http://joyolneyfamily.blogspot.com.au
United States of America - March/April 2015
This was a holiday I prefer to forget, although eventful! A few days before our departure Peter was feeling uncomfortable in his liver area. He was tested for Hepatitis but proved negative. He had another blood test the day before our departure on 17 March. Dr gave approval to travel and said he would email the results. They arrived while we were in Las Vegas - "Seek medical attention". Peter chose to go on a liver friendly diet and continue on our way as we had car and accommodation booked to travel through the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Phoenix for 9 days before getting to stay with our friends Mark and Nancy in Tucson, Arizona.
The next morning Nancy took us to the Hospital where various blood tests were taken, ultrasound and MRI. Within 3 hours of arriving at the hospital we were told the grim news. Due to a mass in the head of the pancreas which was pressing on the bile duct, Peter was scheduled for surgery the next day. Fortunately I had the support of Mark & Nancy and able to visit Peter every day for the next 6 days.
Meanwhile the family were at home cancelling our plans for the next 5 weeks and working with our insurance company to repatriate Peter and I home. We were going to take a train from Tucson to New Orleans, fly to Miami and take a 7 day cruise on "Oasis of the Seas" in the Caribbean Sea, fly to Los Angeles for a few days before returning home.
A month after our return to Melbourne, Peter had major surgery to remove the stent which was put in his bile duct in Tucson. He had a
Whipple Procedure which involved the removal of his gall bladder, fifth of his stomach, cancer in the head of his pancreas and part of the duodenum.
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| Casino Royale Las Vegas in front with Venetian behind and Best Western where we stayed. |
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Peter woke on our 2nd morning in Las Vegas quite Jaundice.
Blood test results reached us "Seek medical attention".
We decided to continue on our journey to Tucson.
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Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.
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Caesar's Palace Pool in Las Vegas.
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| Caesar's Palace Lobby, Las Vegas. |
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| Monte Carlo, Las Vegas. |
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| Venetian, Las Vegas. |
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| Venetian, Las Vegas. |
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| Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas. |
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| Latter Day Saints Temple in St George. |
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| Dixie Hill at St George. |
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| We stopped at Springdale for lunch. |
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Driving through Zion National Park.
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| Driving through Zion National Park. |
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Driving through Zion National Park.
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| Glen Canyon Bridge, Page. |
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| Horseshoe Bend near Page. |
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| Navajo National Park. |
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| Joy at Navajo National Park. |
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Peter chatting to Rosita George, a native Navajo Indian about First Nations people.
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Desert View Watchtower - 40 kms east of South Rim.
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| Nearby is Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point. |
Desert View Drive is 40 Kms east of South Rim.
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| View of Colorado River from Desert View Watchtower. |
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Breathtaking panoramas of the Grand Canyon and Pointed Desert from the Watchtower
at East Rim where the Colorado River emerges from the depths of the inner gorge. |
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Bright Angel Lodge built 1935 by Fred Harvey to provide accommodation.
It is a registered National Historic Landmark. |
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Buckley O'Neill's Cabin - the oldest standing structure on South Rim where we stayed for 3 nights.
William O'Neill built the cabin overlooking the Grand Canyon at South Rim in 1895.
O'Neill advocated for the Santa Fe Railway's mining claims that facilitated the Grand Canyon line. |
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| Grand Canyon Railway Station. |
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Kolb Studio built 1904, teeters on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
It was designed by Mary Colter.
A rocky fireplace contributes to an inviting atmosphere. Today it sells souvenirs. |
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Mules prepared to take people deep down into the Canyon.
There was an opportunity to hike down by foot or take a mule ride. We did neither!
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| Bright Angel Trailhead 6860 feet deep down into the Grand Canyon from South Arm. |
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Rim Trail.
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Bright Angel Lodge was ideal accommodation - just 50 metres walk to view this.
Joy walked along the Rim Trail (East) to Verhamp's Visitor Centre.
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| Rim Trail. |
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Rim Trail.
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| Rim Trail. |
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Joy took the free shuttle bus along Hermit's Road (west). Hopi Point.
