ill as a result of a lack of caution when I knew caution should have been forefront in my mind and also, a series of events that transpired contributing to this condition.

I supposed when we think about it many of our ailments can be prevented with knowledge and self-care. But, I like so many of us, throw caution to the wind when somehow we think “that won’t happen to me” or in many cases, we aren’t even aware of the potential risks.

Pretty farm in the country.

I have to go back a way to fill in some of the blanks here. Please bear with me. It’s not a pretty story. Somewhere around June 1, 2016, while living at the fabulous villa in Sumbersari, Bali, I injured my back while in the pool. 

I’d backed up with walking and exercising and hit my spine, from neck to tailbone of a sharp stone corner at the bottom of the steps. At first, it felt like the same pain one would experience banging one’s elbow.  Ouch, ouch, ouch. 

Thinking the cool water would do good, I languished in the pool for a while, moving gingerly, when eventually the pain subsided. During the remainder of the day and evening after which I iced it off and on, the pain was somewhat under control. But, at bedtime, I couldn’t find a comfortable position to sleep.

Huge daisies!

Having previously had a diagnosis with a horrible spinal condition due to a heredity condition eventually in 2011 I found tremendous pain relief from a change of diet due to a massive reduction in inflammation. However, no way of eating could reduce the pain of an injury to this degree.

I didn’t see any reason to go to a doctor in the remote area of Bali, a four-hour harrowing drive to get to a good hospital. At that point, I couldn’t conceive of that drive bumpy long ride. It was hard enough when we went back and forth from the airport to the villa, a total of four times.

I’d have to treat it myself. Besides, what would “they” do? Pain killers?  A back brace? (Not good to use over the long haul). Surgery? Not possible or desired in Indonesia (or any other country for that matter).  I hoped in time it would heal.

Flowers blooming mid-summer in Tasmania in Tasmania.

During the following five months, I used ice and heat packs, walked daily to maintain strength, didn’t lay in bed during the day, and took over-the-counter NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Aleve with breaks every few weeks. That was my mistake #1…long term use of NSAIDS.

From there, a few short days later, I asked the two cooks to make us a seafood dish with prawns and for me, added grilled calamari. Let’s face it, sometimes favorite foods are comforting. My back was hurting but not my appetite. 

Twelve hours after eating the calamari, I had the worse case of diarrhea, known as “diare” in Balinese, a common traveler’s illness in many parts of the world. Here again, I should have known better than to eat this type of seafood in this part of the world. That was my mistake #2…consuming high-risk seafood from an unknown source.

We’ve so enjoyed the fresh-picked organic vegetables from Anne and Rob’s garden.

After suffering for a few days, Gede, our wonderful houseman took us to the Apotek (pharmacy) where we purchased an over-the-counter drug that got it under control within a few days. 

At that point between the diare and the back pain, I was a mess although, not a complainer, I didn’t burden Tom with hearing about it all the time.  He even berated me at times to encourage me to tell him how I was feeling throughout the difficult days and again most recently.

By the time we left Bali on June 27th, my back was so bad, I didn’t know how I’d get through the necessary week in Singapore while we applied for necessary visas plus spending several days in Hanoi awaiting the upcoming Viking Mekong River Cruise beginning July 8th. 

Yellow and white orchids.

How in the world was I going to get through the activities and walking on uneven ground on many tours and several flights through Vietnam and Cambodia? Somehow I managed to participate in many of the tours as shown in our photos beginning here at this link and continuing for many days.

In our posts, I made every effort to avoid complaining which I knew would bore our readers with frequent mention of my painful condition.  We did absolutely everything I could manage to ultimately have an excellent experience albeit the few tours we had to forego. Our many photos and stories at the following link clearly illustrate how much we were actually able to participate. 

From there, we went to Phuket, Thailand from July 22nd to September 1st.  Looking back, that six-week period was almost a blur. I was in terrible pain resulting in our doing very little while there. Other than a little exploring, photo-taking, grocery shopping, and visit to several beaches we stayed in while I attempted to recuperate.

From there, we returned to Bali for two more months to fill a gap in our schedule while awaiting the 33-night cruise circumventing the continent of Australia. Once we boarded the ship the back pain was finally gone after a full five months of pain.

