atexsix

I really hate to be a downer during Lisa's sail away, so I will just pop in for a minute and thank everybody for all the thoughts and prayers from the last couple of dailies. The arrangements are moving along. The grief is still awful, but just a hair better today. Now I'm going to scroll back and drool over Lisa's food photos, even with no appetite it looks amazing. ~Bruno

First of all, a huge thank you to the outpouring of condolences, both here and in the daily; but I've only been able to read a few posts at a time, then I'd start getting upset. The last couple of days have been tuff, I have had very little time to grieve, yesterday was taken up by an almost comic back and forth between the cemetery, funeral home, church, and relatives in order to agree on a date for the burial. It would finally look like everything was going to work and I'd get an "oh, wait" out of somebody. This went on for hours. I finally picked what works for me, even if it meant disappointing someone. I haven't had much of an appetite, every time I try I take 3 or 4 bites then push my plate away. Nights are particularly lonesome, the last two I just sat in the dark reliving the events of the past week. Still not sleeping much, but last night was a little better. For those that mentioned it, we did have a cruise booked, I still might go, it's not until next year and I have plenty of time to get used to the idea of going alone, right now the thought of it is devastating. Tomorrow I go to the funeral home to pick out the casket, yippee! I also have to write them a check, double yippee! Yes, it's not going to be until after the services, Dad requested no formal obit, so it'll be something like a remembrance that I will be doing later, but you are perfectly welcome to the link, especially since we cruised together. Remember the chamber music? What did they ever come up with to take the place of LCL? FYI: I'll be posting all future updates in the daily. ~Bruno

Good Morning, Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and kind words. I slept about 4 hours with the cat waking me at 5, not a bad thing, Dad was a night owl and during the course of his illness it was important that my schedule match his, I'm happy I can get back to my early to bed early to rise routine. My Mom and her husband will be over today to bring the groceries that they were planning on dropping off anyway, as it was difficult for me to leave even for a moment. The funeral director is supposed to be calling. And I'm continuing the depressing task of locating friends on Dad's phone that I'm not aware of. Dad's priest assured me yesterday that the schedule next week is wide open and not to worry about the details, he said the backup is usually with the cemetery, so that'll need to be scheduled and then we'll work backward from there. I'm assuming the funeral home handles those arrangements, I would hope they did for the prices they charge. Tomorrow I need to go out and find some clothes for him to wear, we've had nothing but hospital attire for the last two years, the few clothing items of Dad's that I still have most definitely will not fit, even though I've heard funeral homes can sometimes work their magic. So again thanks so much for the outpouring of condolences, it means so much to me. All the best, Bruno

Dear Dad passed away this afternoon. I want to thank all the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers, over the course of this almost 2 year journey. It meant a lot to us. It was truly a privilege caring for him and he died peacefully and without pain while I held his hand. Wave season was terrible for him, they advertise cruises every 30 seconds it seems, but now he can go anywhere he wants. I'll miss him greatly. And there's now a huge void in my life. I hope everybody are having wonderful vacations and maybe there'll be a much needed break for me sometime this year. All the best, ~Bruno

We didn't get any snow down here and Dad wanted it so bad, he knows it might be his last winter to see it. But the weather conditions just weren't ideal.

Dear Dad was on the Noordam II, it sure was a tiny little thing, even by 1950's standards, but it was a very elegant ship.

