College Visit # 8 – WVU

Last Saturday the Entrekin family dragged themselves out of bed at 3:45 am to begin our last college tour. (At least until Ty decides he doesn’t want to go to Marshall anymore or until Alex starts shopping for Law Schools.)  Well now that I think about it, Richard was pretty bight eyed as this wasn’t much earlier than his usual get up time on the weekends.  At 4:15 we pulled out of the driveway and headed for the Charleston airport.  Ty had a 6:15 am flight back to Texas to spend spring break with his old buddies.  After getting him checked in we loaded back up in the car and headed to Morgantown for an Engineering open house at the University of West Virginia.

Ty flying back to Texas for a Spring Break visit.

I’m actually looking forward to a few hours in the car because I have borrowed a book from Alex to read – Hunger Games.  Ever since I have moved away from my book club in Texas I have gone from reading 1 book per month to reading 1 book per year – whether I have time to or not.  Starting this book in March, I’m feeling pretty good about finishing it before its time to ring in 2013.  But since the movie is coming out this Friday, I hope to get it read quickly because I always like to read the book before I see the movie.  And because I bought stock in the production company, Lions Gate, last Thursday I feel like I should go see the movie at the theatre.

Driving up the interstate I’m not getting any reading done mostly because the sun isn’t up yet.  We arrived early and Alex went to check in at the Registration table.  He walked up to a young man and says his name is Duggan Entrekin with an “E”.  The guy turned around and looked at the sign posted over his head which read M – T.  Alex quickly realized his mistake and jumped over to the “E” line.  I hope that this wasn’t a test to see if he really deserves the scholarships they have offered him.

Hey, I've already been up for 5 hours and it's only 9 am.

So Alex decided a little coffee might just be the ticket before the meetings get started.  This is really a good move on his part because in his packet there are 4 name tags.  One for Richard, one for Rhonda, one with Alex on it and one with Duggan.  Alex just stared at his 2 name tags trying to decide if he is going to be Alex or Duggan today.  He finally decided on Alex.

It's not as strong as Dad's, but it will have to do.

We listened to various Engineering students & facility speak and then headed out for a campus tour.  The campus is divided into 2 parts – the engineering side and the “other” side.  They are connected by a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system.  Think People Mover at Disney World.

a great way to shuttle between the two campuses.

They fed us pizza for lunch and then we attended a presentation on Industrial Engineering.  When the professor spoke about IEs usually being very well-organized, Alex said it made sense that I was an IE.  He also concluded that this may not be the major for him.  Then we went to a presentation on Electrical Engineering and Computer Science which he was much more interested in.  Afterward they gave Alex a WVU T-shirt and we toured the engineering dorm.  Then we drove over to the “other” side of campus and toured the Honors dorm.  Alex has already been accepted to WVU and to the Honors Program.  He thought that he might have already signed up for the Honors dorm but he wasn’t 100% sure???? 

Enjoying the Engineering open house on this beautiful St. Patrick's Day.

Now I know it is Saturday.  I know it is St. Patrick’s Day.  I know that the weather is simply gorgeous.  And I thought that I remembered what it is like to be in college.  But let me just say that the “other” campus is definitely rowdier than the Engineering side.  We were going to eat dinner close to campus, but decided to find a quieter place as we drove toward Charlottesville, VA.  And before you jump to the conclusion that Richard and I are 2 old sticks in the mud let me say that there is now apparently a YouTube video of these St. Patty’s Day festivities, coverage on the local news and several arrests have been made.

We stop in a little town in Maryland to eat dinner.  Duggan is an Irish name and I’m afraid to say that I didn’t know there was so much celebrating going on all over the country on St. Patty’s Day.  We decided to eat at the Crabby Pig apparently with at least 1/2 of the town.  Well, at least none of us fell asleep during dinner with all of the partying going on around us!  Finally around 9:30 pm we find a Holiday Inn and stop for the night.  While Richard checked us in Alex and I unloaded the car.  Richard then went out and moved the car from the unloading zone.  He doesn’t say a word but I know he is wondering why I didn’t park the car after we unloaded it.  Come to think of it, I’m also wondering why I didn’t park the car.  Oh well, I guess I now know why Alex stood in the wrong line this morning. 

