Category: Cancer Talk

There’s something about the number 7 that is lucky for me.  Here are a few reasons why:

• I am one of 7 children
• My birthdate 2-14, with the single digits added together, equals 7
• My actual birthday 14, divided by my birth month, 2 equals 7
• My first name Lajeune has exactly 7 letters in it
• The first letter of my first name L and all of the letters in my last name Hollis equal 7
• And finally, the city I was born in Newport (RI) has 7 letters in it

Speaking of the number 7:  7 years ago, after experiencing excruciating stomach pains, I finally got a colonoscopy and was subseqently informed by my Gastrointestinal doctor that I had colon cancer – Check out my blog post:  A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free.

At my pre-surgery consultation I told my soon-to-be Yale New Haven Healthcare surgeon, Dr. Schlessel, that I had already planned a trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina the following month (July) to spend some quality time with my niece, great niece and 3 great nephews from New Jersey.   I also told Dr. Schlessel I had already rented the condo, the mini -van and even bought additional car insurance…

Incidentally, while this was all happening, I was getting some serious opposition from different people in my life who collectively felt that I was crazy to take the trip.  They all pretty much said the same thing: ‘you have Cancer, what if something happens to you on that long road trip?!?’  I listened to everything these folks had to say and then asked my surgeon for his honest advice.  He said (and I’ll  never forget it)  “Go!  And when you return we head straight to surgery!”  Here is a what I remember of that fateful trip:

The mini van

You should not take a long road trip involving children without the use of a mini-van (smile).  I rented a Chrsyler Town Car Mini-Van for our 10 day vacation…I left New Haven, CT very early on a Friday morning in mid-July and approximately 2 1/2 hours later, picked up my niece, great niece and 3 great nephews from their home in New Jersey.

 

 

After about 4 or 5 food/gas/bathroom-break stops along the way (each time resulting in a driving-duty swap with my niece Keedah) we made it (18 hours later!) to Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Miraculously my stomach did not bother me at all the entire time and my energy level felt pretty normal…

 

Hilton Head, South Carolina

My first thought was:  Hilton Head is lovely.  This was my first time here and I was so impressed with the look of the town as well as the good vibes I felt in the air.   The endless sunshine didn’t hurt either…But first things first, our ‘home away from home’ for the next 10 days:

 

The condo complex

We had a mini-nightmare when we arrived after 12 Midnight on Hilton Head Island. Our GPS took us to the wrong condominium complex!   Apparently there are a ton of condominium complexes in Hilton Head plus the roundabouts throw the GPS’s off.   Long story short, we almost  thought we would be sleeping in our mini van the first night as my key would not work to what we thought was our unit.  Thank God the realtor was up and returned my frantic call.  He quickly re-directed us to the right complex and we were happy, tired campers.   Whew, that was close (smile).

 

 

 

 

We spent the first morning in town doing some heavy duty grocery shopping at at the Piggly Wiggly.  Incidentally, I never worked so hard in my life while on vacation,  I was the Driver, the Hostess, the Cook, the Waitress, the Bottle Washer and the Dirty Clothes Washer and Dryer (smile).

 

 

The outdoor pool at the condo complex

It sure was nice to have a pool at the complex for those few occasions when we did not feel like packing up the car and heading to the beach…

 

 

Coligny Beach Park

I was so impressed with the South Carolina beaches (they truly are beautiful).  However, one of the nearby beaches – Coligny Beach –  stood out!   The sun, the sand, the surf  was unbeatable!  And all of that Vitamin D was good for my illness…

 

 

 

Savannah, GA

We decided to spend Day 5  of our 10th vacation day in this beautiful, cultural city which was less than an hour away.

I had heard nothing but good things about Savannah and I liked what I had  watched on The Travel Channel.   So it was a no-brainer to take a Day-cation there, especially since we were so close to the border.

Keedah and I drove the mini-van and once we arrived, the first thing we did was head to the free ferry to explore the 4 corners of the city…but not before feeding the meter…

 

 

 

 

 

After our ferry ride we did some sightseeing and explored some African American historical exhibits, ate lunch and then headed back to Hilton Head.

 

Back in Hilton Head, SC

We spent the remaining days of our vacation  ‘Beaching’ at Coligny or ‘Pooling’ at the condo complex.  We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in most days and truly enjoyed the lovely weather.  I was starting to feel tired earlier in the day now so I was glad it was nearing time to head back.

And driving back was much easier as well because this time we left on a Saturday night (approximately 12Midnight to be exact) and drove straight through the night with only one or two stops – getting back in record time the following Sunday.

Can’t say I’ve driven so far since that time but it was most definitely an adventure to remember (smile).

And, as a bonus, I was not only tanned but refreshed.   And as my surgeon would have noted, ‘ready for surgery.’

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL