At this point I think it’s important to backtrack to 2008. We were living in New York on Long Island. My husband had been diagnosed with stage 3-B lung cancer the previous year and the treatment was so aggressive he wound up in the ICU for nearly four weeks. He required a tracheotomy and was placed on a ventilator and a feeding tube, now unable to speak or eat. A word of caution here. I realized since my husband was now unable to communicate verbally, something needed to be done. A patient who has no mental handicap but is unable to speak is at a distinct disadvantage. There were a number of times where I needed to be consulted regarding medical decisions so that we could make informed choices. Butch was already familiar with the internet and had an email address so I bought him a laptop. I work remotely and I am constantly monitoring my email so we could communicate almost instantly. Now, with nearly everyone in possession of a cell phone, communication is so much easier. After a four month stay in a nursing/rehabilitation facility we had decided the best course of action was to move to Illinois where his cancer was being treated. He was severely compromised after the rehab stay and the cancer hospital had all the care he would need under one roof. However, this required a reevaluation at the cancer hospital before we could finalize the move. We planned to spend four days in Illinois which would give us enough time for the required tests. The logistics of this trip were challenging. We were flying there and with very short notice we were informed he had to have an oxygen concentrator. Not every brand is airline approved. This is were the internet is invaluable. Within an hour, I had found a company that reasonably rented the brand we needed and it was shipped overnight. All we had to do was return it at the end of our trip. With oxygen concentrator in hand, we made the trip and the reevaluation was successful. We also managed to secure a furnished rental house for the next year.
In order to best take advantage of the excellent care he would now have daily access to, we eventually stayed two years. The man who was released from the rehab facility severely underweight with leg braces, a tracheotomy and a feeding tube regained his weight, his mobility, lost the feeding tube and regained the ability to speak, eat and drink. The leg braces were gone for good.
We were to move into the rental house two months after the reevaluation. Initially, although the move was to be for only a year, arranging it was a huge challenge. We had planned to rent our house while we were gone so we also had to move everything out while deciding what to bring with us. We also had a dog, a Golden Retriever named Lenny.
Leaving him behind was out of the question. We had adopted him from a local person who was moving to Florida and couldn’t take him. We lived in the township where Guide Dogs for the Blind is located and Lenny had started life as a puppy destined to be a Guide Dog. He was trained for a year but grew so big that he was phased out of the program for fear he would develop hip dysplasia. He never did. Maybe it was the dog treats laced with glucosamine. Prompted by an episode of Dog Whisperer and because of his early training, we realized he was well suited to be a service dog. The minute I put the Service Dog vest on him, he stood at attention and apparently remembered his training. He was able to fly in the plane cabin with us and even went on a cruise. Besides being smart, Goldens are extremely intuitive. For the rest of his life, he knew immediately when my husband wasn’t feeling well. One problem solved. Next problem, where to store the contents of our home. Pods or any similar company is the best and easiest way to handle this. They come to you, drop off the container and will pick it up and store it in a climate controlled facility. I can’t speak for now but at the time, the fee was very reasonable. Of course you will need friends, family or movers to load the container. Friends and family will typically work for a meal and a drink. We also had friends who drove our fully loaded car to the rental house. They dropped it off at the house and we flew them home. We flew to Chicago with Lenny and were picked up by a hospital car. We could finally take a breath and settle into the rental house. Now instead of commuting every three weeks for tests and treatment, we would be traveling to visit friends and family. The next chapter of our lives was about to begin.