At last, 18 hours after we dragged ourselves out of bed at home we finally collapse into bed knowing that it’s a full 12 hours before we have to be at the University of Virginia.

Carter Caves State Park

Last Saturday Richard and I loaded up the new camper van and headed to Carter Caves State Resort Park in Kentucky.  Little did we know that such beautiful hiking was only an hour away.

Welcome Center

I’m happy to say that the drive to the campground was a piece of cake and I didn’t even have to get out and guide Richard into the camp site.  This camper van is definitely easier to manuver than our 45 foot RV.  In fact, our biggest problem was deciding on which site we wanted since there was only one other family camping this weekend.

I guess it is still a little cold for some campers

After setting up camp and eating lunch we headed out on the Carter Caves Cross Country Trial (4 C’s).  Less than a mile into the hike we approach Shangra La Arch.

Heading down to Shangra La Arch

It was very cool inside the arch.

Under the Arch

And the falls on the other side were so peaceful.

This would have been a great place for a nap!

Then we encountered the first of 2 swinging bridges on our hike.

This was definitely a swinging bridge

About half way through the hike we checked out the old Johnson Homeplace and the backcountry campsite.  It was a really nice site and Richard and I may come back for a little Grand Canyon backpacking practice.  Then we hiked over this dam.

Earthen Dam

And then on to swinging bridge #2.

Richard & Rhonda enjoying the day

We could have hiked the Raven Bridge Loop, but I was getting tired at this point.

Raven Bridge

This section of the Fern Bridge was a little wet and the sun was getting a little low.

Fern Bridge

We hiked 6 miles in all and made it back to camp in time to take a shower and cook dinner before it was too dark. 

Richard really spoiled me on this trip.  He carried all the food, water, my camera and even my jacket when I got too hot.

I'm pretty sure that my jacket must have driven him crazy banging against his rear end.

He brought a bottle of my favorite red wine.

Opening up the Hedges

He introduced me to a new friend.

Red-headed Woodpecker

He made a very “bready” apple something #472.  Which is exactly how I like it.

Who knew Richard could relax like this on a Saturday?

He even let me play the songs on my iPhone on the way back home Sunday.  He said that he was definitely listening to some songs that he had never heard before.  I don’t think that he meant it as a complement.

Our first over night trip in Jim Bob

Yes, I think this was the first of many nights that we will spend in Jim Bob, the camper van.  Not to be confused with Jim Bob the squirrel.

Let the Training Begin

With my strength returning and a few trips to the gym under my belt I decided that it is now time to start hiking in preparation for my and Richard’s trip to Zion, Bryce & Grand Canyon this September.  Saturday we hiked 4 miles at Barboursville park and Sunday we loaded up in the new camper van and headed to Beech Fork State Park.

On our 6 mile hike we encountered all kinds of weather.  It was sunny, it was windy & it snowed.  Richard even found a little trail booty – a milk crate.  Although I can see the merits of having a crate to keep things organized in the camper, I’m not sure that I would have carried it the 2+ miles that Richard did.  Some time during that 2nd mile we were both wondering if he couldn’t have bought something similar at Target for $1.

Richard is such a supporting husband as I’m easing back into hiking. 

1. Pointed out a huge hole in the trail (by stepping into it) so I wouldn’t break an ankle
2. Pointed out almost all of the slippery rocks as we crossed various streams
3. Said his legs were also tired (although I’m pretty sure they were not)

And here is a draft of our 15 day itinerary that I will be training for during the next 6 months.

1. Fly to Las Vegas and drive to Zion National Park
2. Hike to Observation Point – 8 miles, 5 hours
3. Hike to Angels Landing and hopefully continue on to West Rim Viewpoint – 13 miles
4. Hike the Narrows – around 9 miles in a river
5. Hike Taylors Creek – 5 miles and drive to Bryce Canyon
6. Hike Peekaboo Trail – 6 miles, 4 hours
7. Hike Fairyland Loop – 8 miles, 5 hours
8. Hike Riggs Spring Loop – 8.5 miles, 5 hours
9. Hike Navajo/Queen’s Garden – 3 miles, 3 hours and drive to the Grand Canyon
10. Backpack 7 miles to Cottonwood campsite - 5 hours.  Take a side trip to Ribbon Falls – 3 miles
11. Backpack 7 miles to Bright Angel campground - 4 hours
12. Backpack 7 miles back to Cottonwood - 4 hours
13. Backpack 7 miles back to the North Rim - 7 hours
14. Drive back to Vegas
15. Fly home

