Philadelphia on 9/11/11

A new post to my blog 9/11/11.

I am writing this on the flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia, on 9/9/11. I am so grateful to be able to take this trip to see Mike, Leanna, and our 2 grandchildren, Sammi and Eli.

I hope to have a photo to add to this post.

Things are rapidly improving. My sense of taste is coming back. For the first time in months, I was able to taste the slightly sweet minty taste of Glide Dental Floss, something that makes Rocky, our dog, salivate. Today, at the airport, I ate a bagel, and while I found it dry, I almost finished it. Most foods still do not taste as good as I remember, and leave a bad taste in my mouth.

My peripheral neuropathy is unchanged. I am trying a Vitamin B fat soluble product which is marketed as having a 90% success rate. I am skeptical about this, but it can't hurt. I will report on my progress and you can respond by email if you need the details.

I have been able to work. At Kaiser, I did 2 half days last week and 2 this week.

I do note that while walking at a rapid pace from the car to the terminal, I was short of breath. Hopefully, this is due to lack of exercise and remaining anemia.

Here is a report of a conversation between Gary and our 3 year old granddaughter a few days ago.

Gary "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Sara "A doctor"

Gary "So you can help people?"

Sara "Yes, I'm going to be Dr Sara"

Sara "Wait, I'm not going to be Dr. Sara, I'm going to be a different Doctor. You know Papa? I'm going to be whatever kind of Doctor he is.

They say grandchildren are your reward for not killing your children. Here is proof.

A brief comment about  American Airlines price gouging.

I booked flights from Fresno to Montreal to visit my mother, Oct 10-15. I later found out my brother Jon will visit from Florida, and my sister Ellie will visit from Edmonton. In addition, there are McGill class reunion activities going on that week. I thought it would be nice to extend my trip 1 day to leave the 16th. So the question is "how much for the change?"

$150 change fee. OK, High, but I'm willing to pay it.

$350 in addition as the fare structure at the time of this new booking has increased.

Like I said, price gouging.

On 9/10/11, I called American Airlines again after learning that a one way flight from Montreal to Fresno on October 17 was only $300.

I was able to do the change for less than $100.

Today is 9/11/11, the 10 year anniversary. I think back to where I was at the time the disaster unfolded. Judy and I were at Lake Tahoe with Judy's mother, staying at a condo at Lakeland Village. We actually owned the condo which management rented for us most of the time. Our son Gary called and we turned on the TV shortly before the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

We were talking about the changes in the past 10 years. Judy's mother died of colon cancer. My father developed dementia and died of bile duct cancer. Brian, our middle son was married and is since divorced. Gary, our oldest son was married to his first wife, Margaret, and our first granddaughter, Eva was an infant. Gary has since remarried, and has two more daughters. 

We have since sold the rental condo in Lake Tahoe.

I didn't have cancer.

So many changes in our lives in just 10 years.

We took photos but because we left the cable to connect the camera to my computer, the photos await my next post.

I am having a new symptom. Recently, I have had some dizzyness on standing. Today, I stood up to walk a short distance from one sofa to another, and briefly lost consciousness. No injury. I am presuming this is a vaso-vagal reaction. I will need to be careful getting up.