Compromise and Thnking outside the Box

I have been agonizing over the decision about whether to go to Florida or not for quite some time now. There are things that need to be done down there: fix Mark's car, take back the summer shorts and t-shirts, bring back winter coats and boots, bring back the Christmas presents already purchased. I really want those things to get done, but I have really been afraid of the long trip and the time away. It might be somewhat irrational, but I have not spoken to anyone who traveled during chemotherapy. I have heard of women who worked as regularly as they could, but not many really just travel 900 miles away from their medical team. When I asked my oncologist if I could do this, she was non-committal. After all, we are grown-ups. She can't exactly FORBID it, but she would not come out and endorse it. She warned us of all the things that could happen like sudden fever onset, trips to the ER, possible blood transfusions, and potential changes in the chemo schedule that make locking in travel plans difficult. She told us to be sure to know where the nearest cancer center was, have a plan to find an oncologist if needed, and know how to get to the ER. In short, she scared the daylights out of me.

Yesterday, when Mark and I were driving around for 6 hours doing our various errands, we started rehashing all of this. Should we? Shouldn't we? When? How? Auto train rooms on the best three dates are already sold out. Flying? I don't have a compression sleeve yet. Is it safe? Am I being foolish? Selfish? Silly? Crazy? I don't know. I don't know. My head is in a whirl.

Suddenly, Mark came up with the brilliant compromise. He really does think out of the box sometimes. It's probably what made him so great at NASA all those years. He said, "I could fly down by myself, rent a car at the airport, go home and take care of things, then take the auto train back up, and return the car at BWI. I'll just be gone five days."

It stopped me in my tracks with its simplicity. OF COURSE YOU CAN!! That's brilliant. It takes care of all of my needs. I need to have those things done, but I need to stay here. This way I have a car here, also, so if I need or want to go somewhere, I can. It will be during a week when Cindy is here all week, so every morning and night she's right here checking up on me. It will be during the week after the second chemo, when I should feel as strong and healthy as I do this week. It's brilliant.

The added bonus is that Mark can also have a little fun at Disney, too. He had wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom Halloween Party and to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. He would have liked me to participate in those as well, but I knew it would be hard. I would have had to rent a power scooter to get around because I didn't think I could endure that much walking, and I wasn't sure I wanted to eat all that food anyway. This way he has to have this fun all by himself, but gee, I think he'll manage. LOL