We have never been to Bryce or Zion before, but this will be our 2nd trip to the Grand Canyon.  In 2004 the 4 of us hiked down to Bright Angel campground from the South side.  It was our first major backpacking trip.  It will seem a little strange, I’m sure, that it will only be Richard and I this time.  There are, however, some things that I would like to avoid on this 2nd trek to the Colorado River.

1. Heat Exhaustion
2. Throwing up all night at Bright Angel campground
3. Losing 4 toenails
4. Living on precooked bacon because the packaged food we brought wasn’t so good
5. Bats flying through our tent at night

So here I am 2 months after my surgery hopeful that come September I can try any hike that these magnificent National Parks have to offer.

The Curious Case of Richard

I’m trying to get back to 100% ASAP because there is some weird stuff going on in my house.

At least we have 3 different flavors

1. Boxes of Triscuits are multiplying in the pantry.  Or maybe our local Kroger won’t let you leave the store without taking 5 boxes.  Either way, I’ve told Richard not to come into this house with any more boxes no matter what the flavor.
2. The child proof tops are disappearing on every bottle of Tylenol, medication and even my bottle of Cascade.  It looks oddly like someone has taken a pocket knife to all the lids.
3. Our new camper van is disassembling itself.

Yesterday I went out to the recycling bin in the garage and found this:

I don't think the seats belong here

Several pieces of our van including the 2 seats were in the garage.  So then I thought I better head outside to check on Richard’s new toy.

Richard loves working on his new project

So here is where I should be sitting.

I don't think this would be comfortable on long trips

And here is the ceiling.

We will soon have new speakers up here

Richard quickly explained that he can make it faster, stronger & better.  So for now he is installing a new stereo system, some insulation and I’m not sure what else.  I thought that the van was pretty nice the way we bought it, but obviously I’m still under the influence of my pain medication and don’t know what I’m talking about.  I really need to get well soon so we can start going on some trips and he can stop working on it.  Otherwise we may be the proud owners of the 6 million dollar camper van.

Road to Recovery

About a week after my surgery I turned a big corner on my road to recovery.  Richard called my doctor to find out why I couldn’t sit up, stand or walk without a lot of pain.  The doc said it sounded like my cerebrospinal fluid was low and that I should drink as much liquids as possible.  When you can’t even sit up to drink water much less get up and go to the bathroom, drinking a lot of fluids hadn’t been really high on my daily list of things to do.  But that day I drank everything I could get my hands on.  And the next morning, as quickly as it had come, the pain in my neck & back disappeared.  Needless to say this had a profound effect on my whole outlook on life.

These last 3 weeks have been filled with many firsts.

• 1st trip out of the house – to Lowe’s, of course, with Richard
• 1st time driving – Alex was the lucky guinea pig but I didn’t scare him too bad
• 1st time I made it through a day with only 1 nap
• 1st stroll around the neighborhood – maybe a 1/4 mile
• 1st walk around the Barboursville Park Lake – 2 miles

And while I have been taking baby steps in looking for the body that ran 13.1 miles 3 months ago, Richard has been working on his own version of my Road to Recovery.  Because I’m cracking from shacking and these WV roads are not big RV rig friendly, Richard has bought a camper van for us to take some weekend trips once the weather breaks and I am ready to do some hiking.  I had no idea that this surgery, leaving Richard unsupervised by me, would cost us so much money.  When Richard picked up the van it was running a little rough and when he found a walnut shell left behind by a squirrel in the linkage, Richard knew that this camper van must be named Jim Bob.

The latest addition to the Entrekin Family

But I must admit that I’m looking forward to getting out in nature again and it is great motivation to start back to the gym this coming Monday.  I’m looking forward to some training weekends to get ready for my & Richard’s trip to Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon this September.  I already had to cancel this trip once 3 years ago when I broke my ankle.  I’m determined not to have to cancel this trip a 2nd time!

