Hello Faithful Friends -
I wanted to catch you up with what's been going on in my life in the month of April. And it's been quite a month!!!
After a good appointment with the nephrologist and his blessing to travel, I came home the next and booked my flights to Orlando to attend the wedding of my dearest & long time friend's daughter. Being the good travel agent, I had already booked my hotel. I also booked my rental car. I also made plans to see long-time friends that had moved to Florida and of course, spend a day in EPCOT for their Flower & Garden Festival.
After making sure my family was well taken care of, I boarded my flight on the afternoon of April 5th. I arrived in the Sunshine State. After days & weeks of rainy days in NJ, what a blessing to feel the warm sun on my face!!! I grabbed my luggage, my car rental, and followed what the GPS indicated was the "shortest" route to my hotel. For one, it was a Friday afternoon when I arrived and it was rush hour and the route put me past Sea World and even going that slow, I still got lost because it seemed like every road was under construction. Finally, I got to my hotel and my room, then turned around and went out to dinner. I had found a gift card for this particular steakhouse that my sister & I we like when we went to Houston. And it was only about 10 minutes from the hotel. With the gift card, my steak dinner ended up being less than $10!!! Another blessing!!!
After a good night of sleep and a lazy Saturday morning, I got ready to go to the wedding. The venue was about 45 minutes northwest of Orlando. The place was back a dirt road that had you wondering, did I miss a turn? But I had not missed a turn, in fact, I was early and had to wait to be seated so they could finish taking pictures. It was a beautiful, small wedding with family & close friends. The real fun was finding my way out of the parking area in almost complete darkness. I'm so thankful that phones have a flashlight!!!
Monday was scheduled to be EPCOT day. The hotel's free shuttle departed at 7:45am and after picking up passengers at several other hotels, arrived about 8:15am. First order of business after entering the park was to head for scooter rental. With my leg issues, I knew walking all day would cause a huge problem. Since I was on a scooter, but not staying at an official Disney hotel, I only got a 15-minute head start on the rest of the park guests. Zip-a-dee-do-dah --- I was off to explore.
In doing a lot of research before traveling, I found out that Christian recording artist, Crowder, was performing 3 mini concerts that evening. And in order to get reserved seating, you had to buy in to a dining package at certain restaurants in the park. I was not looking for a large sit-down dinner or lunch. However, there was only 1 restaurant that didn't require advance reservations -- The Regal Eagle Smokehouse. So, I scootered there first thing, but they didn't open until almost noon. So, I just wandered/rolled around and enjoyed the beautiful day, the beautiful flowers, and looked for all the Disney character topiaries scattered throughout the park. I found all but one.
Around noon, I went back to the Regal Eagle. In order to get the reserved seating, you had to order and eat your meal at that point in time. So, instead of having dinner there, I had lunch and received my reserved ticket for the 6:45pm concert. Lunch for me was a brisket sandwich, mac & cheese, a fruity drink, and dessert was a smores brownie. YUM!!! After lunch, I continued my travels through all the different countries represented at EPCOT, did some rides, and borrowed someone's glasses to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse. The concert was great, and I only wished it had been longer. It made me really miss my younger days when I went to many Christian concerts. The night ended with fireworks and dodging everyone leaving the park to return my scooter. Then, it was a long walk and a long wait for the shuttle to return back to the hotel. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with a day at EPCOT!!!
Tuesday was my day to return home. Check out time was noon, but my flight was not until almost 5pm. I certainly did not want to spend 4 hours in the airport. So, I looked for free things to do nearby. I found a park in Kissimmee that had a kitschy "statue" called Monument of States. After finding parking and taking some pictures, I took a walk out to the lake in the park and then sat in the sun and watched children play in the playground. Finally, it was time to set the GPS to go back to the airport. I think the GPS was playing games with me because I ended up far away from the terminal and then had to reprogram the GPS and weave my way back to return my car, check my bags, wait to go through security, and then find my gate and board the plane. So blessed!!!
On Thursday morning, I had my oncology appointment to determine what the next treatment should be and when it should start. My numbers had not miraculously gone down significantly, and my lower legs were still very puffy. She gave me about 4 different options to look over and said she didn't want to see me until after my nephrologist appointment in JUNE!!! So, I like saying (in a British accent) "I'm on a treatment holiday!" In fact, I've been on holiday since January!!! I'm praying that during this holiday God will heal my kidneys and provide me with some much need rest and time to do other things. Blessed!!!
Before I went to Florida, my cousin contacted me to let me know she would be in NJ and would love to get together. So, we met on Friday at a diner halfway between where she was visiting her aunt & uncle and me. We had a lovely time catching up and vowed not to let so much time pass between visits.
Monday morning was my 6-month hematology appointment. When my doctor arrived, we chatted about my hospital stay, etc. She also told me that the small lump on my arm was actually a blood clot. YIKES!!! In the weeks following, it has dissipated. I've had some other bumps and bruises, but I'm like a Timex watch, "I take a licking and keep on ticking!" LOL!!! Blessed with a great medical team!
I finally, had to go back to work and start earning some money. It was so hard to get back in the swing of things. Thankful & blessed that I only worked 2 days that week. Then it was off to Lancaster, PA on Friday afternoon with my car loaded with our business stuff to sell at a regional quilting event on Saturday morning. We did fairly well. However, after loading up my car to drive home, I had to get a jump to start my car. Thanks, KJW!!! That started several visits to my local mechanic. I now have a new battery, alternator, and belt. My little Toyota still needs some work, but at least I won't get stuck anywhere with a dead battery!!! Again, thankful & blessed with friends who help me.
The following Saturday, a friend invited me to their church's Ladies High Tea. The theme was Wonderland. As in Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat. The decorations were fabulous, and the goodies were yummy. We did a fun craft, sang a bit, and listened to a wonderful message. A blessed afternoon!
That ended my April Showers of Blessings. And already in May, I have been busy & blessed. But I'll save that for my next blog post after my nephrologist & oncologist visits in the beginning of June.
Until then, I'm going to leave you with 2 songs. The first one is in memory of a beautiful, Christian artist - Mandisa. We may never understand why the Lord chose to call her home to heaven, but I will miss her fabulous songs. I wish I was able to see her in concert. My favorite Mandisa song is "Overcomer." She released that song shortly after I began my cancer journey. This video is of Mandisa singing "Stronger" in studio and reflects where I am now in my journey.
My 2nd song is related to the theme of this blog post. It's a fun & upbeat song by the band "Cain" called "I'm So Blessed." Enjoy!!!
May 31 - Labs - Pray for good numbers
June 6 - Nephrologist (kidney) appointment - 10am
June 10 - Oncologist appointment - 8:30am - Pray for wisdom to choose the next round of treatments.
Only by His Strength,
Sandy
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