It was during that 33-night cruise I decided to start drinking a few glasses of white wine when our drinks were “free” due to our recent inclusion into Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Diamond Club which provides complimentary cocktails from 4:30 to 8 pm each night. Why not? I had no specific reason when I could easily enjoy a few glasses of dry white wine and still maintain my diet. However, I’d had no more than a few glasses of wine each year over the past 20 years. That was my mistake #3…

Today’s story is simply too long to continue today. Tomorrow, we’ll present the balance of this story including my current medical issue, medical diagnosis, and subsequent treatment by a highly competent and recommended local doctor.

Be well

Photo from one year ago today, February 16, 2016:

Our favorite photo of the day. Zoom in to see this bee’s facial features.  Amazing! For more photos, please click here.

Day 21…Circumnavigating the Australian continent…Dodged a bullet!

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Duty free alcohol is sold aboard the ship at good prices, but held until the last night of the cruise to prevent passengers from drinking their own alcohol to avoid buying drinks.

“Sighting on the Ship in Australia”

Painting in the art gallery aboard ship.

Two days ago we wrote about how thrilled we were to have avoided getting sick when so many passengers were coughing and sneezing throughout the ship. I spoke too soon. That evening, while at the 70’s music and dancing party in the Centrum, I started feeling an awful tickle in my throat causing me to cough.

By the time we got back to the cabin I knew I was in trouble when my throat became sore, and the tickle turned into all night hacking. Yesterday morning, I awoke feeling lethargic and awful. Throughout the day, it only worsened.

Preparing audio for this morning’s presentation.

By happy hour and dinner time with friends, I announced I was down with something asking everywhere to sit far from me. This was no bout of allergy as Tom’s sniffles may have been. This was a definitely some type of virus.

Instead of drinking wine and playing pool we returned to the cabin right after dinner while I fell into bed concerned I’d be sick for days. Unable to sleep with the worst sore throat I’d had in years, I soon began shivering. A fever had definitely set in.

This morning’s passengers in the Centrum during a “future cruises” presentation.

Not only was I covered by the duvet on the bed, but I added a fluffy white robe and my travel blanket while I finally shivered myself to sleep. The last thing I said to Tom before he nodded off was, “I think I’ll have to go to the ship’s doctor in the morning. This is bad, bad, bad.”

During the day, I’d taken a non drowsy antihistamine, an 8 hour Tylenol and 3 grams Vitamin C (spread throughout the day), hoping to reduce the symptoms. Exhausted, I finally fell asleep. There was another one hour time change resulting in one hour’s less sleep. Id figured I’d be spending the day in the cabin in quarantine if I visited the doctor and the time difference would have little effect.

Then, the weirdest thing happened. This morning, after a fitful night’s sleep, I awoke at 8:00 am (new time) and I am almost totally better. And I mean, better.  No sore throat, no hacking cough, only the slightest runny nose. What??? How did this happen?

Sale in the Centrum Shops when many items are priced at US $10, none of which has any value for us. The shops are open on sea days only.

I wish I could say I’d figured out some magic formula, but I did not. Is there really such a thing as a 36 hour virus? It certainly appeared to be more challenging than the common cold. 

I’m no wuss as many of our long term readers may be well aware. Often, medical care is sketchy in many areas in which we’ve lived and thus far, we’ve been able to treat any conditions on our own that may have arisen over these past years. That may not always be the case, but for now, it’s working. 

I’ve only been to a doctor twice in the past four years, once in Hawaii with what I thought was a UTI and again in Trinity Beach in 2015 when we both had physical exams to discover all was well for both of us, as we’d expected. 

Logo wear teddy bears.  We’ve only seen a few children on this cruise.

Even during the five months of excruciated back pain from the injury in Bali on June 1st, never once did we seek professional medical assistance. Now I’m completely recovered. Had we gone to a hospital or doctor, what would they have done anyway? Narcotics? No thanks. Surgery? No thanks. 

So, today, I’m cautiously optimistic, hoping I’ve indeed dodged a bullet and recovered in a short 36 hours. We’ll see how it goes over the next several days. With 13 nights remaining until the cruise ends, we can only hope we don’t catch any other viruses. 