Richard vs Jim Bob update

Much to my delight the saga between Richard and our backyard squirrel, Jim Bob continues.

Round 7

Richard decided to install one of the baffles over the aluminum pan.

Let's see if this baffles Jim Bob

This really didn’t slow Jim Bob down at all.

Jim Bob eating breakfast the next morning

Round 8

Richard decided to turn the pan upside down.

Richard turning the pan upside down

Because Jim Bob could hook his feet on the lip of the pan, this actually helped him get into the feeder.

This is just way too easy!

Round 9

Richard then decided to put a sleeve around the wire holding up the bird feeder.

Let's cover up the wire

A few minutes later Jim Bob was back onto the wire.

Jim Bob going down the wire

And easily back into the bird feeder.

This is like taking candy from a baby

Round 10

Richard then decided to put 5 pieces of PVC pipe around the wire.

Richard installing thicker pipes around the wire

Jim Bob held on to the pipes with his back feet while he navigated the pan to get into the feeder.

These PVC pipes helped Jim Bob get into the feeder

Round 11

Richard then decided to glue the PVC pipes together so Jim Bob couldn’t hold on to them.

Now Jim Bob can't hook his feet in between the pipes

Jim Bob now loops his back legs around the PVC pipes to get into the bird feeder.

Oh the rewards of not giving up

I honestly don’t know who I hope wins this war, but I hope that the battles continue for months to come.  This has provided a lot of entertainment for me, Tyler & Alex.  But as for the Cardinals that live in our backyard, they are clearly pulling for Richard because I don’t think they enjoy watching Jim Bob eat all their food.

Cardinals on the waiting branch, watching Jim Bob eat their seed

Mayo Clinic

Some neat places we have been

I have a huge map of the United States in our media room and on it are push pins showing the National Parks, beach destinations and college trips we have taken over the years.  So it seems a little strange that my 1st pin for 2012 is Rochester, Minnesota home of the Mayo Clinic.  I have had a pituitary tumor sleeping somewhat peacefully in my head for years.  But during the last part of 2011 this little rascal started growing so much that even I couldn’t deny its existence anymore or the fact that something had to be done.

Monday, January 2

With my parents here to look after the boys, Richard and I load up the  car for the 850 mile road trip to Minnesota.  And let me just say that this was the weirdest weather I have ever driven in.  When we hit Indianapolis there would be patches of snow followed by sun and clear roads followed again by blowing snow.  We saw two 10+ car pile ups and many other wrecks on the over passes.  Richard had talked about driving the RV up there, but I was happy we were in a car.  A car that we soon learned was magic.  The Lady in the Car told Richard to get off the interstate because there was a delay ahead.  Richard and I both looked at each other.  We didn’t think that she really knew about the traffic ahead so we kept driving.  She was right.  And she was right about the next jam. And the next jam, too. Learn to listen to the lady.

Tuesday, January 3

Richard and I have decided that this new car is going to be great for our marriage.  You see I’m a lock your car even if it’s sitting in your driveway kind of girl.  Richard is a leave the keys in your vehicle kind of guy.  So when are taking a road trip I’m always nagging him about locking the car when we get out and unlocking the passenger doors when we are loading back up.  So with this car I keep a key in my purse and with a touch of the door handle I can lock or unlock the whole car.  Trust me this is important when it is 14 degrees and the wind is blowing 30 mph.  Not one time on this entire trip did I have to say anything to him about the car doors and we were both happy about that.

We arrived in Rochester around 3:00 and decided to find the location of my 8:00 am appointment tomorrow.  Our hotel is connected to the skywalk/subway, a pedestrian walkway connecting hotels, shops, restaurants and of course the Mayo Building.  This is especially nice if you are in Minnesota in the winter time and meant that Richard and I didn’t need to wear our coats, gloves or boots once we checked in to the hotel.  After a 10 minute walk we find the desk where I will check in to start this whole process.  We had dinner at a place called Chester’s that was fantastic and head back to the hotel to try to get some sleep.

