Another busy month! While I was in Savannah my hernia was exponentially getting worse and by the time I got back to Sarasota it was hard to do anything without taking a lot of breaks. I made an appointment with a recommended doctor who only works on hernias and folks from all over the world come here for his help. As I moved through the process, I met more people who had nothing but great things to say about him. Dr. Yunis from the Center for Hernia Repair in Sarasota is my doctor in case you’re in need of hernia surgery. More on him later.
I got busy repairing the damage from the water leak in the main area in our 5th wheel that happened while we were away. I needed to put the laundry back together, so Mary Jo didn’t have to go to the laundry mat. I still need to get into the underbelly and insulate that once again but so far, no leaks! I also was taking care of a few things here and there on the campus and our stuff, but I was spending more time laying down than I was working.
I also started working on dismantling one of the slide outs that had a rotted floor and wall in preparation for Rob’s visit to help.
Rob, our good friend and faithful servant, from St. Louis showed up on the 5th and we got started the next morning with our daily devos, coffee, and breakfast. We had a roof leak at our house that I thought I had fixed before we left on our trip. Turns out we had more damage from the hurricanes last year than I thought and part of our ceiling ended up caving in.
We spent most of Rob’s first week with us working on cleaning up the mess and fixing the roof. The heat index that week was over 110°! That coupled with going up and down the ladder, bending over on the roof, etc., was making my hernia even more painful, but I needed to get the roof fixed at least enough to stop the leaking. I think we solved the leak issue and will be figuring out when I’ll be insulating and sheetrocking the ceiling, painting, etc. soon. Hamilton also was able to help us with the roof.
The next week we got busy on the slide out, which was more Rob than me. I was able to help set things up and then I’d be good for about an hour and I’d have to go lay down for over an hour and then help a little more. After the first day Rob knew what to get setup and he would then do all the cleanup as I just couldn't do much.
I ended up contacting the Hernia Center and asked if I could be on the wait list if anyone cancelled an appointment as I wasn’t scheduled for my consultation for another week and a half. They called me on Wednesday and said they had an opening the next day and I took it. It was a great visit, and the PA, Mandy, and Dr Yunis did the actual consultation and exam! They didn’t believe that I’m med free, but I assured them, no drugs for us!
We went over the options and decided what we needed to do and then went to the front desk to get it scheduled. They wanted to do the surgery in 2 weeks, which was the first available time slot. It was also the day Nick, Brittany, and the kids were coming for a long weekend visit. I really needed to get the surgery done but also wanted to be able to visit with the kids. The next available was a week later. I asked them if there was anything else they could do to get me in sooner.
The receptionist asked me again about drugs and smoking and I said, not us. She excused herself and went to talk to the doctor. It turns out there was an opening the next afternoon and since I appeared to be healthy and prescription free, they were able to get me booked for 1 PM Friday, the next day!
I was told no eating or drinking after midnight and to report to the hospital for outpatient surgery at 11:45. Took care of some paperwork and got taken up to my room and was told the current operation in the room I was scheduled for was running behind. Fun, fun, and I was hungry and thirsty!
It was getting late and everyone kept insisting I was going to want the pain killers, which I never did take, so Mary Jo took off to pick them up before the pharmacy closed and to get my phone charger. When she got back to the hospital, her van quit running before she found a parking spot. Some of the younger boys and Rob came out and Rob brought our pickup. Eric came out and got it towed back to church as it looks like the fuel pump needs replaced. Should be able to get that fixed this week by one of the young men from church who came to our rescue.
I finally got wheeled in for surgery and was the last one in the outpatient wing. The surgery went well but it took almost 2 hours. It was supposed to be about 45 minutes! Dr Yunis said I made the top 10 of the most difficult ones he’s ever done! I said I am an overachiever!
I was able to get up quickly and drink some water and eat a couple of small things, walked around the floor once, and the nurse was ready to let me go! We got home and some folks from church had dinner for us and some cans of soup in case I didn’t want to eat regular food, I went with the soup! Sleeping was a little rough and a week and a half later, it still is a little, but I’m doing better every day. Other things with my body are getting better and the pain is mostly in my abdomen from where the robotics went in and in the area he had to move and put mesh in.
He called me Saturday afternoon, and I’d already done several laps around the property and had breakfast and lunch. He said no restrictions as nothing I’d do would mess up what he did, just go at my own pace.
I had to change some thermostats in the church on Saturday, so Rob helped with that, and I walked a lot. Sunday I still had a thermostat issue, so I took care of that, walked a lot, and then went to church. After church some friends invited us over for lunch so I decided to try that and I survived!
Monday rolled around and I needed to get back to working on our slide outs so after coffee, breakfast, and Jesus with Rob and MJ, we got back at it. Rob planned this trip a couple months earlier and we had no idea what I was going to go through, and God’s timing was perfect! He was a huge blessing, the Bombdigitty! Hamilton was also able to help us one day so that was huge to keep me from getting up and down too much when we were reassembling the 2 slides.
We managed to get the 2 main slide outs done so we could move back in Saturday and the bunkhouse will be ready for the kids when they arrive this weekend. We’ll have to work on the other one down the road. I know Rob is already planning another trip out this fall, but we may also be busy as we don’t know what’s going to happen with the hurricanes this year.
I still need to install the flooring in the kitchen area, finish the trim on the slide outs, and insulate some of the underbelly that was flooded and will get to that hopefully later this week.
We also had to replace the bathroom faucet, which by we, I mean Rob, did for us as well.
We needed to go and do something else with our house roof last week and so far, it still isn’t leaking! I still need to go and replace all the screws and foam from the original installation of over 10 years ago, but I’ll wait until it cools off one of the 2 days it does around here!
There were a few things I did, like climbing up and down a ladder several times, that haven’t been easy for me to do for quite some time, and I had to get up and down to look at some things that weren’t as painful as I thought it was going to be.
I’m still easing in as far as what I’m doing, but we worked some long days last week and we’ve had crazy heat indexes so being outside has been brutal. I know Rob was wiped out too!
Mary Jo still has issues having to deal with me, but she did say I was a better patient this time than what she expected! She still has her health things going on and here she’s able to do her swim workout 2-3 times a week and that’s been great for her back issues!
Still waiting on the kitchen cabinets to be installed and then we’ll finish the electrical at Brett and Shanell’s. Trent and Rachel finally signed a contract with a new builder so we’re waiting for permits and stuff to get moving on their home as we’ll be helping them through this long process. Hoping to be done before summer next year, but we’ll see!
I’ve got several projects going on around the church and lots of maintenance that needs to constantly be done on our stuff to be ready do whatever The Lord has for us with the upcoming hurricane season. At this point we don’t plan on responding anywhere too far away from Sarasota as we still have the 2 commitments we’re working on from last season which is typical for us since we strive to let our yes be yes!
Stay connected if you’re wanting to come and help with things, we’ve always got plenty to do and please continue to keep us in your prayers and let us know if there’s anything that you need prayer for!
If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief, please let us know! For more info on joining us, click here. Plenty of things to do!
If you feel led to help with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.
If there’s ever anything you need prayer about or just need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know!
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,
Curt & Mary Jo