Since we wash our hands obsessively, we’ve come to the conclusion that the cruise cough/virus syndrome most likely is airborne most likely a result of tight quarters especially in the elevators where escaping germs from coughing and sneezing is impossible.

The stairways are decorated with an array of artwork.

Today is another day at sea with passengers milling around looking for distraction and entertainment. We’re content in our two chairs and tiny table in the Latte tudes Café where once again, by a fluke, we found available seats.

For the first time ever, Tom had breakfast on his own this morning while I held our table in the café. I just didn’t feel like eating. If later in the day, I feel like something, we’ll head to the Windjammer or another dining venue for a bite. There’s no shortage of food around here.

Besides, don’t “they” say, “Feed a cold, starve a fever”  or is it, “Starve a cold, feed a fever?” Never mind. Eat when hungry. That works for me.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 20, 2015:

 In Savusavu, Fiji I sat on a bench waiting for Tom to return from the ATM after I’d purchased data from the Vodafone kiosk. He’s on the sidewalk across the street wearing a white shirt, carrying the Costco bag on his right shoulder. For more photos, please click here.

Medical emergency aboard the ship…Today, right back where we were in 2015…

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We stood on our cabin’s veranda awaiting the arrival of this medevac helicopter to transport a heart attack patient from the ship to an appropriate hospital.

“Sighting on the Ship in Australia”

Can of tomato soup. Hmm, what’s the significance here?

Yesterday afternoon, while at sea, shortly after I’d watched another silly movie, the remake of Ghost Busters, I headed back to our cabin.  Tom was relaxing after he’d walked out of the movie only minutes after it had started. 

I knew this wasn’t his kind of movie, but I stayed in the theatre to watch it on my own when my taste in movies is slightly more tolerant than Tom’s. It was a ridiculous plot, but I always get a kick out of the special effects.

No more than a few moments after I opened my laptop to check email, I mentioned to Tom that the ship wasn’t moving. Checking to see what was going on, in no time at all we discovered there was a medical emergency onboard that required a passenger be airlifted by helicopter to hospital.

As the helicopter approached the ship to land on the ship’s helipad. 

A few hours earlier, we’d heard announcements from the bridge (in code) that something was amiss in the fitness center. As it turned out, from what we heard later, a man had a heart attack while working out.  He had to be revived. Frightening.

On a previous cruise on RC Legend of the Seas, June 10, 2015, on its way to Sydney, a similar situation had transpired requiring the patient be lifted in the basket when high seas prevented the helicopter from landing on the heli-pad on the ship’s bow. 

This is the third medical evacuation we’ve witnessed while cruising, twice by helicopter, once by the ship rerouting to Burmuda.  Please see photo below for the first helicopter evac. Here’s the link to our story.

Photo we’d posted on June 10, 2015 while we were cruising on Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas when a passenger also had to be evacuated, but in the basket when rough seas prevented the helicopter from landing on the ship’s helipad. The patient was wrapped in an exterior covering the basket with paramedic holding on to the passenger.  Scary.

With calm seas yesterday, the helicopter was able to land safely on the heli-pad which we weren’t able to see from our veranda, although we could see the touchdown from our TV that broadcasts a steady cam from the bow of the ship, as shown in this photo below.

It was heart wrenching to consider the worry and distress for the passenger and his spouse or travel companion with the necessity of being airlifted off the cruise. From what we’d heard, he’d been revived, but it was several hours later when the helicopter whisked him away to a hospital.

Based on the location of our cabin, we weren’t able to get close enough to the bow of the ship to see the helicopter land. Instead, we took this fuzzy photo of the TV display.

This further validates the value of travel insurance (which we have) when the cost for such evacuations can be outrageously expensive.  When passengers pass away on a cruise ship, the body is not evacuated instead being stored in an appropriate facility that most ships have available. 

In yesterday’s case, we can only pray for the passenger’s survival and return to health after being treated at whatever location he’d been transported. Of course, we’ll never hear and the scuttlebutt aboard the ship is unreliable.

Fortunately, the seas were calm and the helicopter was able to land. The ship had stopped during the rescue mission until the patient was safely in transit to the hospital.

