Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[TravelGirlinDallas]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We received news that a very good friend of ours, Mike, passed away.

 

He was a young 55 yrs old.   

How tragic, he was still so young. And after a recent miraculous recovery, it must have been harder to accept. So sorry.

[Sea Dog]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We received news that a very good friend of ours, Mike, passed away.

 

He was a young 55 yrs old.     Some of you may recall in 2021 I spoke of him having a massive stroke and being in a coma for 2+ months.    After many tests performed by local hospital and Jefferson Hospital in center city Philadelphia they determined he had no brain activity and would probably never wake up again so his family put him into hospice at the local hospital.     After removing him from various meds approx. 10 days later he woke and said he was starving.   The last photos I have of him is him laughing and cracking jokes in the hospital after waking up from his coma.    At that time, he had full movement of his arms and legs and was speaking rather well.

 

Everyone at the hospital including his family was shocked to see him rebound.    He then began physical therapy and was doing good.

 

But he then had several seizures and mini strokes over the next couple of months that made it so he could never walk again and had very poor speech.     He has been living the last 2+ years at a assisting living facility and absolutely hated it.   

 

As time went on he became very uninterested in everything (no longer watched football or baseball which was Not like him at all).   He was severely depressed and didn't want to live like that.   It was very sad to see the once lively laughing jokester Mike like this.    

 

I met him 40 yrs ago in high school and after graduating we didn't see each until we were in our late 20's.   Wen we reconnected him and Eric became Best Friends.    They went fishing together all the time, watched sports together, joined a dart league at a local bar and enjoyed doing that every week for several years (both played darts very well).   

 

We are heartbroken that he has passed but also happy that he is no longer suffering and miserable.    We hope that he has met up with his baby boy that had passed away suddenly as a toddler 20+ yrs ago.    

 

May Mike RIP❤️

I’m so sorry about the loss of you and Eric’s dear friend. At least he is in peace and not suffering anymore. RIP Mike.

[NHProud]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We enjoyed Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  Beautiful area with a lot of ground level and tree level walking areas.  It does require a fair amount of walking and climbing stairs, in case that's a problem.  There's a free shuttle bus that stops at 3 or 4 places around downtown.  Takes about a half day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one is for you .  Kinda cloudy and it’s not even May .  Taken from our local newspaper.  Just kidding ! Thank you for posting your photos. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by NHProud

[ReneeFLL]

Godafoss Waterfall

 

 

[Momof3gurlz]

4 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I’m guessing we are about an hour from the port of Akureyri, Iceland. This is what I look like when it’s cold. At least I’m able to use my hat and scarf that I bought in New Zealand. Not much of a chance in Fort Lauderdale. 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too funny Renee!

20 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Godafoss Waterfall

 

 

Stunning!  And a bonus rainbow 🌈!

[lenquixote66]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sounds like lots of fun, Good Luck to Owen and his team!!

Sorry for the loss of your good friend,Debbie and Eric.

[grapau27]

18 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We received news that a very good friend of ours, Mike, passed away.

 

He was a young 55 yrs old.     Some of you may recall in 2021 I spoke of him having a massive stroke and being in a coma for 2+ months.    After many tests performed by local hospital and Jefferson Hospital in center city Philadelphia they determined he had no brain activity and would probably never wake up again so his family put him into hospice at the local hospital.     After removing him from various meds approx. 10 days later he woke and said he was starving.   The last photos I have of him is him laughing and cracking jokes in the hospital after waking up from his coma.    At that time, he had full movement of his arms and legs and was speaking rather well.

 

Everyone at the hospital including his family was shocked to see him rebound.    He then began physical therapy and was doing good.

 

But he then had several seizures and mini strokes over the next couple of months that made it so he could never walk again and had very poor speech.     He has been living the last 2+ years at a assisting living facility and absolutely hated it.   

 

As time went on he became very uninterested in everything (no longer watched football or baseball which was Not like him at all).   He was severely depressed and didn't want to live like that.   It was very sad to see the once lively laughing jokester Mike like this.    

 

I met him 40 yrs ago in high school and after graduating we didn't see each until we were in our late 20's.   Wen we reconnected him and Eric became Best Friends.    They went fishing together all the time, watched sports together, joined a dart league at a local bar and enjoyed doing that every week for several years (both played darts very well).   

