Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Cruise to the Bahamas

We have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We have received so much love and support during this difficult time in our life's and we love each and every one of you. So many of our dear friends and family have stopped by for visits and it has been so great to see each of you.

Earlier this month we were given a gift of a cruise to fulfill another of Evan's bucket list items. It has truly touched us and we can't say thank you enough.

We left on Sunday Dec 5th and flew into Orlando Florida where we stayed the night in a hotel with the view of the ocean. The next morning we boarded the ship, we were both so excited! Once we were checked in and able to go to our room, we found another gift from two of the ladies that Evan worked with. Once again, we are amazed at the love that has been poured out to us.

The weather was cool but that didn't take away from the excitement of our adventure. Most of our travel across the ocean was done while we were sleeping and that is a good thing because the water was pretty rough. So instead of it making us sick, it just rocked us to sleep. When we woke up in the morning we were surprised to find we were in Nassau instead of on the private island (CocoCay) because the water was too rough to make it to the island.

We spent two days in Nassau and we were able to get off the ship a couple of times. It was difficult for Evan to do much so our excursions were short but we made the best of them. We were not able to enjoy too much of the night life on the ship because Evan needed to get as much sleep as he could but one night around midnight, Evan woke up and had to have ice cream. LOL Evan NEVER eats ice cream! So we got up, got dressed and went on the hunt for ice cream. It's a good thing that there is always food to be found on a cruise.

We then departed at midnight for CocoCay. It was a beautiful island with so much to do. Evan and I enjoyed watching others swim in the ocean, parasail, and jet around on ski jets. We didn't spend too much time off of the ship but we were able to take our shoes off and put our feet in the beautiful blue water. When it started to sprinkle rain we decided it was time to go back to the ship for a nap.

It was nice to come home and find a stack of Christmas cards and get well cards. The trip home was hard on Evan. We had been gone all week and he was getting weaker every day. When we got home Evan crashed and has been sleeping about 22 hours a day. I took him into the doctors for some IV fluids and they drew his blood. His bilirubin counts has now climbed up to 22.3 and his ammonia levels have tripled. He will go in again on Wednesday to see, with some new meds and the fluids, if his counts have come down.

It was a very difficult day because it was time for the nurse to have a conversation with me about Hospice. I am holding it together pretty good for right now, we all feel pretty numb.


5 comments:

Kristin said...

Julie - My thoughts, and my heart, are with you both. Please let Evan know I'm thinking of him, and please feel free to reach out if I can be of any help to you, or if you just need someone to blow off some steam with. Stay positive and speak from your heart.
~Kristin

Shauna said...

I'm so glad that you got to go on the cruise. That's a wonderful memory for you two. I'm so sorry about hospice. We got your Christmas card. Thanks so much for thinking of us. We love you all and you're in our prayers.

coltoncannon said...

Julie,
Our Family prays for you and your Family nightly. You and Evan have touched our lives greatly, much more than I am sure you are even aware. You are such an amazing Mom, Wife and Woman and you inspire me to be better at all. You have such a positive outlook and seem to always look on the bright side of things. I admire this about you. Your streingth is amazing and beautiful. As we have told you both before, if you need anything, anything at all please dont hesitate to ask, we are ALWAYS here to help.
We love you and will continue to pray for you, Evan and your Children.
Love,
Randy & Nichole

Rana said...

Julie, I wish I could go through this for you. I'm glad you could go and do so many magical things with Evan. Much Love. Rana

Tiffany said...

Julie and Evan. So glad you got to have a great trip together. You are in our prayers.