We both researched online on a mission to discover how many cruise ship passengers are actually transported off ships for medical emergencies. We weren’t able to find any information or stats in this regard.  Perhaps cruise lines are particularly lax in providing such stats to avoid scaring travelers away from cruising.

As we age, this becomes more of a concern.  Not only is there the anxiety associated with a life threatening illness or injury a passenger may incur during a cruise, but loss of time in getting treated also adds the stress. 

Yesterday’s passenger wasn’t taking off on the helicopter until over five and a half hours later. We can only hope the doctor on the ship has sufficient knowledge and skill to keep the patient stable during this extended period.

The Medevac team preparing to land with medical personnel ready to get into action.

This is a reminder for all of us to have adequate travel insurance cover and to strive for the best possible health when choosing to travel. A high risk and/or elderly patient should seek medical advice prior to embarking on a cruise to ensure cruising is a suitable form of travel based on current health conditions.

Then again, many medical emergencies and accidents occur to passengers of all ages while on cruise ships, while on tours and when traveling to and from various points of interest. ‘This should be of the utmost consideration for possible travelers.

Today, we’re staying on the ship while it’s docked in Yorkeys Knob in Queensland, Australia. We lived in Trinity Beach adjoining this location for three months beginning on June 11, 2015. During that stay, we toured all the important sights, including many located in and around Cairns.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more new photos and stories as we continue on to Day 7 of this highly enjoyable 33-night cruise. 

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, November 5, 2015:

In the one year ago post, we re-posted a few memorable photos. We took this photo of Mount Kilimanjaro from the window of our tiny plane on our way to the Maasai Mara for a photo safari, one of many great experiences in our then three years of world travel. Please click here for more details.

Time flies…Soon, we fly…Three days until we board the cruise…Regaining fitness and health…

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Beautiful arrangements of fresh blossoms in the hotel lobby.

It was a quick week. Tomorrow night, we leave for the airport at 9:45 pm using the hotel’s free shuttle already booked. As the week progressed, I had less and less anxiety about the red eye and the plan to pick it up in my stride. It’s only one day of being tired and out of sorts.

This morning, we’re doing a couple of washes in the hotel laundry room. The cost to do wash and dry two loads is IDR 200,000, US 15.33, pricey for a self serve laundry, but a lot less than we’d have paid to send it out. We will come on board with clean clothes, except for the few items we will wear in the coming days. 

As it turned out, on Tuesday we only ate breakfast included at the hotel as our only meal per day. The first day we arrived, Monday, we left the villa without eating anything planning to dine in the evening in the hotel restaurant.

Hotel pool.

The dinner was mediocre with my dietary restrictions and Tom’s fish and chips were good. In both cases, we left the table still hungry after the small portions. 

Instead, we decided to load on the buffet breakfast, order omelettes, bacon and some sides, enough to get us through the next 24 hours until we eat again. If we were hungry in the evening, we’d go have dinner.

Not surprisingly, eating very low carb, neither of us has been hungry at any time during the remainder of the day and evening. We felt satisfied and comfortable never once thinking about eating or snacking. 

As we have mentioned in the past, eating a daily meal is considered an intermittent fast. If you like medical studies, there are countless studies about the benefits of fasting, at least for part of every day. 

Flowers blossom on the grounds of the hotel.

The old theory of eating every few hours will soon be discredited as a careless way to maintain health, weight and fitness. It did not work for most people with endemic type 2 diabetes and obesity prevails in virtually every part of the world.

Then again, what do I know except what seems to work for us as we continue to strive to maintain a level of health and fitness that hopefully will see us through many more years of world travel. Everybody has an opportunity to pick a health plan that works best for them.

None of this makes us exempt from illness, injuries and generally not feeling 100% every day.    Like many of you some days, we do not feel up to the challenge, energetic and ready to face the world. 

Artwork in the pool area.

After months of inactivity while recovering from the June 1 injury, I am struggling to regain my strength. Working out everyday at the hotel has been helpful, but like physical therapy, its a slow process. 