 

We are heartbroken that he has passed but also happy that he is no longer suffering and miserable.    We hope that he has met up with his baby boy that had passed away suddenly as a toddler 20+ yrs ago.    

 

May Mike RIP❤️

I'm so sorry to read your post Debbie and hear your good friend Mike has died at only 55.

So sad.

Prayers 🙏 and condolences to you and Eric and all of his family and friends.

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, NHProud said:

This one is for you .  Kinda cloudy and it’s not even May .  Taken from our local newspaper.  Just kidding ! Thank you for posting your photos. 

 

Good memory!  June gloom.  Sigh.  I'd like to go back there, but at a different time of year.

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

We were expecting it to be really cold here in Akureyri, Iceland today but it turned out to be really nice.  No heavy jacket needed.  This was the path we took at the Godofoss Falls.

 

 

Myvatn Lake

 

[h20skibum]

I made final payment on our upcoming cruise today.  I was able to use up all of our FCCs and other credits from all of the cruises we canceled when my daughter was diagnosed.  Most had to be used before the first week of January.

 

I still don't have any excitement building to be back cruising.  I have looked at a couple things, but we may just try to enjoy some down time once we get onboard.  We do have quite a bit of OBC, so will use it for grats and maybe a couple excursions after we board.

 

And from what I read, this may be the last of reasonable cruise fares for us for a while.

[Arzeena]

11 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

I made final payment on our upcoming cruise today.  I was able to use up all of our FCCs and other credits from all of the cruises we canceled when my daughter was diagnosed.  Most had to be used before the first week of January.

 

I still don't have any excitement building to be back cruising.  I have looked at a couple things, but we may just try to enjoy some down time once we get onboard.  We do have quite a bit of OBC, so will use it for grats and maybe a couple excursions after we board.

 

And from what I read, this may be the last of reasonable cruise fares for us for a while.

Be comfortable taking baby steps and doing what you feel like doing, one thing at a time......the excitement will build in due time.

What cruise did you book?

[jmh2006]

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea  Thanks ladies for posting those fabulous pictures!!  Renee so glad you got some use of your "winter gear"! 🤣

[h20skibum]

13 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Be comfortable taking baby steps and doing what you feel like doing, one thing at a time......the excitement will build in due time.

What cruise did you book?

We are on Symphony, December 16-24.  An 8 night cruise to Aruba, Curaçao, and Labadee.  This will be a cruise before the kids and grandkids all join us in Florida for the holidays. 

[mo&fran]

17 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We are on Symphony, December 16-24.  An 8 night cruise to Aruba, Curaçao, and Labadee.  This will be a cruise before the kids and grandkids all join us in Florida for the holidays. 

Sounds like a good one.

[Arzeena]

28 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We are on Symphony, December 16-24.  An 8 night cruise to Aruba, Curaçao, and Labadee.  This will be a cruise before the kids and grandkids all join us in Florida for the holidays. 

Nice itinerary!

We will do Symphony in Feb.

[Etta1213]

9 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Good Morning Everyone,  We have a gorgeous morning here now that humidity has lifted, for a couple of days hopefully.

 

Thank you for all your kind words for us and Mike's family.   

 

As @HBE4 said it is a blessing.   His family feels the same.   Seeing him suffer and stuck in limbo for over 2 yrs took a toll on them.   Our wonderful memories of many fun times will live on 💞

 

Thank you and Have a Great Day enjoying life❣️

Hurting here for you.💞. So painful. I've found comfort in reading some of the books on near- death experiences, one or more written by MD's. My former NYC doctor, Leo Galland, wrote an astonishing book (ALREADY HERE) about his son, who did die, and of how the son interacted afterward with both the doctor and his wife. I am absolutely convinced that I will see my parents and oldest brother in eternity.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Etta1213

[Etta1213]

Ref book mentioned, I do not agree with everything in the book. I am a Christian and believe the Bible takes precidence over all other human revelation.

   My mother shared with me an out-of-body experience she had during a surgery; she had watched medical people working on her body, left, was in the next world, expressed to a being the need to return to her body because of her young children, request granted.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Etta1213

[Luckynana]

20 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sounds like lots of fun, Good Luck to Owen and his team!!