There was an opportunity to get off and on the bus at 7 locations. I was away 3 hours. |
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Hopi Point.
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| Pima Point. |
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Mohave Point.
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Monument Creek Vista.
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| Hermit's Rest. |
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Joy at Hermit's Rest - 11 kms west of Grand Canyon Village.
The road was originally the old wagon road built by the Santa Fe Railway. |
6.30am Sunrise over Grand Canyon at South Arm.
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| Sunset at South Arm from Bright Angel Lodge. |
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| Peter was becoming more jaundice (yellow). |
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| Goodbye Grand Canyon National Park. |
"Old Town Williams" is a Replica town - some real businesses like hairdresser, eats, saloon, some for display like gaol, sheriff's office & blacksmith.
Route 66 was known as National Old Trails Highway in 1914 and became Route 66 in 1926. It covered 645km, running west to east, starting in California and ending Illinois. The highway was decommissioned in 1985. Williams, Arizona was the last point on Route 66 to be bypassed by interstate highway 40.
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| Elvis Presley in Old Town Williams. There is a "66 Diner", Cafe 66" also. |
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We enjoyed lunch in "66 Diner" in "Old Town Williams".
The historic Santa Fe Railway went from Williams to Grand Canyon first in 1901. |
The drive from Grand Canyon to Williams was flat and baron. Closer to Flagstaff, the snow capped San Francisco Peaks were an interesting diversion. Then all of a sudden out of the desert was beautiful
Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona.
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| Oak Creek Canyon. |
Sedona is midway between Grand Canyon and Phoenix. Majestic red rocky outcrops surround the quaint town with lots of individual shops selling novel items.
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| Peter being cheeky. |
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Peter in Sedona.
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Joy in Sedona.
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Sedona, Arizona. (Our hire car).
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| Peter & Joy in Phoenix. |
The purpose of travelling to USA was to visit Nancy & Mark Bishop in Tucson. We had known Mark for over 25 years. They met in 1995 and married in 1996. Over the years they have lived in many places, but went to Tucson in 2013. The Bishops live in a Country Club Estate with an 18 hole golf course. The 4th tee runs behind their backyard. They have a golf cart to drive around the estate, and use the Country Club facilities almost every day. Tucson is on the edge of the desert, so has its own unique style of homes and lots of cacti.
On 27 March, the day after we arrived in Tucson, Peter was admitted to Tucson Medical Centre where he had surgery and we were repatriated home on 4 April. More about that at the end of this Post.
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| Home of Mark & Nancy in Tucson. |
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| Backyard pool & Golf course. |
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| The night we arrived in Tucson was Nancy's birthday. We watched the Richmond & Carlton football game. The Bishops are very enthusiastic Richmond supporters. |
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| Nancy & Mark and Joy enjoyed lunch at Forty Niners Golf Club. |
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| Joy putting at 49ers Club with Mark giving some coaching. |
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| Mark took Peter to have a hit of golf on 3 April. |
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| Lunch at Dakotas with Larry & Anita Olney who were visiting Tucson. |
We went to Nancy's fathers home for Sedar Passover Meal on 3 April (our Good Friday).
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| Stanley Lehman (85 years) found the bread! |
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A house in Stanley Lehman's estate.
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Photo from Stanley & Susan Lehman's house in Tucson.
Tucson has a population of 526,00. It is flat but has two mountains - Rincon Mountain (east) and Tucson Mountain (west). Houses are mostly rendered in earthy colours. Tucson is an oasis in the middle of a desert. There are not many multi-story buildings. Gardens in Tucson have desert plants, no grass, small river pebbles in locations to allow water to flow when it rains.
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Houses in 49ers Country Club - Bishops neighbours.
Nancy and Joy enjoyed a lovely day at nearby Saguaro National Park where we saw lots of cacti.
Cactus Forest Drive is 8 miles and drives through a Saguaro forest and gives a leisurely look at Sonoran Desert life.
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| The Saguaro on Joy's left is 100 years old. |
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Prickly pear.
