I am sitting in the airport in Minneapolis as I write this. I will be flying back to Paul and Nokomis up in Inverness, Scotland. This has been a very difficult month for us and I fly back with a heavy heart. It has been too hard to write before this.
The first day back in Ipswich a fellow sailor and a fellow Pacific Seacraft owner, who is a retired pediatrician, told me I had skin cancer on my face and had to have it treated immediately. The cost of the flight home plus the medical costs ($5,000 deductible) would be more expensive than to have it taken care of in England. So I stayed there and used the private pay hospital system, and had very good care.
But then, I found out my sister, Lori, who lives in Duluth, had stage 4C salivary gland cancer. I immediately came home to spend some time with her and see her through some of the doctor visits. Lori is a very upbeat person and she is facing chemotherapy with much hope.
Then I found out that not enough skin was removed and had to have further surgery, which I did in Minneapolis. The scar was healing so nicely, and now it is bigger and sore again. But I will be just fine And Doctor Paul will be removing the stitches for me.
So now, I am back on the road. I am looking forward to being on the boat and exploring the Caledonian Canal and beyond. But I find my mind drifts back to Lori and her struggle ahead. If you know her, here is the link to her Caring Bridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lorismith4
Lori wears a scarf over her right eye because of double vision, and me with the bandages under my eye, we referred to ourselves as escapees from the hospital.