A Return to My Blog

Well, it's been over 2 1/2 years since my last post, and so much has happened since then. I still see traffic visiting my blog and people still contact me with questions, so I thought it might be a good time to get back into writing, even though I'm not currently in Belize. I have a lot to catch up on, so I thought I would spread it out over a few days of writing. In late September 2012, my wife Mischelle, was diagnosed with cancer. In October, we went back to the US to get Mischelle the radiation and chemo treatments she needed. In February 2103 she had to have additional treatments and underwent Brachytherapy to kill the remaining cancer cells. After returning to Belize for a few months, we came back to UCLA for a follow up on her progress. The cancer symptoms seemed to be returning, but all of her biopsies and PET CT's have come back negative, which is good, but Mischelle's overall health has declined and the doctors are not sure what to do next. More chemo and radiation are out for now. The surgery that she would have to have, to remove the cancerous area, is a life altering surgery and would require more than ten hours under the knife and a 6 months to a year recovery. Right now, it's not a great option. We hope to learn more in the next week or two. We are lucky to have 4 of the best doctors at UCLA working on her case. I have nothing but praise for the doctors, RN's and staff at UCLA Ronald Reagan. Mischelle is just a tough case.

Our neighbors in Consejo, all came out to wish Mischelle good luck with her treatments. We are lucky to live in such a wonderful community.

Our three dogs, Coral, Timber and Jesse have all passed on. Coral in Oct. 2010, Timber in June of 2012 and finally Jesse in Oct. 2013. They were able to enjoy their golden years, retired with us, in Belize. They brought so much joy to our life, it's hard not having them around. We thought about getting other dogs, but for now, I'm glad we didn't. We had hoped to travel for a couple of years, and that was one of the reasons for not getting other dogs. So for now, it's just Mischelle and I, waiting to go back home and get on with our lives.

The house is still a work in progress, but in 2012 we added a 2 car garage and man cave on the street side of the house. It solved a lot of our storage issues and provided a place for my workshop plus provided shelter for our cars from the relentless sun, rain and humidity. I can not tell you how much I missed having a garage and a place to work on all of my projects.

Last year we added on to our patio, but we have not had a chance to finish it yet. At least all the bones of it are done.I would like to extend a cover over the pool, so the water doesn't get so warm in the summer, but that will be a project for when I get home.

My work as training officer for the Corozal Bay Sailing Club (www.corozalbaysailingclub.com) has also come to a halt. At least we had others that were able to fill the void and keep the youth sailing program on track. Our most recent class had several top 10 finishes and one of our prospects, Christopher Campos finished third in the Belize Nationals. Our club has hosted 3 national regattas in Corozal, bringing back the art of sailing to our beautiful bay.

I am so looking forward to getting back in the program. In my time back in the States, I was able to pick up and ship back to Belize, several Laser sailboats so that our junior and senior sailors can continue to enhance their skills. Just more reasons to return home.