Month: May 2025

~ I still have as of this very minute, 687 emails in my inbox to deal with. Some are very important but most require a reply that I have no time for. Two blockages by banks and a credit card have been over the top to deal with. In fact I have yet to go thru all the notes that I took while in the hospital on other issues of which I am certain some are important. My family just found out two days ago about the stroke. Much as I want to contact you all I just can’t.

The girls take turns being on Colin’s lap. 24/7! They change out every 5 -6 hours. They know something is not right and love their Dad!  Carlie is licking Colins wrist here.

~ I am now sleeping in the same sheets for 30 days, who wants to come and help me change my bedding? I am not capable of doing it on my own. I am still having trouble just getting in and out of the RV.

~ waiting for tropical storm Alvin. It has been cloudy since we woke up. Just in the past hour it is darkening. Light winds and at one point we had a mini Maui shower.

~ Octavio is pleased with Colins progress in the past 36 hours. Not quite back to where he was before his relapse. But to me Colin is looking more like his old self today.

~ 4:30PM and almost done my daily chores, have another poop pick up and trash run. Have to lock the gate which I hate as it is so rusty but it needs to be done. Only two visitors today but tomorrow we are expecting six!!  Once Dallas delivers the pizza tomorrow afternoon I plan to lock the gate until Monday morning. Wish I had more keys to hand out to people who come in daily, would make my life easier. No one does key cutting here on the Isla.

~ just an FYI, someone asked about us driving at night in Mazatlan & someone else about daytime driving – once we move to Las Jaibas. Neither of us will be driving, I can’t because I can’t see properly and Colin can’t make his right foot or ankle move so he can’t drive. For that matter he is unable to play the guitar. At least he now has his speech back.

~ I don’t understand why so many are telling us to go back to Canada? Please explain that to me! Okay so yes we would have to hire someone to drive the RV back. Colin would have to fly as it too much of a drive for him at this point. So who sets him up in the empty house we have back in Kelowna. Who would look after him. All of our things and that is everything we need to live and function with, are in the RV. Then who would unload all of that and re set up a home there. Neither of us ( Colin’s  primary decision ) want to live there. We love living in this RV – even if he can’t drive it anywhere – we love our location.  We still would need help buying groceries and getting transportation to a medical appointment. Then there is the medical system. My very special friend in Kelowna has waited close to 2 full years for knee surgery. Sadly this is the new Canadian system, we used to be known for our medical care, no longer. Here I can text a doctor and have him call us immediately. No wait to see a cardiologist or a neurologist, medical tests done right away. A top notch physiotherapist for only $40.00CAD per one hour visit who brings the equipment needed here to us. Blood work done here in the RV for only $20.00 CAD for that service.  Our own doctor coming to visit us here – tomorrow –  for only $43.00CAD for the visit. If we don’t want to go back why should we go? How will it make our life better?

All packed up for the storm and for the move to Las Jaibas.

Anything left will go into the RV or the Jeep. Except for the 38 plant pots….they will stay.

~ yes we have some unusual challenges such as the power being cut last Wednesday- because someone forgot to ay the electrical bill! It was back on within a few hours. The water truck stopped delivery because they thought we had gone – easily rectified.

Ciela does her own thing during the day but is glued to Colin at night.

~ still waiting for the storm.  Enjoying the cooler ( still hot and sticky but much more pleasant )  breezes!

This the very special sunset that I missed last night. Colin was right – he said that Dallas would be sure to capture it and he did. Gracis Dallas.

Thank you all for your wonderful messages on this special day. I plan to revisit them in the days to come when I hope to have more time.

Time passes so quickly. It is so very important to live each day to the fullest. Who knew that just a few minutes before we were retiring for the night that Colin would have a stroke on April 28th? Our lives changed in a nano second. Fortunately with extremely hard work all day long on his part and with the help of one of Mazatlan’s best physiotherapists, Colin will recover. We are hoping for a full recovery but all we can do is take it poco a poco.