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| Many of the Saguaros along Cactus Forest Drive are well over 100 years old. |
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A Saguaro begins life as a shiny black seed no bigger than a pinhead.
One saguaro cactus produces tens of thousands of seeds a year
and as many as 40 million in its lifetime of 175-200 years. |
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| Barrel Cacti. |
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Saguaros and Rincon Mountain in Saguaro National Park.
Saguaro roots spread as far as it is tall. Saguaro fruit ripens in June & July.
Birds, squirrels, faxes, coyotes love the sugary pulp of the fruit.
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Now for the worst part of visiting Tucson.
The day after arriving in Tucson (10 days after leaving Melbourne), Nancy took us to Tucson Medical Centre. Within 3 hours Peter had had an Ultrasound, blood and urine samples taken and we were told there was every indication that he had Pancreatic cancer. He was admitted and had a MRI which confirmed a mass in the head of the pancreas was obstructing the flow of bile in the bile duct which was why he was jaundice. He needed to have a stent put in his bile duct urgently.
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| 28 March 2015, 11.10am Peter having an Ultra Sound. |
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| 12 noon and back into Emergency - to be admitted. |
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| 2pm, Room 910 and waiting for MRI. |
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Private Room No 768 and waiting for Surgery.
Peter had fasted, but surgery did not happen until the next morning. |
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29 March, 10.15am, Day 2 and Peter is going into surgery.
Nancy was a great support to me/us all the way. |
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29 March 2015, Peter ready to meet the Anaesthetist.
He was bright and engaging with the medical staff. |
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| 29 March, 4.45pm, Surgery over, now going for a CT scan. |
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| Waiting for CT scan. |
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| Nancy was always ready to give some light relief and support. |
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| 31 March 2015, Day 4, and Dr No says Peter can be discharged from hospital on 1 April. |
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31 March 2015, Day 4,
Peter completing the paper work ready for his release on 1 April. |
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| 1 April 2015, Day 5, release day. |
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| Room 768, Peter's home for 5 days. |
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| Peter had a rash on his back, due to toxins. |
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| By bedroom for 8 nights. |
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| Larry & Anita Olney visit Bishops on 1 April 2015. |
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| Peter re-couperating 3 April 2015. |
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| Nancy took Joy for a Pedicure - a first! |
The day of our departure was 4 April, a bitter sweet moment. Darren was in consultation with our Insurance Company, InsureandGo. We were medically repatriated home.
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Peter chatting to the Captain of our American Airlines flight from Tucson to Los Angeles.
Wheelchair access through Los Angeles Domestic Airport. |
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| Cart Access through Los Angeles International Airport. |
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| We had a 3 hour wait for our Qantas Premium Economy flight to Melbourne. |
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| We enjoyed the "One World" lounge with a comfortable chair, drinks & meal. |
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Cart access through Melbourne Airport made Customs very easy.
Our 17 hour flight was most uncomfortable for Peter as he had a terrible rash on his back. I had to keep putting cold washers on his back, he was hot and could not sleep, and neither could I! Adrian & Robyn were in Melbourne to meet us. A very special moment and so good to be home again.
There was more to come!
Peter had a Whipple Procedure at Box Hill Hospital on 1 May 2015. Surgeon was Mr. Sayed Hassen. Whipple Procedure took the head of the pancreas, one fifth of the stomach, bile duct, gall bladder. Re-plumbing could have presented some difficulties but there were none. He was expected to be in ICU for up to a week but he was in the Ward by the end of the next day as recovery was exceptional.
Day 3 Peter is sitting out in Ward 7.2, Room 3.
Day 5 was an emotional moment as Peter was allowed broth.
Robyn was Peter's very own massage Therapist.
Day 10 was Mother's Day and the family were having dinner nearby so that we could visit Peter - but he wanted to come too! He was released from Hospital the next day because he was doing soooo well.
Ready for Dinner out on Mother's Day 2015.
Mother's Day the following year was not such a happy one. The family gathered to say their goodbyes and at 4.30am Peter passed away at home on 9 May 2016.
If you have any comments please email Joy Olney - joyolney@gmail.com |