Thank you to all the people that wrote, it means a lot: @Quartzsite Cruiser @kazu @dfish @JazzyV We're starting to have food delivered because I don't have time to grocery shop and cook. Fortunately we now qualify for a home health aide and because he's hospice we don't have to wait as long, it' just a matter of getting the paperwork done. @ottahand7 @quilty964 @Seasick Sailor Yes, Dad was in the army, drafted during the Vietnam era, but because he never went to Vietnam he doesn't get any pension, thanks Uncle Sam! They keep changing the date ranges on this, but it'll probably be too late for him by the time it's expanded. @luvteaching Sadly, he doesn't remember that Hawaii cruise. It's so sad, all of our beautiful memories are now gone. Keep taking those fantastic photos people, some day it might be all you have! @aliaschief @smitty34877 @rafinmd @maryandmarge @dobiemom Now that he's officially hospice we can qualify for that program, in the past we didn't. @Cruzin Terri Dad was recently diagnosed with Mild Cog Impairment, but I think there's some early dementia in the mix as well, those tests only measure a fraction of what I see 24/7. @StLouisCruisers @bennybear @puppycanducruise On Respite: Lots of great advice and I will try and take advantage of all the help that is offered, and there's quite a bit available, I'm just nervous about having more strangers in/out of the house. Not that I don't trust them, we have yet to have any problems of that nature, and I lock everything in my office safe as the V.A. suggested. But I'm always afraid they are going to bring something in here from other homes they visit like illness of course, or bugs. On Prayer: I've recently rediscovered my faith, I normally don't get into things that personal, but it's relevant in this case; Dad's church and I are not on good terms because of some disagreements with the leadership, it's going to create problems for the funeral down the road, so I'm currently trying to fix all that on top of all the caregiving. So thanks for all the prayers n thoughts no matter what your belief system. As usual, I will try to pop in and give updates, and just pop in and read about all the fantastic cruises, if anything I can keep up with the latest fads, because I will return to sailing some day. Take care, Bruno

I read through the care list and posts, sounds like everybody is doing fairly well. Looks like many of you have the bitter cold weather that we had in the northwest last week, from the long range reports, a nice warmup is in store for most places next week. A sneak peak of spring that Mother Nature likes to tease us with. @StLouisCruisers @Quartzsite Cruiser Loved the Singapore pictures, this was Dad's favorite place to visit. @Crazy For Cats That's a lot of bunnies, do your cats sit and watch them?

Good morning, happy new year, I wanted to stop by and give an update on my Dad. He's recently been admitted into one of our local home hospice programs and that's meant an endless number of meetings with doctors, nurses, and social workers. But they didn't hesitate when I brought it up, they've been waiting, many felt he should have gone into it a year ago. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for me, sometimes it's hard to believe there's a world out there humming along as normal, people living their lives, and probably dealing with their own problems. Haven't had much of an appetite, sleep comes and goes, and have just felt blah overall. Dad has his good days and bad days. He recently lost an army buddy so that was tuff. He's not near death, but his disease is terminal and there's no treatment--he's not considered a good candidate for dialysis. The worst part for him are the symptoms associated with late stage renal disease and we're sedating him at night now to give him at least some relief. I'm looking forward to the additional help hospice will be able to provide, all of my interests are on the back burner, there's not even been time to cook. Every last snippet of time is taken up by housework, I can never seem to stay on top of the laundry--sheets and towels galore from the sick room and everywhere I look there are medical supplies stacked up. So I hope everybody is healthy and enjoying their cruises, I haven't had a chance to read through the care list, I'll go and do that now, I wanted to get this posted as early as possible. Take care, Bruno

Now that you mention it, it does bring on flashbacks of the As You Wish dining rollout. I was sailing on the Oosterdam for it's inaugural implementation. Ugh! My worst cruise ever.

I wonder if the Ocean Bar still does 2 for 1 Happy Hours? Those were the days!

It was an extended cocktail hour....and very much needed!!

Um....has anybody seen the waiter? It's been at least an hour 😪

Jumbo shrimp, the tenderloins in cracked pepper, and I never turn down Tiramisu.

If they ran out of something and then changed it in a pinch I can see it, we've all been in those situations in our own kitchens, however it happened twice, once with room service and then again in the MDR, so....

Thanks! Sorry to hear about your leg pain. Dad and I both have similar issues, although mine is only on my right stroke side. We've found Lidocaine patches help a little.

French Onion Soup, Filet Mignon and Lobster, Chocolate Tart, and Coffee

Thanks, I sure hope we can squeeze in a cruise or two. Hope you and your family have great holidays too.

Thank you so much! I hope you are doing well.

Oh Lisa. I am so late to the party, I knew you were going of course from Facebook, but wasn't sure I'd be able to read your LiveFrom, one question, are the chicken dishes that say white meat actually white meat? Because the last couple of cruises they subbed dark meat and didn't bother changing the menus. Poor DD, he didn't eat much on that trip.