I would love to email and chat with each one of you but I have no time. There is not enough time in a day to do what needs doing but always Colin is the priority. So this is not a blog but a bit of this and that.  Bits of blurbs I wrote here and there. Each paragraph stands on its own. Hopefully this will help you understand what we are dealing with. I often think of those old black and white films of past wars where soldiers were stuck at the bottom of deep trenches they dug to be safe and they never seemed to get out. We fell into such a pit and have been clawing our way out.

May 15th

Colin is happy and positive today. He walked to the bathroom on his own using a cane. MAJOR progress.

The gimpmobile ( aka a walker ) has been moved outside. The girls had a beach walk.

Good thing I am going over all of my pieces of papers and notes and official documents that came back from the hospital with me.  I totally missed an ordered heart test. So Monday the 19th ( I have hired a driver and private car ) he goes into be fitted for the 24 hour Holter test, 2500MXN. I will go with Colin. They do have wheelchairs at the door I have discovered. Getting him in and out of the car will be a challenge. I am counting on Colin being stronger by then.

We do realize that we must move RV for the security of our home but we will be back here in October. Meanwhile we will stay here as long as we can. Now that Colin is moving around a bit he is enjoying the view. And it certainly is an inspiring vista!    Las Jaibas, where we are planning on moving to is oh so very depressing compared to enjoying the movement of the ocean and all the activity around us including the ships coming and going. Right now I will take the inconvenience. I am so not looking forward to moving to Las Jaibas. It’s okay if you are active but……we will be there by the end of June if not sooner. Plus we are still waiting for the lost battery. It is going to take us 2 -3 weeks to pack up to move out of here and that is with lots of help. We will have been here for close to 8 months. Plus Erik the RV tech has to build us a special 50AMP connection over there and I have to get Totalplay to run us a private line as we will be too far from the office I have been told. There is a pool that I understand is well maintained thinking of physio for Colin.   FYI the missing battery is back and all 8 are now hooked up the the RV.

837pm:  For the first time in many dozens of years I was up and wide awake at 5:45AM today. I had the energy to get lots done. Instead as usual I had a few issues to deal online.

It was a no walking day but the girls seemed content – but just 30 minutes ago they somehow got out and were two yards over. I literally screamed at them ( no one is around ) and they did come back.

My day began with coffee for Colin and one for me while I texted his main doctor from the hospital. He will come to the Isla end of May to attend to Colin and discuss all the test results. So Colin only needs to go out twice to the cardiologist.

After his coffee Colin stated that it was time for his first shower since April 28th. Like right now I said? Yes!!! Okay, we can do this…..then I had to dump and flush the tanks.

I had an unexpected shower ( fresh water ) as one of the hoses did not connect properly, of course it was my own fault. Refreshing actually as it was very humid this morning. Picked up poop and unlocked the gate and took out the garbage. For some reason our can was rolled on its side in the road! About 3AM Colin was wide awake – I am up every 30 minutes to check on him. I suggested he move from the recliner to the sofa. As you can see he slept well.

Today was a huge day for us. I finally found a cleaning lady. She came about 10:30AM ( I was already worn out by then ) which only left me time to get him a second coffee and some juice but no fruit today – too much time to cut things up.

He did get some muffin with peanut butter. Katty does not speak English but we managed just fine. Only glitch was that she brought her 4 and 6 years old kids which does not work with our dogs. However she intended to let them sit outside anyway. We were unsure how to direct her as to what we wanted done but it worked out in the end.

We entered Mexico on October 24th and it was very dusty inside so she started by wiping down all the wood in the RV. While she worked both Colin and I did at the same time. I must say that we did a great job and the RV is sparkling once again. I was so happy to have the floor cleaned. It was in very bad condition with so many folks coming and going over the past weeks.

Once she left we had little time before Octavio was to arrive. I had some soup to heat up for his lunch which he ate and then rested. Meanwhile I was finishing the cleaning and putting the house back together. In the end I moved some furniture around so that he can return to his computer station when he decides to. I also arranged it so he can sleep in either location and move on his own.

Octavio soon showed up. He is happy with the progress that he sees daily. He got Colin outside and walking a few steps. Once Octavio left we collapsed and had a long nap…….now I must start making dinner….Only 7:37PM but I am ready for bed.

Monday May 19th – Ciela got into cacti. 
Not a good start to the day. Colin got off on time to go tot he cardiologist, only the driver has his own route and not the fast one. I am not going as I am unwell, more on that later. I may have had food poisoning last night. and then the girls got out…….vet coming in four hours….

Life had not been easy:

~The day has gone downhill. Colin is doing a 24 hour test. Nothing to talk about. Right now all of our ATMs are closed to us. That is what I am dealing with

~Another crazy start to the day today. Found out that my credit card has been compromised and it has been cancelled. Yet another thing to deal with and I will get to it in the next day or so. I did spend a full hour ( mostly holding waiting to speak to a human and got my Canadian debit ATM limit raised. While Colin was having his heart ultrasound I was taken to an ATM a mile away where I used 4 different cards and got enough cash to live for a few weeks. Octavio is here again with his machines and just said that Coin’s foot has been badly damaged but he is hopeful. Photo shows our drive today. I sat in the back seat working my phone the entire time.

~photo below is of his 24 hour holter test.

May 20th….changes due to test results….A very special thank you to Katia who just did a bike ride in the dark to get new medication that was just ordered tonight. Colin is good but there are some changes. Details tomorrow.

This photo shows a red square on the right side. This is where Erik thinks we will have to put the RV in this area so that he can rig us up to 50AMPS Backed into the wall to give us some protection from the winds and maybe from the heat. We would be happy to have input from Las Jaibas RVers.

TODAY:

Good Morning everyone! Thank you for your many birthday wishes. I have been on the phone now for 3.5 hours speaking to the bank about my compromised credit card. The fellow I spoke with Tuesday morning did not cancel, my card as he said he would and therefore I now have more charges not made by me that need to be disputed. I am now on hold with my 6th person today and give the same information over and over and then get transferred to someone else and so on. Despite explaining that I am with my husband who had a stroke and needs my help it seems not to matter. I woke up this morning wanting to have a cup of coffee outside with Colin before it got too hot and humid. Did not happen. My birthday treat to myself was to have a shower and hair wash and if I was lucky cut my toe nails. Exciting birthday stuff, eh! that has yet to happen as well. I haven’t even been able to pick up the dog poop and it is a not walking day for the girls. They were so cute last night taking turns laying on top of Colin in the recliner as he slept. I am up almost every 30 minutes to check on him. The banking person I am on hold with right now keeps coming back every 10 minutes to let me know she is still working on it and she did take my phone number to call back if we get cut off. That cut off thing happened this morning and I had to start from scratch. Yeah!!! New credit card will be couriered and should be here in 5 business days. Only thing is, is that I have to call in again in 2 -3 days to get the tracking number!! Off for my well deserved shower and hair wash.

So this is my gift to you, an update, not perfect but an update.

He had a good day.  Here it is 5:30PM and I need to pick up dog poop and lock the gate for the night. Physio came and went and Colin is doing a bit better every day.

I had really hoped that we could sit outside together today and enjoy our view.  It did not happen as I have been on the go all day. Perhaps tomorrow.

Colin had some outdoor time the other day. A first for him.

Thank you all for your thoughts today. I have to be very careful to not get too emotional or I might not stop crying. It is very difficult not having anyone around us right now.

Yesterday I was told by a Mexican to say mejorando when asked how Colin was doing.  That is the Mexican way!

