Where have you gone?
Today we are getting personal and sharing some surgery complications. Would you mind if we do that? You may have noticed if you are a subscriber to our weekly youtube show, that I have been off the boat now for some time. I will spend a bit of time and explain why I have been off the boat now for the last four weeks or so.
As of this writing in May of 2019, I have been up in New Jersey for over 25 days.
My Dad had Surgery
My Dad had scheduled surgery to remove a benign growth on his pancreas. He is lucky; it was caught early and was NOT cancerous. It was planned to be a pretty big surgery, with about a week of hospital recovery, then home. I planned to come to New Jersey for two weeks to help make sure he was okay after the surgery and help him out at home.
So what the heck happened?
Surgery Complications (Personal information)
The day after his surgery, he had some issues with his heart. AFIB. Just like I posted about my own experience with it, my Dad also has it (maybe it is hereditary). Anyway, that issue with his heart caused his weakened body from the surgery to start to shut down. It got worse, and frankly, I was worried we were pretty “touch and go” there for a week or so.
Let’s not dwell on the negative
Regardless of the surgery complications, In the end, Dad ended up being in the hospital and ICU for four weeks. He then went to a physical rehab facility to start to gain strength and stamina back. He ended up being in that rehab facility another six weeks before coming home and still needing another 5-6 weeks of home health physical and occupational therapy.
The Good news about the surgery complications
The great news is Dad is doing much much better. He is back on his own at this stage (As of the first of August). It was a longer time than any of us expected, but it was the right recovery pattern for him.
Personal Thank you
I am forever thankful for the flexibility of my job and the unbelievable supportive company that I work for. Many people wouldn’t have been able to go and be there for four months due to other obligations with Work and Family. Deb became a single grandparent raising grandchildren while I was on the other side of the country, and we were able to do what needed to be done. I am so grateful for those things in my life.
Will you still sail?
OF course! I know this isn’t typical sailing or boat DIY work, but it is real life and what is going on with us. I hope you can be patient with us while we work on the things that are most important right now and get back to our sailing adventures very soon. Personally, I would think that each of you would do the same if given the opportunity so Thank you for your flexibility in content.
The Admiral becomes the Captain
While I am up in New Jersey, my lovely bride, Debbie, and the grandsquids are all back aboard SVDreamChaser and holding down the fort there, as they say. This allowed me to get a little personal due to surgery complications. Deb has been doing some work but isn’t quite as diligent as I am about filming all the stuff we do. She was able to get the boat lines all adjusted in some rough weather that happened over the last week or 2. She also went to get the dinghy from the shop where we were giving her a good tune-up. We hadn’t used the dink in over a year since the big boat went into the boatyard and outboards don’t do well when they sit. Sadly that is what I let happen to it while focusing on all of the refit work on SVDreamChaser.
Our Personal Video message on the topic
Below are tools and products we use normally on board
If you like this episode, by all means, please do share it with your friends that would benefit from it and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes every Friday. We have done a couple of videos specifically on which materials to use for different glass materials as well. See it here.
See our “Full Refit” Playlist Here
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLlwpbgibX_O9E4fRgrrV2zxGbzhEvVGVv&v=8wyNNpLAeNs&layout=gallery[/embedyt]Free Stuff
Please share this video with others; we would love to continue to grow our community. 🙂
Tools and supplies
Tools and supplies we use regularly can be found here:
- Jet Band Saw
- Sanding Tape 120 Grit – 1 inch wide
- Sanding Tape for Spindles (220 Grit)
- Small Sanding Cord for Spindles (150 Grit)
- Screwdriver with nut ends
- Pry Bar Set
- Oscillating Multi-tool (about $35)
- The Best small wood cutting blades
- Great “plunge cutter”
- ABSOLUTE Best metal cutting blade (for cutting bolts, etc.)
- Safety Glasses
- xActo Blade Knife
- Ryobi Variable Speed Jigsaw
Video and Camera Equipment we use
Video equipment used is: Canon Vixia G40
Our Lifestyle Cruising and living aboard.
See how we go about living aboard and sailing with kids (Grandkids 4 and 12 years of age). We are in the middle of a huge sailboat refit. Our Boat is designed by Bill Garden and built in Taiwan. See how to become a liveaboard whether you stay in a marina or are a cruiser. #boatlife #saillife #SVDreamchaser
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