Thanks. There are a lot of additional considerations when traveling with health issues, most have been worked out, but it'll be a different kind of cruise, a lot of time in the room resting, so the suite will be good for that.

Thanks. At least we're having a mild winter here in Washington. And yes, the views are breathtaking.

Hello everybody, I know it's been a long time, I just logged in and noticed a number of people were asking about me a couple of weeks ago, I very much appreciate it, I couldn't reply to that thread though because they lock them now apparently. I do pop in every so often to peek at the care list and drool over the pictures, which are a blessing and a curse, Dear Dad and I want to cruise so badly we can taste it. A lot has been happening and there's been good news and bad news. To begin, Dad is doing okay, the kidney disease is still considered stable, but memory issues are becoming more of a problem and he was recently diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, which is considered a precursor to Dementia or Alzheimer's, but not always. Case in point, after the fire in Maui I showed him the pictures we took in Lahaina and he had no memory we were even in Hawaii, let alone a cruise to that specific port. And over Thanksgiving we had family staying with us, I had to repeatedly remind Dad they were here, even as they slept in the next room. Neuropathy and Gout cause daily problems, and the current concerns are protein in the urine which indicates damage, and A1C, with kidney disease it's always something, but he hasn't given up hope which is remarkable, between the good attitude and quality at home care, his doctors feel he's living much longer than if he had been "placed" (euphemism for care home, nursing home, whatever you want to call it). We moved from our townhouse in July and now reside in a high-rise flat with fantastic city/mountain views for Dad. The tower is beautiful and the conveniences within the building and everything nearby are numerous. But despite having help from a number of family members, the stress of the move took a toll, and I had a 2nd stroke shortly after in late August. It was small thank God, but I was immediately put on two months of rest, and no driving, so the convenience of being in an urban area paid off. At least it resulted in no new deficits, and the main focus is to keep stress levels down and lose weight, which is next to impossible this time of the year. We are looking at cruises to Alaska next Fall and I'm going to discuss it with Lisa when she returns from her Caribbean cruise. The Eurodam in a Neptune, they are the only staterooms with wide doorways which is all DD needs, we don't require accessibility elsewhere, and they are always booked up well in advance. We looked at a number of other cruise lines, with Oceania a top choice, but only the owner's suite has a wide enough doorway and those are never available either. But that's beside the point, we really miss the familiarity of HAL and because of specific health related needs, the Neptune lounge as close to our stateroom as possible will be a Godsend. So those are the highlights, caregiving takes up 95% of my free time, which keeps me away from the daily I'm afraid, but an upcoming cruise could change that as someone alluded to in the daily back in November. Thanks again for the well wishes, I'm so happy I had a chance to stop in before the holidays. Feel free to ask any questions and wish me to elaborate on something. ~Bruno and Dad (David)

Love your name, I'm imagining all sorts of contexts (caught in the christmas tree? knitting? swimming? watching people take vitamins?) LoL Anyway, gave me a chuckle and memories of when I first saw that movie, long before I'd ever been on a ship, and wondered what it was like.

Good Morning! It's foggy this morning, but no precip, and the local weather has assured us the warmup will begin today, for a low 60 high, fingers crossed we can finally shut the heaters off, I've been running them less and less, but....today's main agenda item is already crossed off the list when I took our ballots to the drop off box, they are having a local special election. It's Tuesday so Dad gets his bath from the HHA, as usual he grumbled about it. Thanks @dfish for the menu explanation, I had no idea what it was. The drink sounds good, I can usually handle vodka, it doesn't put me under the table like most hard liquor. @StLouisCruisersAgree on penguins, I think they are adorable, one of my favorite animals. Used to be able to watch the Monterey Aquarium feed the smaller penguins on webcam. You're certainly having a cool spring by Georgia standards, I lived there for 4 years and by this time it would be in the 80s. Thoughts/Prayers to all. I'm enjoying all the pictures many of you post each day, you really get a personal perspective that a brochure could never give. I particularly study beach photos because they are always empty when advertised in the commercial sense, but are they really? @aliaschief hoping you have smoother seas, the last couple we took there were days we couldn't get out of bed and normally I've got strong sea legs. Have a great day everyone! ~Bruno