Colin has now been back here in the RV for a full two weeks since leaving the General Mazatlan Hospital. It has not been easy on either of us. Poco a poco as they say. But each day is better than the last – well for him. I am still struggling to go hour after hour without a break but I now find I am a bit stronger. I certainly am learning a great deal about doing all I need to know about running an RV.  Good thing I am a whiz at the nursing part.

Please take the time to go back and read each and every comment I made to those who actually commented on the initial post about Colin’s stroke.  You will learn much about what happened and why and what our future plans are. I have not one extra minute to repeat myself with individual replies to emails. I may or may not continue posting here every few days.  I have not yet decided.

Today the last of my English speaking support system have left for the season. It makes it more difficult and time consuming to get things done. What you need to know is that Colin needs someone here all the time. That I can’t just go out and purchase a few groceries  ( no veggie trucks this year ) here on the Isla. I can’t drive because of my eyes. Getting into Mazatlan to do banking is important but takes an immense planned effort to execute as I can only use the main Embarcadero lanchas re safety for myself. I will soon run out of cash, how will I get more?  Everyday new mountains present themselves to me to sort out. Nor just here on the Isla but things happening back home in Canada as well as in the background.

Written by Colin May 12th at 11:14AM…. …………….Relearning My process is likened to a wave. I get this enthusiasm, this strength, this I can do it, I can stand, I have done it before.

The wave approaches and I give it my best and, I fail. I fall down and the wave passes me by.

I didn’t crest it, I got lost in the depression, sadness becomes me, and think I cant do it.

But, that energy and strength didn’t leave me. It is still a part of me. It is an invisible force that I created which unbeknown by me is resting and and waiting for the next crest, the next wave.

The waves become stronger and larger. I focus more intently on my goals, I become stronger and capture the success and inspiration to continue and achieve my goals………..

Right now I have 836 messages in my inbox with 108 unread.

A well meaning local made a comment about us simply sitting each day watching TV 😳 If Colin isn’t exercising he is sleeping from exhaustion.  And I am doing all in my power to keep him motivated and our family together moving forward.

Yesterday was the first time we were all able to sit together for thirty minutes and just relax.

This lovely vessel is in our bay right now…..more info here…..https://www.facebook.com/neptun.marstal

Thank you Dallas for sharing this photo. We are enjoying watching this ship directly across from us.

Also happening locally is the 3 -7 day event that only happens once per year.  Read about it here…..

It would be great to try these sometime.

Photo taken by Dallas last evening. We could see the lights from here but I was unable got get a clear shot.

We live in a magical area.

Some of you already know about what happened. This is the first free moment I have to share this news with the majority of you. Even family has no idea what has transpired. We have been living in crisis with beyond extreme stress since the event.

It was about 10:30PM Monday, April 28th and we were looking at our back to back computers and about to get ready to go to bed. I could not see him, just hear him. Colin’s computer mouse fell on the floor, he bent down to pick it up and then again a moment later when it fell again. He fell out of the chair onto the floor the third time. I got up to see what was happening. He appeared stunned. ” I think I just had a stroke, he said” I thought he was joking around. He wasn’t. Colin’s entire right side was paralyzed.

That started a flurry of phone calls to our doctor here who would not come because at that time of nite it was not safe in his opinion to drive here to the Isla. Finally we made a decision. I called a few people knowing I would need strong men to carry Colin and one fellow brought his car. Colin was manhandled into the car, onto the lancha ( 24 hour emergency ) and into a waiting ambulance ( you call simply call 911 which I did not know about ). He was taken to the General Mazatlan Hospital.  We have no medical insurance and FYI our Canadian medial insurance ran out two days later. A year ago we had been advised to used this hospital should the need arise.