To expect outcomes overnight is not realistic. I will continue to exercise for the next two days, then every day on the upcoming cruise, adding to the time and difficulty of my routine somewhat every day. Hopefully by the end of the 33-night cruise, I’ll be back to my previous level of fitness and energy.

At that time, we will be ready to start again, to prepare meals that we have not had to make for more than three months, since we were in Phuket until September 1. In both locations in Tasmania, we will have home cleaners every two weeks, so we will not have to do more than clean, do laundry and cook. 

Balinese style abounds in the hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Ngurah Rai Airport.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with our final post from Bali including the total expenses for our the six nights at this hotel. At 12:10 am Sunday we’ll fly overnight to Sydney, arriving in the morning. 

Later in the day we’ll post again after we’ve hopefully taken a nap after the red eye flight. As a result, the post from Sydney on the 30th (29th for those in other parts of the world) will be posted late. Please keep an eye out. We’ll be back!

Have a beautiful day filled with sunshine!

Photo from one year ago today, October 28, 2015:

These Fijian women were sitting on the floor while one gave the other a massage while working at the farmers market in Savusavu, Fiji.  For more photos, please click here.

OMG!…Eventful start to the day…Wait until you read this!…

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Distant shot of oil tanker out to sea. Good zoom photo, Tom Lyman!

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

The river next door is often used for washing motorbikes.

The morning started weird. Awake at 4:00 am, I was unable to return to sleep no matter how hard I tried. With today, September 21st in the US (the 22nd here), it is our eldest grandson Nik’s 16th birthday and our youngest granddaughter Madighan’s 7th birthday. 

Why not get up early and call to wish them both happy birthday? It was late afternoon in the US and a good time to call.

We couldn’t reach Nik but had a chance to speak to daughter-in-law Camille, son Greg and the three kids, including wishing Madighan a happy birthday. 

We always send US gifts for the six grandchildren for birthdays, special occasions and Christmas, none of which are ever purchased from countries we’re visiting. Why suffer the inconvenience of an impossible international return?

Guide and one Ketut put everything in the villa back in order.

After almost two hours on Skype using our Nevada phone number which allows us to call other phones that aren’t on Skype, mission accomplished. As always, it’s wonderful talking to family.  Hopefully, soon we’ll reach Nik but, then again, most 16 year old boys don’t necessarily care to spend a lot of phone time with the old grandparents.

To start making the phone calls, I quietly wandered out the bedroom door, laptop in hand and almost, and I mean almost, slipped on the floor somehow righting myself just in time to avoid hitting the floor. That was all I needed, falling again and re-injuring the part that only recently has begun to heal a little.

In Phuket last month, the water dispenser leaked overnight, spilling all the contents of a new 5 liter bottle and I did fall smack on the marble floors, reversing my progress by many weeks. 

Some of the digital equipment that became wet during the water leakage. The yellow items are decorative pieces. Luckily, our HDMI cord survived.

Marble floors are extremely hazardous when covered with water. We don’t recommend them where the risk of injury is high regardless of one’s age or propensity for falling. It’s not that I’m particularly clumsy though stuff happens. Tom is always reminding me to watch where I’m going instead of looking for photo ops. I’m working on it.

The entire main floor and second level were covered in water. I knew I needed to awaken Tom to see how bad the situation really was. At 5:00 am, we were calling Gede to let him know we had an emergency. Tom had gone upstairs to the second story which we don’t use at all, to discover what was going on. Water covered the floors upstairs and was running down the steps in a relatively rapid flow.

Gede arrived within 10 minutes of our call. As it turned out, the hot water tank’s pipe broke (the hot water heater is on the roof) and the only way to stop the flow was to shut off the water to the entire villa. It’s now close to 11 am and it appears we won’t have water for most of the day while every effort is being made to get the repairs made as quickly as “island time” allows.

This space is where the flat screen TV was located. It’s now been removed after getting soaked as the water ran down the wall from the above stairs. Gede explained that homeowner’s insurance in Bali doesn’t cover such occurrences.

Unfortunately, the water ran down the wall over the entire flat screen TV and sound system in the living room which we use nightly, connecting our laptops with an HDMI cord in order to watch our favorite shows and Minnesota Vikings games. Gede assured us all of the equipment will be working again by the time we return from Lovina next Friday, after our four day stay upcoming on Monday.

