Recuperation Vacation

Long before Chris and I ever thought we'd be traveling the halls of MD Anderson on a daily basis, we planned a trip with his family to visit Carillon Beach in the Florida panhandle. PD and our family friends, the Hunsuckers rented amazing beach houses right on the water and we were excited for a week of fun in the sun!

Then we got the news that started our medical adventure. And eventually our surgery was scheduled... to take place just a few days before our beach vacation.

After I pouted for a while, I started to get creative. Many people travel from all over the world for treatment at MDA, then they go home. Why couldn't we travel nine hours down I-10 after his surgery? And what better place to rest than with a beach view? AND Chris' brother is an ICU nurse. Isn't that a good person to have around when you have to change wound dressings and empty surgical drains??

So we asked the doctors. And after many rules (no sand, no sun, no pool, no hot tub, no beach water, no alcohol, no doing anything that might make Chris tired and stop every hour to walk around while driving to and from) we were given the go ahead!

Carillon Beach here we come!

Chris' family was kind enough to let us have the master bedroom which has the perfect view (this was literally taken from the bed):

Since Chris spent most of the day sleeping, it was nice for him to see the beach when he woke up for his meds every three hours. And when he felt up to it, he stepped out onto the balcony:

Each morning, we'd spend some time downstairs with the family, mostly reading:

And sometimes playing cards:

But mostly Chris snoozed off the drugs and focused on healing.

And what a better place to do that than with a view like that??

Chris' family really is the best. Knowing that Chris would spend most of his time in bed, they gave us the master bedroom. Knowing that he'd have to stay inside, they bought him his favorite snacks (gummy bears and cheetos). They didn't make him feel bad for having to miss out on family time when the groggy-ness took over and they carried our bags up and down the stairs. PD drove us from Houston to Florida, then from Florida to Baton Rouge. Then Justin drove us from Baton Rouge to Houston (then had to drive back to Baton Rouge the next day which turned into a nine hour drive due to traffic!). And having Justin at the beach was wonderful for me! He helped me tend to the wounds and having him watch Chris made me feel much safer than had I been at home taking care of him by myself.

A Recuperation Vacation... sounds like just what the doctor ordered!