Seetheworld2: February 2014

Bridge to Newport

After my father’s 91^st birthday, we drove to York PA and met the latest addition to the Topper family, a Golden Lab pup named Sadie. We celebrated Pat’s father’s 86^th birthday. He is still doing well for his age.

Back in MD we winterized our RV and put our RV and trailer in storage at Susan and Windsor’s home. We moved in with Tom and Julie. Back to York for Thanksgiving at the Topper’s home and then we left for a week in a timeshare in Jamestown, RI. This was right across the bridge from Newport. It was not a great week weather wise, but we did have a great view from our unit of the bridge (see first photo). We did go into Newport and tour a couple of the “summer homes”. I felt real bad that income tax put an end to this Gilded Age of “conspicuous consumption”. We hiked several parks and visited a few forts. Ft Adams was so big, you could fit 3 normal forts of the same era inside its walls. I guess Newport is the Texas of New England. On check out day, we raced back to MD, so we would not be caught in a major ice storm.

Pat at Gate to Breakers Mansion

Breaker's Interior

Marble House Interior

Snowy Owl

Ft Adams

My father’s mobility problems got to the point that he needed considerable help. Helen’s daughter Elizabeth had been living with them since October and provided much needed assistance. It was obvious that the time had come to find an assisted living facility (ALF). Our friends Lois and Eldon had just completed a search for an ALF for Eldon’s mother. Their guidance helped me complete the task in a few weeks. On Friday Dec. 13, Pat had outpatient surgery for neuroma excision on her foot. Concurrently, a RN for the ALF evaluated my father, as required, prior to admission to an ALF. She recommended that he be hospitalized due to a buildup of fluid in his chest. I took him to Franklin Square General Hospital that night and they determined that he had pneumonia and admitted him. I had him enrolled in an ALF the next day, so he would have a place to go when he was released from the hospital. I spent most of the next two weeks visiting my dad and getting his belongings pared down for his new studio apartment. Unfortunately his condition deteriorated, as he picked up two infections in the hospital, one causing severe diarrhea. Because he was aspirating, they inserted a feeding tube directly into his stomach. It looked like he might now need a nursing home after his time in rehab.

Of course this was the Christmas season so we tried to make a few parties. We were back in York for Christmas Eve and had Christmas breakfast at the Topper’s. We drove to Baltimore and had dinner with my family at my sister’s home. Afterwards we all went to the hospital and sang Christmas carols to my father.

Jacobs family

Potter Family

My Dad

On New Year’s Eve, I visited my father; he was feeling a lot of pain in his stomach while I was there. On my way back to Laurel, I got an emergency call from his doctor. He told me my dad was not able to breathe on his own. Pat and I met Barbara at the hospital and our father passed away a few hours later. Considering his condition, it was probably a blessing.

Brookgreen Gardens

Getting advice from a pelican

St Augustine Lighthouse

After the funeral, we delayed our departure south, so we could handle some of Dad’s affairs and get all his clothes and furnishings moved out of Helen’s house. By Jan 10, we were ready for a break. Apparently I had been a bit stressed out during the last month. We loaded the RV, headed down to Myrtle Beach and enjoyed a week in a timeshare. We spent a few extra days along the SC coast, before heading down to FL where we caught up with Linda Erby. We toured the NE coast of FL all the way down to St Augustine, which we spent several days exploring. By the end of the month we were in the Ocala NF. We paddled Juniper Springs and I aggravated my neck stenosis. This caused a lot of pain from my neck to my right hand.