Luckily, no one was injured in the water fiasco. At the moment, all the staff is busy cleaning up the water and putting as much of the villa back in order as possible. They had to move all of the furnishings onto the veranda to dry the floors and the bottom portions of various items.

Ribud was washing the stairs after the water flow.

Gede was very concerned over the inconvenience for us. We weren’t worried at all. If the water can’t be restored by the end of the day, we’ll shower next door at the empty owner’s villa. If necessary, the two Ketuts can cook our dinner next door and we’ll dine there. “No worries,” we assured all of them.

With the reality that none of this is really our responsibility as it would have been in our own home, nor did we have to incur any costs for repairs, it’s easy for us to sit back and patiently wait for everything to be back to normal.

Mr. Frog’s nighttime visit.

Today, newly made friends are arriving at 2:00 pm for a visit. We met them a few days ago while walking the beach. When Thomas (yep, another Tom) stopped by last night to ask when would be a good time for him and wife Pia to stop by we suggested this afternoon as opposed to morning allowing us time to complete today’s post. Thank goodness we hadn’t suggested a morning visit! It’s been kind of busy around here.

For the first time in ages, I have yet to shower and I’m still wearing my long nightshirt while sitting outdoors on a chaise lounge. Today, will be a different day from our usual routine, but we have no apprehension or concerns. It will all work out fine.

Mr. Frog contemplates taking the steps. He managed rather well.

This morning, during the water fiasco Gede helped us with some required paperwork for sponsoring us for the visa extension for  Monday’s trip to Lovina where we’ll stay in a hotel for four nights to complete the five day process. 

Also, Gede is having a new tire put on the van to prevent us from getting a flat tire on the long road trip when recently it had been repaired, but doesn’t seem quite right.

Otherwise, its a partially sunny day with outrageously high humidity, but we’re as content as we can be especially with our anticipated upcoming social event.

May your day be one of contentment and peace of mind.

Photo from one year ago today, September 22, 2015:

We never used this pool in Fiji during our three months stay. It wasn’t as clean as we’d like and there were no chaise lounges or places to sit while drying off. For more details, please click here.

Spending idle time…Two days and counting…Favorite Phuket photos begin today…

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Boats anchored in shallower waters.    The owners are welcome to walk to the boat.

Although we rise early most of the time, the thought of setting an alarm is always done with a bit of fear. Having retired in 2011, in my old life, there had been few mornings where I had to get up and be at the door in a rush.

Since beginning our travels in October, 2012, there’s been more mornings than we can count where we’ve had to be up and “at ’em” early in the morning in order to begin a travel day. What time do we consider early? 

Appearing before 5 in the morning is considered early by our standards, especially when we need to be somewhere.  Most mornings, I’m awake that early, but not necessarily preparing to head out. There’s a big difference, isn’t there?

Chalong Beach.

Why I dread those mornings where we must leave early disconcerts me. I find it easy to get out of bed when the alarm goes off. Is this the prospect of another long day on the road? The heavy bags? The long lines? Immigration? Customs? Pay for excess luggage? The tight seats on the flight? Maybe it’s all of those things.

Once we get into the taxi for the ride to the airport, a bit of the angst begins to waft away, escalating further after we’ve checked in for our flight disposing of our three heavy bags, left with only a few carry on bags. 

With international airports requiring arrival two hours prior to a flight’s departure, we’re often left with more than 60 minutes until boarding. In most cases, we find a restaurant, purchase a beverage and get online if the airport has free Wi-Fi, which we find more and more common. Only a few airports charge for WiFi access.

Boats tied to shore at the beach. Life jackets hanging on a post.

The next issue is our laptop batteries discharging. For Thursday’s upcoming flight, we’ll have no less than an hour of waiting time at the airport in Phuket and then another three hour layover in Singapore (our third trip to Singapore in these past four months). 

Some airports have recharging stations, but we’ve seldom needed to use them. In this case, it may be necessary when it seems our laptop batteries are losing life after almost two years of use.

My laptop may indicate I have seven or eight hours on a charge when in fact it’s much less. Tom has a similar laptopm but can function unplugged a few hours less than mine.

