It’s been over a month since I sent out an update and it’s way overdue. We have remained at the church and stayed busy with all the activities and the preparation for the pending surgery.

My Mother moved up to Santa Rosa on Nov. 1st and we had the task of clearing out her apartment and disposing of the unneeded furniture and other “stuff”. It took us a while but we managed to get rid of the things that weren’t useable or could be used by others. It was a huge relief to turn over the apartment keys and finally rid ourselves of that huge task. It still feels strange driving by the apartment and realizing that she is no longer there. She was our primary reason for returning to San Diego for the winters. Of course we also have our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to visit. But we were parked at the church for the convenience of being close to Mother and being able to visit her on a regular basis. Now our church parking has become a chance to be near our San Diego church family and be involved with some very close, supportive friends.

Two weeks ago we lost our refrigerator. It’s been going steadily for almost eight years and finally “gave up the ghost”. Leonard Howell of Howell’s RV (a long-time established RV appliance repair facility) came out and replaced the cooling unit. It wasn’t an inexpensive repair, but we placed it with a rebuilt cooling unit. Next time we will replace the refrigerator with a residential unit and be done with the problems of these RV refrigerators.

A week ago I went in for another MRI to check the progress of the tumor. Today we went in for the Pre-Op consultation with the two surgeons. I was informed by the Drs. That the tumor has grown another 5mm. in size. They asked me if I thought me hearing had digressed any. I have felt that the hearing has worsened, so they rushed me up to Audiology for a hearing test. The results are that the hearing on my left side has deteriorated to a point of total loss. It won’t regenerate, so my right ear will have to do my hearing for me. And that side shows a slight deterioration also. Since there is no concern for saving the hearing in my left ear, the Drs. have modified their surgical plan to make it easier to access the tumor. Now their only concern is to not damage the nerves that control my facial muscles.

Their plan is to make a cut from the top of the ear down around the back side, fold the ear tissue back to gain access to the mastoid bone, and drill a small hole through the bone to see and remove the tumor. They will make a small incision in the belly area to obtain some belly fat (I’ve been working on building a supply of that for several years!) that can be used to fill the hole in the mastoid bone before closing the cut.

I’ll have a total head bandage for several days and probably released from the hospital on Saturday! That means only three days for recovery time. It will be wonderful to come back to the coach and spend my recovery in my own bed. But, that all depends on how fast the recovery goes.

Dottie is nervous about the whole procedure - heck, I’m a little nervous about it, too. But these Drs. are the best in the Southern California area! They are so matter-of-fact about the procedure that put both of us at ease. I asked that they not practice their turkey-carving on me since the surgery in scheduled for 4PM on Wednesday, the 25th. I also asked that they not ask me to make a wish!!! We are putting the surgery in God’s hands and the skill of these two doctors. Think about us on Thanksgiving day as you cut in to those nice, warm, juicy, succulent turkeys with all that wonderful stuffing. I’ll be sipping ice water and waiting for leftovers on Saturday!