Where have you been?

It has been quite a while since my last post, and before too many stories start circulating, I thought I would just air it out and let you hear it from the horses mouth.………it all began this morning when I woke up………this is the morning after check-in at Sensi, somewhere around three weeks ago from where I sit right now, and the best way to describe what I was feeling would be to say that my right leg did not feel like it was part of my body, except for the pressure/pain that was evident, hip to toe, the entire leg just felt numb. This is not a feeling that is foreign to me, having gone through vein removal, DVT (blood clot), and lymphatic issues, in the same leg over the past 10 years or so. My initial and primary concern was that I might have another blood clot, but after breakfast things seemed to settle down a little, and I decided I would be ok to give the mountain goats a ride up the volcano to go for a hike. Not a good choice, but we made it back to the hotel with Jutta driving a stick shift for the first time in over twenty years (I couldn’t drive)…….she did great.

Rather than go through a blow by blow, I’ll just give you the Coles Notes. I decide to go to the hospital to get checked out, and get a snazzy Mercedes sedan to take me to CUF private hospital in Lago, just past Punta Degaga……..very slick/professional operation at CUF……I see a doctor who orders blood work, and following the results, arranges for me to see a vascular surgeon who gives me the ultrasound treatment, looking for a clot in my legs…….none found…….that’s the good news……bad news is that my blood pressure is through the roof, and I am prescribed some medication for that, along with some pain killers just in case it gets to be too much. Things have settled down, and I am back at the hotel early evening in time for dinner. The next day passes with some growing pain in my lower back and that all too familiar sciatic pain lurking in my right hip…….by the next morning I am convinced this pain (now a lot worse) is totally the same as what I experienced probably twenty years ago when I had a kidney stone……..back to the hospital……urine test, lower abdomen scan…….no kidney stone or blockage found…….that’s the good news……bad news is that the doc believes I have an enlarged prostate gland, causing pressure, etc., etc., so I am prescribed two more medications to deal with that. You know, for a guy who takes a daily children’s aspirin and the occasional Advil, this is overwhelming.

I feel like a wreck, and as you would expect, have that discussion with Jutta about calling it a day and heading home rather than continuing over to Lisbon to start the mainland portion of the trip. We decide to give it a couple of days, and feeling a little better, I figure I am good to go…….not in any kind of hiking shape, but my condition is manageable. Bottom line, I continued the trip, closing out the Azores with 3 days in Furnas, and on the mainland have done Lisbon, Cascais, Duoro Valley, Corval/Monsaraz, Monte Rei Golf Resort, and now sit in Lagos where we will be for a few days, before we leave for Lisbon and our return flight home via Punta Degaga on the 30th. There are many stories to share about the last three weeks, and they will be forthcoming once I have the motivation to write them, but enough said………just know that I am fine…….the ladies have been great and most supportive, even with me being my bitchiest hard to get along with self……..clearly some ongoing treatment once I get home, but all will be fine I am sure……..cheers……see y’all in a few.