@A&L_Ont  Have a great time, we all know that Owen will do great!!

2 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea  Thanks ladies for posting those fabulous pictures!!  Renee so glad you got some use of your "winter gear"! 🤣

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSeaYou're pictures are awesome!  Thank you both for sharing!

[Ozark_Kid]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Godafoss Waterfall

 

 

 

3 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

We were expecting it to be really cold here in Akureyri, Iceland today but it turned out to be really nice.  No heavy jacket needed.  This was the path we took at the Godofoss Falls.

 

 

Myvatn Lake

 

 

Great pics! Did y'all go together?

[Ozark_Kid]

Jewel at port this evening. 

[mo&fran]

Just got back from my radiation appointment. Thursdays, the Dr checks my progress, and he was impressed with the progress with the lumps decrease in size. Tuesda they will do scan, and he expects a big reduction in the power of the radiation to concentrate on eradicating the cancer.  

 Now eating what I can, supplemented by PEG tube feedings.

[Luckynana]

6 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Just got back from my radiation appointment. Thursdays, the Dr checks my progress, and he was impressed with the progress with the lumps decrease in size. Tuesda they will do scan, and he expects a big reduction in the power of the radiation to concentrate on eradicating the cancer.  

 Now eating what I can, supplemented by PEG tube feedings.

Awesome news!!!!!!

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, mo&fran said:

Our first TA on Celebrity Constellation was supposed to call at Reykjavik, but the Captain  had a bad weather report, so we went to Vigo, Spain instead.

 We were bummed to not go, but that happens when cruising.  Never did get there.

 

Not yet!!!!!

[ReneeFLL]

On 8/27/2023 at 9:59 PM, jagsfan said:

We’re having a sad week and weekend. 
our daughter’s cat, Cooper, had developed diabetes, and Lisa spent 4 weeks giving him a special diet twice a day and keeping him away from Jasmine’s (their black cat) food. She gave him insulin injections every day, but his sugar never went down, and he was losing weight. 
last Sunday Lisa took Cooper to the emergency vet because he was obviously in distress. They gave him an iv, and ran blood tests. 
Cooper was diagnosed with acromegaly, which causes insulin resistance and other problems. 
She picked him up Thursday to let him have one more day and night at home. 
He spent the entire time in her lap. 
Friday morning she took him back and sat with him till it was over. 
Lisa is devastated and we’re all horribly sad. 
Cooper was one of a kind, mellow but frisky at the same time. Cats are intelligent, but most of them, if they understand what you’re saying, they don’t let on. Cooper was more like a dog, responding to words like go for a ride (which always meant to the vet or kennel), came running when you called him, just a super cat. 
We’ll all miss him so much!

My granddaughter Hannah posted the first two photos on Facebook. I had never seen either of them. 
The third one Lisa took on Cooper’s last day at home. 
 

May the sweet kitty rest in peace. Sorry for the lose of your fur kitty.

 

On 8/27/2023 at 10:12 PM, jagsfan said:

Mushy peas? I may be the only American that loves them. 
On the other  hand, fish and chips is on many menus here. Just make sure I have malt vinegar!

I love mushy peas. Not sure if the British came up with the idea to mush them, but it sure beats having peas roll around everywhere.

 

On 8/27/2023 at 10:32 PM, dani negreanu said:

 

Why do u want to postpone this one? In those time, I wouldn't postpone anything....

 

We were supposed to cruise with my cousin and her DH this Saturday. I've mentioned last week that during a routine check-up, a "spot" was found in one of her lungs. Further tests negated TB, infection, funghi or spores. A lung CT assumes that 99% the "spot" is cancerous....

 

So, instead of cruising, my cousin will undergo an op (4-5 hours) to remove it, this Wednesday. Being in full penalty, we'll go on with the cruise, but our heart will not be in it.

Sorry to hear about your cousin. Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Sunshine3601]

50 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Just got back from my radiation appointment. Thursdays, the Dr checks my progress, and he was impressed with the progress with the lumps decrease in size. Tuesda they will do scan, and he expects a big reduction in the power of the radiation to concentrate on eradicating the cancer.  

 Now eating what I can, supplemented by PEG tube feedings.

Great News!!!!