I would eat each day at the guest room, then pack up and walk up to the hospital where I would have WiFi and I could connect with Tom. The children would FaceTime and message me later in the day when they were just up and getting ready for their day. I would buy my food at the small cafeteria and take some back to my room to eat for dinner each night and for my breakfast in the morning. I also tended to business in the hospital that Tom would ask me to take care of. It was a little lonely for me but I was grateful to communicate with the children and others who would write me. I would read my scriptures but try not to use too much power on my devices. I found one outlet where I could plug in to charge up but I still tried to conserve. I would charge all the devices thru the night after listening to an audio book before going to bed. As I walked back to the Kindergarten and guest room each night, I would stop under a street light and wave to Tom who would be standing in his hospital room window. He was unable to watch me all the way back as he lost view of me when I hit the forested area.
Tom was released from isolation Wednesday afternoon and we were able to be together. He was ready to explore the hospital. It is a lovely facility and Tom got us into one of the beautiful atriums to sit for awhile. He has a treatment friend who is from California. His name is Bill Powers and he is here for his second and final treatment. He is showing Tom all the ropes and sharing insights and food condiments that he brought with him. The Germans don’t seem to put mayonnaise or mustard on their sandwiches and Bill brought sample packets of both to use and a jar of peanut butter. Though the patients are in isolation the doctors, nurses and cleaners still come in and out of their rooms to talk to them but Tom had to change his clothes when he came out to be with me. He and Bill could visit in each other’s rooms once restrictions were somewhat lifted.
Thursday finally came and we met with Doctor Kulkarni before being released. He seemed pleased with Tom’s reaction to his treatment and we are scheduled for another treatment on December 13. Tom had arranged for a taxi to take us to the train station in Erfurt rather than the bus this time. It cost about $100 Canadian and Tom was not happy. We caught the direct train to the Frankfurt Airport which was much better than having to change trains in Frankfurt. The airport train station is right by our hotel the Marriott Sheraton so we were able to walk. Once settled we went out to find a restaurant for dinner. We found an Italian one right above the train station and the food was delicious. So nice to have a good meal together. We arranged to have a wheelchair pick us up at the hotel to take us to our Lufthansa gate in the morning and that worked out well except we forgot to have him take us to check our small bags thru but we managed. The flight home went well and we appreciated the premium economy seats with more room. Tom’s legs were a little swollen from all his fluid intake this week, lack of movement outside his room and flying. Paul picked us up at the Vancouver airport and got us safely home. We had made it and we recognized that we had experienced miracles and had been blessed all along the way.
We had our Saturday Temple shift covered for us in order to have a little time to get our feet on the ground although we did’t feel too bad on Saturday. Tom even offered to go into the Temple if Jackson needed to have him cover his final hour of sealings but Brother Bigler said they would be fine. The weekend brought a very strong Pineapple Express storm from Hawaii with winds and a great deal of rain. I was to get a booster shot at the outdoor clinic on Monday and also go to a PT appointment, however, both were cancelled due to the severity of the storm. We lost power for several hours Monday afternoon. When things finally settled by Tuesday we found we had flooded towns, highways washed out and stranded communities, cars and people. It has put our area into a disaster zone category. People are rushing to grocery stores and panic buying again. We hadn’t even considered panicking but things are certainly worse than we realized.
We did a temple session Tuesday morning and then we went to a Surrey community Center for me to get my postponed covid booster. We both had phone call doctors’ appointments in the afternoon with our individual GPs. Terry Gledstone delivered our reupholstered kitchen chairs and they look lovely. Justin FaceTimed to tell us about the baby’s ultrasound and Rosemarie Scheimann brought us a dinner from the Relief Society Presidency. It was a full day and we are feeling pretty good but still a little weary from our journey.
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