Feb. 11, 2012 Back in Gila Bend, again.

Our life is two steps forward, one back. After leaving Gila Bend last Tuesday morning, we pulled into Dream Catcher RV Park in Deming, NM at 3 pm. that afternoon. It was a long day!

The main reason we stopped there was to visit with Jim and Penny Scott, Rainbow Parks directors and long-time friends. Penny and I chat on the phone often but we our paths only cross occasionally. They train the park managers and hosts and have been spending most of their time in Branson, MO. We were delighted to be able to meet up in Deming.

We planned on Wednesday and Thursday nights before pushing on toward Livingston, TX. Thursday is the park “dine-in night.” Jim and his helper Ralph prepared a delicious meat- loaf dinner.

Yum, Yyum. Meatloaf coming out of the oven headed for our plates.

Whoops, Penny’s salad and her plate are naked. No salad toppings or gravy. Poor Penny. Here is what the rest of our salads looked like. Aren't they pretty?

Some local musicians came and played for us after dinner. It was a grand finale to our two-day Deming, NM visit, or so we thought.

We went to bed with full stomachs and happy thoughts of the great music and fun time in Deming, NM. However, we were anxious to head east in the morning.

Larry woke up about 4 a.m. with a bloody nose. I got up with him and after a few minutes, we thought it had stopped. And then the bleeding started again. Whoops, this is too much for us to handle.

Luckily I had read the park brochure produced by A.G.S. . that we received when we checked in. I knew there was a very important ad on the back of the brochure:

It says:

In an emergency, these three words could save your life: the nearest hospital—Mimbres Memorial Hospital.

In a panic, I called to make sure they had a doctor on call—and for driving instructions. I had forgotten there was a map in the brochure. I knew I needed to get dressed, get Larry dressed, as he only had one arm available with one holding his nose, get him down the steps without his leg brace, and drive him to the Emergency Room.

We forgot his wallet and had to turn around at the park exit and go back and grab his wallet with his Medicare card and insurance information. I said: We need to practice emergency routines to get this down better for the next emergency!!!!

Larry is on Coumadin, a blood thinner so it just wouldn’t stop bleeding. The doctor sprayed a nasal decongestant three times before the bleeding stopped--taking about 45 minutes. If it hadn't stopped, the next step was to pack his nose with guaze and then stay in Deming longer to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist in Los Cruses.

The Mimbres Memorial Hospital did an excellent job. We were pleased with the service and the doctor’s help. We would not have been able to stop the bleeding at home. It was definitely an E.R. room visit emergency.

The doctor suggested staying another 24 hours and getting a humidifier and saline nasal sprays to keep his nasal passages damp. Larry’s nose bleed was probably caused by the dry air cracking the blood vessels in his nasal passage. Once it started, the Coumadin kept the blood from clotting. Meet our new best friend from Wal-Mart:

In Texas, we use a de-humidifier to keep the house comfortable, but out in the desert air, we have to moisten the air. I guess we are never satisfied, smile.

While that episode was scary, very scary, it wouldn’t have changed our travel plans. Seeing the blood work lab results did. The kidney function results have declined since the lab work on the first of February.

We are returning to Antioch, CA, for his March lab work to be near his nephrologist in case things really are on a slippery slope. Larry feels good and has a healthy appetite, however, it would have been fool-hardy to Texas. We turned around this morning and re-traced Wednesday's travels. We are parked back in Gila Bend, AZ, for tonight. We will continue on to Quartzsite, AZ for a night or two before heading up to Antioch.

We love traveling around in the truck and camper. We know medical issues are going to come up, either from our ages or Larry’s chronic kidney disease. What we won’t do is sit around the house waiting for something to go wrong. Things will go wrong--whether we sit at home—or on the road enjoying life. Even though it is scary, like yesterday needing an ER in a strange town, the people we meet who help us make up the sweetener for the bowl of lemons. Life is good!

(And special thanks to the AGS representatives who got the Mimbres Hospital ad. Bless you! It was a life-saver for us!)

Be sure to read those brochures you receive at RV parks; you never know when you will need to drive through a strange town in the dark middle of the night.