Boats in the bay.

These were a time that reading a physical book would have been handy, but there’s no way we’re willing to carry books with us. 

Now that Tom doesn’t have a smart phone until our shipment arrives, he won’t be able to read books on his phone. The charge on my phone may last eight hours if I don’t get online. Good thing, I saved my phone with the rice after dropping it in the toilet, or neither of us would have a working cell phone.

In most cases, I read books on my phone during flights, putting the phone in “flight mode” as required. I usually save the phone for the flight as opposed to reading while waiting in airports. When a flight has individual video screens, a movie is often ideal as opposed to reading.

Entrance to the long pier at the beach.

I suppose we’re not unlike many others who use electronics to whittle away idle time.  Where are the days when we’d sit quietly in an airport reading a People magazine which now holds no interest whatsoever? Where are the days when people watching could occupy two hours of idle time?

We’ve trained ourselves in this digital world to need constant stimulation. Tom and I are no exception. Sure, in Bali again we’ll spend some idle hours staring out at the beach and its wildly interesting activities, which again we’ll continue sharing in our “Sightings on the Beach in Bali” daily feature on the posts.

But, there again, its all about mental stimulation. Neither one of us are inclined toward quiet contemplation without any form of activity for the brain. Maybe to an extent this is good for our aging brains as both of us still possess great memory and recall as we’ve aged. 

Second long pier at the beach.

We can’t believe much of which we read about these topics online when the speculations change week by week. (We’re talking about adults here, not children, which is an entirely different scenario).

What is one to believe? I guess we can leave it to our own devices, figuratively and literally. What gives us the greatest sense of engagement with our surroundings, our world and with each other?  What makes us the most fulfilled?

If spending hours online, on our tablets, computers and phones provides us with a sense of accomplishment and pleasure who’s to argue with this? Then again, perhaps the biggest concern is a lack of physical activity while we’re entertaining ourselves. 

“They” say sitting is bad which may be true. But which group of seniors (or those younger) spends eight to ten hours a day on their feet? Few. Very few.

Fisherman searching for a possible catch.

Off we go in two days, arising at 5:30 am on Thursday to be ready to head out the door by 7 am for our arriving taxi.

 We’ll arrive at our hotel in Bali around 8:30 pm that evening after a very long travel day.  In the morning, we’ll have breakfast at the hotel and begin the four or five hour harrowing drive with a few stops along the way.

I’m a little concerned over how I’ll do over these two extended periods based on my continuing recovery. But, with digital equipment in hand, hopefully, I’ll be able to distract myself well enough to maneuver through the lengthy process.

Be well and stay entertained, however that works for YOU!

Photo from one year ago today, August 30, 2015:

We couldn’t resist taking photos of these Flintstone’s character statues in a nearby yard in Trinity Beach, Australia.  For more photos, please click here.

The prospect of a scary change in plans?…Five days and counting…Photos at a premium…

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Chalong Bay in Phuket.

While living in most locations where we get low on photos this is not a problem. We rush into the rental car for a walk seeking interesting scenes to capture. If we don’t have a rental car and are using a driver, we get out often enough each week to get all the photos we need for the posts.

Now, down to five days until departure, with my ongoing recovery process and the less-than-stellar rental car, I’ve had little desire to get out to take photos. With the blurry film on the windows it requires I get out of the low seat in the car to avoid taking photos through the glass which in itself in my current condition feels like an athletic event.

If you’ve ever owned or gone for a ride in a Corvette, it kind of feels like the same thing, not necessarily the right vehicle for getting it and out of when suffering from a spinal condition. Under normal circumstances, this would not be so difficult.

It’s not as if I can’t get in and out of the less-than-stellar rental car. It’s that I don’t want to re-injure myself subsequently starting the healing process all over again.

Boats stored on the shore as opposed to a marina.

Only days away from a full three months of recovering, I’ve only spent half of this period over these past almost six weeks in Phuket actually “working on” getting better, I’ve finally begun to turn the corner.  

On many occasions over these past weeks, I’d mentioned improvements in our posts, although it was in such small increments it was barely noticeable. Frustration easily set in when I’d awaken each day only to find the pain was basically still the same.