I had no idea how far it was – took me about 50 -60 minutes door to door each time I went.  A very basic hospital but with great doctors. The biggest downfall is that it is Spanish speaking. A huge reminder that the onus is on us to learn the language of the country we are living in. The hospital provides a sheet over the mattress and a thin sheet to cover the patient.  No pillow and no heavy blanket to stay warm in the constant air conditioning. And no water.  Great meals. Lots of nursing staff. Within one day I figured out the system and a friend brought the much needed pillow and heavy fleece blanket. Someone needs to be with the patient 24 hours per day. When medication is needed the medical staff hand you a piece of paper with whatever is required and you have to go outside to the front of the hospital where a man on a moto ( motorcycle ) goes to the pharmacy ( no restaurants, no stores, nothing is close to the hospital ) and comes back in about 15 minutes with the medication or needles or whatever.

Colin was at the hospital by midnight but was frail with low vital signs. They did a brain scan which confirmed the stroke. However he was too weak to receive that life saving stroke drug which diminishes the side effects of a cerebral infarction. They were worried that his brain would bleed out and he would die.

I did not go that first night, I was in shock and couldn’t speak Spanish anyway. He had two wonderful people with him who kept reporting back to me. I never slept for three nights and I don’t think I ate for about 4 days. While he was in emergency being assessed I was online researching. I sent messages out to Octavio, the physiotherapist I used back in 2020 when I had meniscus surgery, started making arrangements for care for the dogs so I could head to the hospital first think in the morning and I can’t remember what all. The first three days were a blur. As aside here, Octavio came to check on Colin twice that first day to assess him and one more time after that before Colin came back here.

Our Mexican neighbor Humberto whose sister in law works at the hospital checked on Colin and got back to me.  When I got there Erik the RV tech was there and one of his helpers. Humberto showed up a bit later and then spent hours taking me to all the departments in the hospital where I had to go – no idea why – my mind was spinning. And my body was breaking down. Colin has been my caregiver since last September. My mind was willing but not my body but I pushed myself. I learnt what I had to do. A few good friends I reached out to online gave advice, did further research and just kept me going. The most difficult was not knowing how to really use the iPhone re copy/paste so I spent much too much time retyping things over and over to different people. This is when my eyes started to tear and burn. I still had not picked up my new progressives ( I have since and they are useless ).

Fortunately we have Heri, Colin’s godson who is living in Guadalajara ( he is in the band that came to play at the last minute for the Kings Coronation during Carnaval ) who is on call 24/7 for translation. Except being a government hospital the medical staff refused to talk to someone outside of the hospital. I begged many times. Once or twice a day I got lucky and found someone who could speak a bit of English or were willing to use Google translate with me. Beyond frustrating.

To be clear the only thing wrong with Colin is that his right side was paralyzed. However that changed a bit in that he has developed numbness on his right side of the face. Sometimes it makes it difficult for him to talk. But overall his mind it totally clear and functioning perfectly. Just loss of movement on the right side. In his mind his life was over. No more guitar playing, no walking, no driving the RV – never mind any vehicle. His life changed in a single moment. There was nothing to live for and he wanted to die. It was an emotional time for both of us. We did get through that bit but even today he has very bad moments and days. So he slept and I ran around the hospital trying to make things work. I spent hours every day trying to find someone to spend the night with him as he could not be left alone. He is right handed and he is learning to now use his left but those first few days he needed constant help whether using a urinal or eating.

So many little problems that seemed like mountains to climb. From emergency he was put in a five bed ward in ‘internal medicine’. First morning a nurse told him to get up and to use the bathroom and I had to explain that he was paralyzed. They did don’t know. Another time a doctor came and asked how his stomach was feeling that day. This was a daily occurrence to explain that he was there becomes of a stroke and paralysis. All in Spanish!

One friend strongly encouraged me to get a neurologist to see Colin. They do not have specialists like that nor cardiologists in this hospital. However on the Wednesday morning I went in and insisted on Colin seeing a neurologist. No they  said. I found a sympathetic doctor  ( Dr. O ) who had a bit of English and brought in a personal friend of his. I paid well for this visit. He was there within 40 minutes. We were unable to get a cardiologist to come in. The neurologist did a very thorough bedside test and immediately ordered three tests. We tried ever so hard to get him sent by ambulance to get an MRI but all the medical MRI machines in Mazatlan were occupied even though I was willing to pay more than double. Eventually the doctor said it was not worth it as the time to try the special medicine was definitely beyond the point of even a chance of it helping.

