Finally – we got a call from Terry Truck Center at 10 AM saying the truck was ready to roll!! We “quickly” gathered our things and checked out of the motel. By the time we reloaded the camper (transferring stuff out of the camper to the Jeep, re-packing the clothes we had at motel, etc. We were heading east on I-90 around Noon.
At 12:08 PM I received a call from (Raymona’s) Mom. Dad had been having “chest pains” all weekend and while at the doctor for her check-up she mentioned it, much to Dad’s dismay. They immediately put in for a chest x-ray and EKG (I think that’s it) and said his heart wasn’t beating quite right. No heart attack but the doctor’s opted to send him on the Lubbock, TX for more tests. Lubbock has one of the best heart hospitals in the area and it about 2 hours away. They bundle him up in an ambulance and left Mom waiting for a neighbor to come get her from the hospital in Clovis, NM.
Nothing happened enroute to Lubbock, despite Dad trying to bribe (he’d buy their lunch) the ambulance attendants into stopping for lunch at Le’al’s in Muleshoe. Mom made into Lubbock a few hours later thanks to good friends, LaVerne & George. (A special thanks to them from me for taking care of Mom!)
Flash back to our trip – decision: do I try to fly out of Missoula and head down or wait & see what happens? Dad didn’t want Mom to even call us so that we would not interrupt our trip. Well, we decided to wait until we got to Billings, MT – If things looked dire (surgery) then I’d hop a plane down-otherwise we’d just straight down and get there when we could.
Cell service in Montana is sporadic at best. I did manage to get a couple calls in from sisters and another from Mom – all seemed to be well. Dad was safely ensconced in the University Medical Center in Lubbock with “stable vitals and no chest pains”, Mom had made it to the hospital, Shirley (sister) was going to head up. We made to Three Forks, MT by 8:30 PM and decided to call it a night.
A word about the wonderful little park we found. It was listed on our GPS software (Microsoft Street & Trips) as Three Forks KOA and also listed in the 2007 Trailer Life directory as a KOA but it wasn’t marked as a KOA. Anyhooo the “Camp Three Forks” is a delightful campground, just off of I-90 and SR 287. I think that would be the only negative I saw was the proximity to 287. If full, the sites could be close together I suppose but we had plenty of room with electric & water hook-ups. Cost was $28 per night. There was a small (very small) store, a big screen TV tuned to the Olympics, very clean restrooms and a pool. All of the sites that we saw were packed gravel pull thrus with small grassy areas with picnic tables. Lots of trees – everything was well shaded.
Another place of note in Three Forks is the Wheat Montana Bakery. Lots of pastries, bagels, etc for breakfast. I had a ham, cheese & egg bagel and Bryan had a breakfast burrito. So many types of breads to choose from… we chose Big Sky Wheat – we’ll let you know how it is.
At 12:08 PM I received a call from (Raymona’s) Mom. Dad had been having “chest pains” all weekend and while at the doctor for her check-up she mentioned it, much to Dad’s dismay. They immediately put in for a chest x-ray and EKG (I think that’s it) and said his heart wasn’t beating quite right. No heart attack but the doctor’s opted to send him on the Lubbock, TX for more tests. Lubbock has one of the best heart hospitals in the area and it about 2 hours away. They bundle him up in an ambulance and left Mom waiting for a neighbor to come get her from the hospital in Clovis, NM.Nothing happened enroute to Lubbock, despite Dad trying to bribe (he’d buy their lunch) the ambulance attendants into stopping for lunch at Le’al’s in Muleshoe. Mom made into Lubbock a few hours later thanks to good friends, LaVerne & George. (A special thanks to them from me for taking care of Mom!)
Flash back to our trip – decision: do I try to fly out of Missoula and head down or wait & see what happens? Dad didn’t want Mom to even call us so that we would not interrupt our trip. Well, we decided to wait until we got to Billings, MT – If things looked dire (surgery) then I’d hop a plane down-otherwise we’d just straight down and get there when we could.
Cell service in Montana is sporadic at best. I did manage to get a couple calls in from sisters and another from Mom – all seemed to be well. Dad was safely ensconced in the University Medical Center in Lubbock with “stable vitals and no chest pains”, Mom had made it to the hospital, Shirley (sister) was going to head up. We made to Three Forks, MT by 8:30 PM and decided to call it a night.
A word about the wonderful little park we found. It was listed on our GPS software (Microsoft Street & Trips) as Three Forks KOA and also listed in the 2007 Trailer Life directory as a KOA but it wasn’t marked as a KOA. Anyhooo the “Camp Three Forks” is a delightful campground, just off of I-90 and SR 287. I think that would be the only negative I saw was the proximity to 287. If full, the sites could be close together I suppose but we had plenty of room with electric & water hook-ups. Cost was $28 per night. There was a small (very small) store, a big screen TV tuned to the Olympics, very clean restrooms and a pool. All of the sites that we saw were packed gravel pull thrus with small grassy areas with picnic tables. Lots of trees – everything was well shaded.
Another place of note in Three Forks is the Wheat Montana Bakery. Lots of pastries, bagels, etc for breakfast. I had a ham, cheese & egg bagel and Bryan had a breakfast burrito. So many types of breads to choose from… we chose Big Sky Wheat – we’ll let you know how it is.
1 comment:
This was so distressing to read! Your dad is one of the sweetest people in the world and I can honestly say that even though I've actually seen him so little. You must be so worried. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him. He is in the right place for getting the best care.
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