Karin Bartsch's Journals

We have been in this wonderful quiet and secluded place several times already. 

I downloaded today some pictures from our last stretch of roads into my last album. Later on I will take more photos from this RV Resort and describe our life here.

I made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow. I have to get my angina spasms under control.

We paid for 3 months' stay ($ 525.00). We are trying out the summer temperatures in this 4,850' elevation for a certain reason: we concider staying here at one point permanently. By paying up front for several months the discount is remarkable. For an entire year it would be 1500 Dollars.  We do not want to drive thousands of miles anymore. The coming winter we will be in Arizona. From Florence, AZ to Deming, NM, is just one days drive.

Till later, friends! 

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July 22. 2010

We are 3 days here.

The doctor prescribed Nitro and confirmed my upping the Imdur to 60 mg twice per day and looked into all the records from my hospital stay in Bridgeport and decided to just observe me. I looked healthy to her too. I wanted the prescription of a Calcium Channel Blocker, which can totally eliminate the angina spasms in case of Prinzemetal's Angina. She  refused - most likely because I suggested it. Yesterday I had one incident again. I was really angry and took a third Imdur in the evening. The pill book says it can be taken up to 240 mg. I take now 180 mg per day. I have to take care of me, no doctor seems to know this type of angina and how severe the pain is. It is very rare. Today I felt fine sofar, I monitor my blood pressure closely, it is low like always.

On the same day Dieter had to remove on wheel from the center axle. It had flattened out shortly after we had arrived here. We got it fixed and Dieter put it back on again. The drive from here to Deming and back takes 26 miles.

Yesterday we visited a Verizon Wireless Store to have the broadband modem program reinstalled.  It was not installed correctly in Corpus Christi. We have also Wifi here.

Today we had laundry day. The laundry house is a piece of art - outside and inside. Please, see the pictures. They even have clotheslines and we were able to dry outside. The bed linens smell just heavenly. We have a built-in washer/dryer ( European style) but the park wants all wash done in the laundry room. The septic system is a delicate thing and this place is so neat and orderly and the prices are very welcoming too. So we do not mind.

We have so much fun observing all the critters here. When we were working on the clothesline we almost stepped on a baby Tarantula. I took a pic of that too. Quails with their young, hares- big and small, bunnies, roadrunners, all kind of desert birds, hawks in the sky, mice, small lizzards. We have yet so see foxes, coyotes and snakes. Hopefully we do not encounter those when we start to hike a little.

The owners planted so many different desert plants and trees, from little cacti all the way up to pinion trees. It looks like a desert garden rather than a camping place. It is so peaceful and quiet.

We have had a streak of high heat and thunderstorms with heavy downpours. But overall the climate is dry and the sun is shining most of the time.

Till later....

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July 25.

We observed a pair of wonderful big black Raven today (residents in this park). This bird is quite a sight!

We have also Tarantulas around.

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July 31.

There will be a time in the future when we can enjoy our life without visits to Emergency Rooms. Just bear with me, folks. This evening we had to drive to Mimbres Hospital in Deming because I could not reach a dentist ( weekend ;). One crowned molar gives me throbbing pain since yesterday evening. i tried almost every home remedy against toothache you would think of, but it escalated during the day. I was prescribed Antibiotic and Percocet. My  ear was also aching and my glands underneath it were starting to hurt. I never looked as much forward for Monday to arrive like now.

Our Air Conditioner was not working right, he gave up cooling everytime the heat in the afternoon reached it's peak. Yesterday a RV repair man finally visited us and remedied the situation. A new computerbox will be ordered for us on Monday. He helped Dieter to remove the long awning from the trailer because it had started to separate from the trailer. The seams on top were dissolving. Dieter started to resew those by hand. He is pretty good in sewing. Please, see pictures of Dieter the taylor. When the new computer for the cooling system will be built in, Dieter will be finished with it and the awning will be attached again.

Don't shake your head, maintenance is an issue with an house without wheels also.  