A few times, as recently as in the past two weeks, we considered a visit to a hospital. After reading many negative online reviews about local medical care, we decided against it. Instead, we made a plan that if I didn’t improve close to our scheduled time to leave Phuket, we might head directly to Sydney and drop out of our airfare and booking for Bali. 

As we seriously considered such a plan we had to accept the reality that we’d lose rent for the two month booking in Bali (on such short notice) and also the non-refundable airfare. This change would ultimately cost us thousands of dollars. Tom, as worried as he’s been about me, never flinched over this prospect while I cringed over the prospect.

Yard of a house in the neighborhood with motorbikes and clothes drying on a line.

As soon as this possibility came to light, I decided I had to do something different to escalate the healing process to ensure we could continue with our future plans. 

I began reading volumes of books on the topic of healing compression fractures, speeding recovery for back, neck and spinal injuries and came to a few new conclusions:

1.  Started a light exercise program, very light and gentle following recommendations from a great book I read.
2.  Changed the pillow I was sleeping on from flat to slightly fuller, creating an indentation for my head.
3.  Changed from using mostly ice to using mostly heat on and off throughout the day and evening. (Using a microwaveable gel pack). At bedtime, I positioned an ice pack close to my spine using a rolled towel to hold it in place while lying on my side.
4.  Have Tom massage pressure points on my back twice a day.
5.  Only lie down for 10 minutes at a time instead of long periods during the day. Spend more time standing and walking around the house.
6.  No bending at all, which seems to be the most harmful at this point.
7.  Sleep with a medium sized pillow between evenly placed bent legs, again lying on my side.
8.  Focus on having perfect posture when walking and sitting.
9.  Using the speech recognition software for better ergonomics when typing.

With only five days until departure, I can definitely say I’ve improved by no less than 75% in these past weeks, no longer feeling as if we must change our plans to get me to a major accredited hospital.

Oh, maybe it was “safari luck” and the implementation of the above changes or a combination of both. That’s the thing about medical care, when one begins implementing multiple modalities, it’s difficult to determine which measures most contributed to the improvement.

The mix of the old and the new is commonly found in Phuket.

I’ll continue with all of the above even after we arrive in Bali.  With no required cooking, cleaning, laundry or tidying necessary with the daily household staff I’ll spend more time focusing on continuing to improve on this remaining 25%.

By far, these past three months have been the most challenging since we began our travels on October 31, 2012. Surely many of our readers can look back over the past four years to recall periods of time when life wasn’t exactly as you might have liked it to be.

Tom comments about how I overall maintained a good attitude through this. Each day I’ve struggled to stay optimistic.

 I was scared to death, to be honest, scared our travels were over, scared our lives would have to change to accommodate my limited range of motion, my ability to walk long distances and my overall interest in getting out.

Yesterday, I packed my single clothing suitcase which in doing so gave me hope, leaving out clothing for the next few days. I sat on the bed folding everything and then standing straight I placed them into my open bag which is situated on a tall luggage rack. The rest will be easy. 

This simple act added to my optimism removing a sense of dread I had about packing. Tom would happily have packed for me, but I needed to know I could do it.

Many homes are raised above ground in the event of flooding.

As we continue over these next few days, we apologize for the lack of interesting photos. It’s the way it is for now. And, once we arrive in Bali, we may be posting similar photos to those we’d taken during our last stay, although all photos we’ll share in future posts will be new. 

Halfway through our second round in Bali we plan to stay in a hotel in Lovina for five days to complete the every-other-day-three-step required visa extension process. During that mini vacation/holiday, we’ll explore taking many photos we’ll excitedly share in posts to come. 

Once we leave Bali at the end of October for the 33 night cruise to circumvent Australia, we’ll have many months of exciting cruises and tours, along with the stay in Tasmania at two separate locations for six weeks each and a 40 night stay in the exquisite city of Sydney.

So, loyal readers, on we go to continue in our world travels with a renewed hope for the future, as always striving for good health as we share all of our steps along the way.

Have a healthful, productive day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 27, 2015:

The colorful views around us was only a small section of the Great Barrier Reef which we visited by boat one year ago today. For more photos, please click here.