ITS BEEN A WHILE

This has been an interesting year. In this post there will be no pictures,but lots of text.

Were going to call this year the H year....You will soon see why.

In January of this year we went to Hawaii as we always like to do. Some of our friends joined us over there and we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the sun, the water and the company. Oh and lets not forget the food. Once home we had just unpacked we received a text message from my cousin. The son of my fathers sister Leoni. Her health was going down hill fast. After a few phone calls back and forth from here to Holland we decided to make the trip there. We had only been home 4 days. But it was important to do this as Leoni had helped in taking care of my Dad her brother when he was sick with cancer. She was there when he passed away. We arrived in Holland, rented a car and promptly went to the hospital. Leoni was dying of lung cancer the same disease that took her oldest sister and my Dad. We visited for several days and helped with arrangements. Leoni was euthanized on February 14th at 6:00 PM....Valentines day will never be the same. After 15 Days in Holland a country we have come to love, it was time to head home.

We came home and were able to stay home for a little over a month, then we were off to Honduras, Yes Honduras. Meredith our oldest daughter married a Honduran and created a wonderful little family. Only problem Marco was not a legal resident of the US. So in October of 2010 Marco returned home and Meredith and the kids followed a month later. It was hard to see them go but we needed to do something to get things right. They would have had to deal with the embassy down there anyways in order to complete the paper work.

So off to Honduras we went to meet Marcos family. Such wonderful people. They live in a town called Lepeara, its at the end of the paved road in the middle of the mountains of Honduras. It was and experience we will never forget.

At the end of our 15 days in Honduras we returned home with Meredith and children in tow. They would be spending a month with us then returning to Honduras.

Now this is where things start to get interesting. We brought Meredith and the kids to the Airport on the last day of May and then we stayed in Seattle because I was scheduled to have some major surgery.

For the last 32 years I have been living with a disease called Ulcerative Colitis. An inflammation of the large intestine. At times very painful, but I had figured out how to live with it in a way that enabled me to continue to work. Well about 15 years ago a specialist I was seeing said I needed to have my colon removed and I said no....I looked at the tests and there were no changes and they always told me the same thing. In December of 2010 I had another test and this time things had changed....Time for surgery. Did I want this surgery NO I didn't. But the specialist we had now is world known and I trusted him. Its a good thing to because once surgery was done we found out that things were very close to the cancer stage.

On June 2nd we went to the hospital to have surgery....maybe stay in the hospital for 5 days then head home....right....Things didn't go so well. Complications happened and now I was in the hospital for 22 days. Lisette being there the whole time, watching and seeing everything that happened. I can't even begin to imagine what she went thru. I was totally out of it. After making it thru some near death moments recovery was very slow.

Once I got home all I did was sleep, the pain medicine, the anti nausea medicine, the blood thinner and antibiotics were all I could come close to handling. It was Lisette who made sure I got the medicine when needed. About 5 weeks after coming home from the hospital I finally woke up....60 lbs lighter and no energy. Getting out of bed was difficult, let along trying to walk. Progress was real slow. Then a nose bleed and back to the hospital. We couldn't even come close to stopping it.

A week later we were back in the hospital, but this time for a kinked intestine. That was 2 days.

Now between these set backs I tried going to the gym to do some exercising. The first time I managed 5 minutes...a few days later 10 minutes.

2 weeks after the last hospital visit I had gone to bed and then the pain started, I had never felt such pain as I did during this attack. Off to the hospital again and this time for 5 days.... When was this going to end. So Saturday the 20th of August I got home from the hospital and on Monday following I had no energy to do anything. I lay on the couch or bed all day. Now the pain that I have had since the first surgery has been constant. Sitting up has been very difficult...almost impossible.

Today the 25th of August was the first day that I felt somewhat normal. I worked in my office, had a business meeting, mowed the lawn, drove for the first time, worked more in the office and then cut some more grass.

So from Hawaii to Holland to Honduras and then Home. So far a year of the H's

And our adventures continue as we purchased a Hotel, closed it and will now remodel it.

We will fill you in as time goes.