One was a carotid artery test and this is where he believes that the stroke came from. The special bloodwork was done but the second brain scan was delayed 48 hours. Personally I think it was because this hospital required a certain amount of time between scans.

So the brain scan happened about 5PM Friday May 2nd. I later discovered that my private neurologist and Dr. O consulted with 5 minutes after the scan and agreed on the medication ongoing. Suddenly Colin was discharged. I won’t go into all of that nightmare but we did get him back here to the RV by 9:45PM. Thanks to those who lifted Colin out of the car and into the RV.  And then they left.

Now it was up to me with Colin’s help to get him started on his new path forward in life. Octavio came Saturday to check on him. Official physio started Monday the 5th and he is getting it 6 days per week. Fortunately we had purchased a set of two attached electronic recliners and this is where he has been day and night. But he does get to see the ocean and the activity.

We have had extreme challenges just before the stroke re discovering that all batteries in the new to us RV were faulty. In fact we did not even have starter batteries. And that explains all of our electrical issues over the past months. I was able to order 8 new batteries – the last of them until August due to a shortage or ??? One day in the middle of all of this at the hospital I got a text asking to be paid immediately  for shipping ( and  of course they upped that price ). Another good friend from out of nowhere offered to pay the bill no questions asked. She has since been repaid. That was another problem as our bank had locked us out for not doing online banking. Colin would just go in as needed in person. So with 7 minutes notice one night the batteries were delivered. Well 7 out of the 8 were delivered. That one battery is still traveling around Mexico – but it has now been found and somehow will get back here. Once it is here we can move our RV as needed.

Our Canadian insurance expired two days after the stroke. We are allowed to be out of country only 7 months before starting again with a three month wait. Yes we can be out of Canada for up to 18 months once every 5 years or so but you can only start in January or some silly thing like that. I could have hired a driver to take us back to Canada but we are comfortable here. No sense flying back as everything we own is in this RV.

So here we sit overlooking the beach and the wonderful waves at this tine of year. Likely we will have to move in a month. It was suggested that we do because of hurricane season. We will be flooded even high up where we sit. Our pre stroke plan was to stay put until we could not take the heat. Then we would head to the Lake Chapala area for the summer.  Well the heat is here – I can’t imagine it getting any worse. But we know it will. Our electricity is very iffy and almost impossible to regulate. Of course we need to stay in the area re medical help, physio and closeness to the hospital.

So we likely will relocate within a month to Las Jaibas. We have been given permission for Erik to set us up with a full 50 Amps. We will no longer have our ocean view which means so much to us but there is a swimming pool which will help with his therapy. The walk to the sandy beach is about as far as we are now. It is going to be so hot that we will like just live inside all summer and study Spanish.

Our new life path will be a day to day journey. The girls are very aware that something is wrong and take turns staying at his side. He is never alone. I just a day ago found someone to walk them to the beach at 7AM while it is cool enough and she will also make us the occasional pot of soup or a casserole meal and salad.

What comes after tomorrow. I have no idea. Right now each day is an immense challenge what with new obstacles to overcome – often several times per day.

I honestly don’t know how often I can update you all. Right now I am lucky to get a shower every three days. But I will answer any questions you send here within the comment section. I simply don’t have time to answer individually. I only just today had time since Colin has been home to review my paperwork from the hospital. And this is the first time I have had a moment to contact you all. Colin has been sleeping most of the day, he did do his physio exercises earlier. We are working on creating a new routine in our lives. One priority is sorting out the electricity.  If not we will have to leave sooner.

I do have many things and photos to share with you so over the next months whether you are still here reading or not I will still post them.  And knowing me I will likely post more often then not, to let you know how Colin is doing.