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Aug, 1., 2010

When I went to bed last night I regretted that I had rejected an injection in the ER because even the Percocet tablet took not away the pain. When I woke up at 1 AM to go to the bathroom, voila, my pain was gone. This morning - pain still not there. My face felt funny on the right hand side. I looked into the mirror - yes - a swollen and stiff lower  jaw and lower lip area. Tomorrow I will make an appointment with the recommended dentist.

Aug.3., 2010

The dentist took an X-Ray yesterday and determined that the tooth underneath that golden crowned molar was rotting and crumbling and a big infection had set in. He will pull the tooth next week when the antibiotics will have worked and the swelling is down.

Dieter is done with repairing the long awning. Lot of money saved!

Aug. 17., 2010

On Friday the 13th ( ! )  we got out awning re-installed and the AC repair done. The same day it quit on us again but we manage the heat well until a solution can be found and the insurance be satisfied. Today the repairman will come again - will see. I hope he doesn't slide into the ditch on the dirt road. In the meantime we had heavy rain and the mud is dangerous.

Yesterday we drove to Las Cruces - 155 miles roundtrip  from the RV Park . The cardiologist prescribed me Cardizem CD  but he does not think I have Prinzemetal's Angina despite all the symptoms indicating it. Of course not - I suggested it. He heard a noise in my left carotoid artery and will perform an Ultrasound test on Sept.13th. because he thinks its all plaque. He suggested having an angiogram done again to see whether my stent is ok. I denied that, I will have it done in Arizona in winter. When my stent was implanted Dec.18., 2008 the cardiologist in Casa Grande told me that my arteries are all clear, the narrowing of the left anterior descending artery must have been always there, and according to my life-long  symptoms of getting not enough oxygen I agreed. The about 80-90 year old cardiologist in Las Cruces told me basically that it is all hogwash. He was asking me over and over again, whether I feel any pressure in my chest, I denied it several times, telling him I feel totally normal in between angina episodes (which is also a clear indicator for Prinzemetal's Angina). Obviously he was not too familiar with that rare sickness. At least I can try now the new medication eventhough it is not the kind of Calcium Channel Blocker recommended to heal Prinzemetal's. In the Calendar page I indicate always my episodes to keep track of it. It looks like - and I sincerely hope it will be - the incidents have a longer time span in between or that cluster of incidents is done and over with. Keep your fingers crossed with us. I also take the supplement L-Arginine from now on, that enzyme increases the production of nitric oxide in the lining of the micro vascular system necessary to not have the areries going into spasms. I also take Chelated Magnesium capsules since 2 weeks, highly recommended by doctors in the internet familiar with Prinzemetal's.

The AC repairman and we decided to have the entire unit replaced and the insurance pays for it. He is laying underneath the RV working hard to take the entire AC/Heater complex out. The refurbished one has to be ordered from California.

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August 29., 2010

The A/C was built in 2 days ago. "All About Services", Pat Tellez, from Las Cruces did a very neat job to our total satisfaction.

If you live around Deming, NM or Las Cruces, NM, and need services on your RV or Truck or Boat, give him a call:

575-496-7793  or email him:  aarvservice@aol.com

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Still no chest pains anymore. Life is good.

Yesterday evening Dieter and I hiked to the top of the hill which borders this resort to the south. We took some pictures - please, look into the page "Karin's Photos Only" and click on the last album Hidden Valley in Deming.

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October 05 - 2010

Today we had chilly morning temps and it was the right time to switch the furnace on (LP Gas) to see whether it is working well. It does. I even had to dress in long pants - high time to drive to warm Arizona. That will happen in two weeks.

Because we have no Dental Insurance, Medicare did not accept the costs of my Emergency Room visit on July 31. to get the Antibiotics prescription for my swollen face and glands. I had no other choice that time, it was Saturday and I was fearing that my blood would be poisoned. We had to write a check in the amount of almost 500 Dollars. That was hurting!!

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