2010-09 Orlando, Dr's Appts

Bill Fredrick Park, at Turkey Lake. Orlando.  Campsites have elect/water with a few having full hookups.  $15 per night.  Gorgeous manicured park like setting.  When I drive the long winding road back to the campsites, I keep expecting to see Tara just around the next bend in the road.

Orlando.

This is not so much a report on traveling as it is about health issues while on the road.  As a full time Rv’er, one has to consider where to get medical treatment when needed.  Fortunately, I have Gov BC/BS, which permits me to get medical care anywhere in the country.  Most campers will spend time, usually a winter campground where they will make all their medical appointments.

I should have done that this past winter while in AZ, but I was enjoying so many of the activities at Desert Trails, that I just kept putting off making all those appointments.  So here I am on my old turf of Orlando, scrambling to have a few procedures done.

Without going into detail, I had a small scab on my right temple that would not go away.  Bingo, it was skin cancer.  After surgery and 10 stitches, it has been taken care of.  It was not melanoma that most aggressive type of skin cancer, so I was fortunate there.

The other procedure was for a colonoscopy, you know that procedure where they go up your butt looking at your own person grand canyon.  And they take pictures!  Now for all those approaching that 50th birthday and beyond and you haven’t had it done yet, you need to go in and have it done.  Colon cancer is the number one killer and is so preventable.

One, you do not feel a thing.  My Urology Center uses Propofal to knock one out and it is excellent.  Having no side effects afterward, I came out of it quite alert and with no fussy feeling in my head.  If you take the gallon of laxative which is what most people take, I recommend mixing it with “Crystal Light” rather than the flavor packets they give you.  It helps disguise the yucky flavor of the laxative and makes it much easier to get down.

I have had one polyp discovered with each exam and of course they removed it.  If I had let it go, it could and probably would eventually become cancerous.  So I’ve been able to add many more years of life expectancy to my life and hope you will with yours.

We do maintenance on our homes and cars, it’s time we did a little Preventative Maintenance on our bodies.

Back on the campers traveling note, while on the road, I have had the need on a number of occasions to go to either a walk-in clinic or an emergency room for treatment.  I’ve found that walk-in clinics are covered by my health insurance, though I quite often have had to pay about $50 in extra fees.  On one occasion, I had an eye infection and had to go to a small town hospital emergency room as it was a holiday weekend and all Dr’s offices were closed.  My BC/BS took care of it and I was not asked to even make a Co-payment for the visit.  Note:  Small town hospital emergency rooms are much easier to get into than in larger towns.

One can also call their Doctor back home and ask if the Doctor can send a prescription to a local pharmacy where you are currently staying.  I’ve described my problem over the phone and had a prescription faxed to where I was staying within 30 minutes.

It may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s all quite doable.  Oh, and when I was on my trip to Alaska last summer, I’d run out of one of my eye drops for my glaucoma while in  Skagway.  With no pharmacy available and only a small clinic, I was given instructions on how the “locals” get their meds.  I ended up calling the pharmacy in Juno, had a currier pick up the prescription and bring it to the airport.  Where a local commuter jet picked it up and transported it to Skagway that afternoon.  It cost me about $75 for the extra service and was a good lesson.  Make sure I have enough of my meds for those long trips.

It’s good to have all those tests completed.  I feel better knowing I’m ready for the next leg of my journey in good health and good health to you in your travels as well.

PS, One final note.  I continue to take my Vitamin D supplement.  It has done wonders for rebuilding my muscle, joint and cartilage.  It is now recommended that a person take between 1,000 and 2,000 units of Vitamin D3 daily.  My back feels great and I have no pain in my joints anymore.