Rough Seas ending with Calm Waters

On May 25, 2015, Wally published this poignant piece to all our Facebook Friends. I believe it belongs in our cruising blog... as a journaling record for us to look back on and as a way for all our blog readers to learn about the turn that life took with us. These details describe a three-month journey... mid-February to mid-May. One of the complaints about blogs and Facebook posts is that they only portray the good in life; people that write them are the perfect people with perfect lives. I can say that since our leaving teaching in 1998 we have been extremely blessed... truly “blessed” as our 6 year-old great niece reminded us, not “lucky” as we might have said. Enjoying good health in 2013, we decided to go to a new adventure of full-time cruising on a boat. If you have been one of our followers you know we have been having a great time on the water for the past year. On February 17 I thought that that time had come to an end. My wife, friend, companion, and admiral had suddenly, overnight, developed something that caused her such severe pain in her muscles and joints that she could not walk, put on or take off clothes by herself, basically could not do anything by herself. At the time we were in the Everglades National Park of Florida... away from any civilization and more importantly away from a doctor. Having just started on a refill of her generic Fosamax, we read the paperwork that accompanied it. One of it’s side effects is muscle and joint pain so we decided to stop it and monitor her condition. The pain and stiffness did not stop but with Advil the pain became bearable so we continued on our trip through The Keys and on up the East Coast. With Darcy’s pain continually getting worse, we decided that we needed to stop and find a doctor. We stopped in Ft. Pierce on a Thursday and on Friday went to a local Urgent Care. The nurse practitioner did some blood work and gave her a pain medication, Vicadin. The next day her reaction to the meds was so severe she could not stand alone so she spent the day in bed, flat on her back, as she could not lay on her side or stomach as the pain was so great. Back to the Advil until the next visit to doctor. At this point it was grin and bear it time. We have a 3 inch step into the head...Darcy could not step over it without reaching down and lifting her leg up with her arms. Having never been sick before, Darcy found this to be both a frightening and enlightening experience. Our second visit to the Urgent Care yielded no diagnosis, but her blood work indicated an abnormality in the markers for her auto-immune system. Following a referral, we were able to get in to see a rheumatologist three days later. He checked her over, changed her medication to Meloxicam, a rheumatoid arthritis medicine that reduces inflammation in the joints. He then ordered a series of blood tests to check for various auto-immune diseases: lupis, lymes disease, fibromylagia, etc. Another appointment in 10 days. A good thing that we had signed up for a month in the marina. A couple days went by. As we were having docktails with a lady who had MS, an auto-immune disease, she explained that she had found the Wahl’s Protocol food plan to deal with MS and that it had helped her immensely. Following up on this recommendation and no other diagnosis in hand, Darcy changed her eating plan to this Paleo Diet to see if it made a difference. While having dinner with friends a few days later, a prayer was said for healing for Darcy: “We don’t care, Lord, what caused it... but please heal it”. Within two days I looked at Darcy and she was combing her hair....her arms over her head. She had not been able to do that in a month! She got off the boat without help and walked up the stairs from the slip one foot after the other. The pain had diminished to the point that she could almost do anything she had done before! The doctors visit yielded no elevated markers....so no disease. The doctor said that arthritis appears at all different times in one’s life and it can come on quickly and sometimes it goes as quick. We still did not know what caused it or what cured it, but we were much changed as a result. We continued on our cruise as planned. Our jubilation however was short lived....Darcy’s discomfort began to return, not to where it was at the beginning, but at a level that hampered the mobility and lifestyle to which she been accustomed. We have since put the boat away at the Brunswick Landing Marina in SE Georgia for the summer. After a brief stop in Atlanta to be reunited with our daughter and her family Brett, Emily, Bailey and puppy Cupcake, we made a three-day run to our cabin in Maine. Darcy has an appointment tomorrow, May 26th, with a rheumatologist in Bangor. We are hoping that he can find the cause and provide some relief. So I guess the reason for telling this story is twofold. One, even though you have lived a blessed life, it may not go on forever... so be thankful for each and every day. Two, if you are a spiritual person, we certainly could use your prayers for the doctors... and especially for Darcy. Post 2: We would like to thank all those whose prayers have lifted us up through this uncertain time in our lives. We had our appointment with a 32 year-old Pakistani rheumatologist in Bangor on Tuesday. He took the time to spend with us so that he could really understand our situation. Being a seasoned traveler, he was interested in us as people, not only as paying patients. After listening to Darcy’s story, he cut right to the chase. “You are a white woman over the age of 65, your condition began quickly with severe stiffness and aching in the shoulders, neck, hips and knees. You have experienced unintended weight loss, 10 lbs, over the past few months and you often feel more tired than you did before. These symptoms tell me that you most probably have polymyalgia rheumatica. We will draw blood right now. If the results of the blood tests have high markers, that will tell me that I have made the correct diagnosis. You will begin taking a corticosteroid, Prednisone, right away. You should see a vast improvement within a day or two. We will taper off the dosage as we monitor the improvement, so you will be taking the least amount for the most gain.” We celebrated this morning with the taking of the first tablet. We will keep you posted. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we know the Lord has his hands upon us. Post 3: For those of you who have been following Darcy’s progress, we offer this good news. As of today, Sunday June 7, she has been pain free for 6 days. After starting the meds it took 4 days for the pain to completely go away... but I now have my Darcy back! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your thoughts and prayers. We know God answers prayers. Just seeing Darcy out in her garden spreading mulch at 8:20 in the evening is proof enough! Post 4: In the past 3 months, Darcy has reduced her daily dosage of Prednisone from 20 mg to 8 mg; she continues to be active and pain free. What a blessing our young specialist has been! Your prayers continue to carry us forth every day.