Wednesday, January 4

Well, O.K. I didn’t really think I was going to get a good nights sleep.  At a few minutes after 8 Richard and I are called back to meet the endocrinologist.  Two hours later they are convinced that I need surgery ASAP and hand me a sheet of paper with my appointments for the day:

10:00  Complete Bloodwork

11:00 Chest X-Ray

1:00  Consultation with Neurosurgeon

1:40  EEG

2:55  MRI

It would have taken me a month to schedule all this at home.  Richard and I never had to wait long for any of these appointments except for the one that we showed up an hour early because I forgot we were on central time.  Everyone that we came into contact with was so friendly that I think the Mayo Clinic must ship employees down to Disney World for customer service training before they start working here.  I also know now that my surgery will be tomorrow and I have a follow-up appointment with the endocrinologist at 11:15 on Friday since 50% of the people having  Transsphenoidal Surgery get out in one day.  Well Richard is helping me stay positive that I will indeed be in that 50%, but we almost laugh at the scheduler who actually thinks that I will get busted out of the hospital and get over to the Mayo Building by 11:15.  But we don’t because we have never experienced a business model like this where the team of people you need are assembled so quickly and the procedures that you need are scheduled so quickly. We eat dinner at Chester’s again (yes it’s that good) and head back to watch the Clemson vs West Virginia game and try to get some sleep even though I have to report to the hospital at 5:45 in the morning for my surgery.

Thursday, January 5

After a 3 hour surgery of going up my nose to suck as much of this tumor out as possible, I find myself waking up in recovery.  The nurse asked me if my heart rate was really low.  Apparently it hovered around 40 for the entire operation and was quite a topic of conversation for my surgical team which included 2 anesthesiologists, an Ear/Nose/Throat guy, my neurosurgeon and a host of nurses.  After an hour in recovery they wheeled me to my room where Richard was waiting on me.  Richard takes a red A off my door and carries it into my room.  I think maybe its a Scarlet Letter providing some insight into my surgeon’s morals.  But it turned out that it was far worse than that.  It was an A for Alabama.  I was thankful that I didn’t know he was a Bama guy before the surgery.

I must admit that Thursday afternoon was a bit of a blur.  The pain meds are working pretty well except that my mouth is so dry that my tongue is sticking to the side of my mouth.  I can’t go more than 10 minutes without a sip of water.  This continues into the night and in spite of being jacked up on pain meds I can’t sleep more than 10 minutes at a time.  I’m pretty sure it was the most miserable night I have ever had.  Somewhere in the middle of the night I look over to Richard who decided to sleep on a roll away bed in my room (instead of our nice hotel bed) and eat hospital food for dinner (instead of going to one of the nice restaurants nearby).   Twenty-two years ago Richard stood in front of God, our family & friends and said that he would take me for better or worse and in sickness and in health.  It occurs to me that he must have meant it.

Friday, January 6

I don’t have a cerebrospinal fluid leak (40% of patients) or diabetes insipidus (10%) so I am in that lucky 50% of patients that can be released the day after their surgery.  However, I have developed a severe pain in my neck and the only relief that I can get is to lie on my side.  So I get another dose of pain medication, have blood drawn for a complete post surgery workup so we will know how my pituitary gland is working, meet with 3 of my doctors and leave the hospital by 10:15 am.  This gave Richard and I plenty of time to make our 11:15 meeting with the endocrinologist who give us the O.K. to leave Rochester.  We had lunch, got my prescriptions filled and headed home.

No matter how far I lean the passenger seat back I cannot tolerate the pain in my neck, so I have to lie down in the back seat.  Thank goodness Richard has the Lady in the car to help him navigate home.

Saturday, January 7

I still can’t sit up so it’s back to back seat for me.  Richard and the Lady in the Car had a horrible argument.  It seems that Richard wanted to go home on a route that took us by a RV dealership and the Lady in the Car wanted us to go the route using the most interstates.  Neither of them would give in to the other.  And since this is a G rated blog, I’ll just leave it at that.  Around 6:30 pm Saturday night we pull in to the garage.  Six days, 1700 miles, 7 states, 1 surgery – no wonder I feel like a truck hit me.

Sunday, January 8

And now I wait.  Wait to see how the headaches, vision & hormones settle out.  Wait for this body that God gave me to begin the process of healing itself.