Bad News From Home!

 We got up and had a late breakfast.  It was a bit chilly and overcast but we decided to risk it and head into Avalon to the beach.  Boy, did we get this one wrong!!  It was so cold and windy as we got onto the walkway by the beach that we just looked at one another and "uh uh... this isn't going to work"!!  Instead we drove around the town for about a half hour and saw some absolutely gorgeous homes.  Many of them were immense and so well kept.  The lawns were so lush and green.  I wish we could show them to you, but, of course, we forgot the camera.  (We have to get back in the swing of things again!).  We also decided to make a trip to Atlantic City to check out one of the casinos.  We headed back to the CG and the sky got to looking better and better.  So we had some lunch and spent most of the afternoon at the pool. It was lovely except for the call I got from my mother.  My 91 yr old father had become ill and needed to be hospitalized.  About 23 yrs ago he had his bladder removed due to cancer.  Over the years he has had complications from the mesh used in previous hernia surgeries that caused tears in his abdomen and in and around his ileostomy where his bag is attached to collect his urine.  It can lead to severe kidney infections and blood infections that can cause sepsis (infection that goes thru his entire body).  Sepsis can be fatal if not caught in time.  He came close to death about 18 yrs ago because of it and has had several hospital stays in the last few yrs because of it, so he is monitored closely, especially when running a fever.  This time he had a fever and quite a bit of pain, so he was transported to Lancaster General Hospital to be treated.  We didn't feel an urgency to go home right away because of his history of bouncing back pretty quickly... he's like the energizer bunny!!  We asked mom to keep us updated.  We got showers and headed to The Showboat casino in Atlantic City.  Guess what... that was one of the casinos that was shut down a few months ago.  That should have been a clue as to how the evening was going to go!!  We ended up at the Taj Mahal and had no luck at all.  We asked one of the security guards for a recommendation for supper and he told us to go to a steak house just outside the casino.  John checked it out while I attempted a last minute surge.  My surge didn't pan out so we couldn't afford the $50 a plate steak supper.  I would have had to hit an enormous jackpot to even consider eating there!!!!!  We headed out of the city which, let me tell you, has gone downhill considerably.  We have no desire to ever go back there!  I got a call from mom that dad was being admitted to the intermediate intensive care unit and being put on IV antibiotics.  Testing was still being done but it looks like he has become septic with a blood infection.  He was listed as "critical, but stable". 

 When we got back to Harvey we built a campfire, made some s'mores and talked about whether to go home or not, especially since my sister, Bonnie and her husband are out west in their RV.

John got a great campfire going!

 

John looks relaxed sitting at the fire, huh?!?

  It was a beautiful evening and tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so we decided to stay and wait for updates.  We turned in about 11:00.