Well I am following up my last blogpost with a review of the last 11 days. Arrival into Honolulu was quite draining. The trek from deplaning to baggage claim was literally 1.5km. I had to be pushed by wheel chair as HNL airport does not have carts. It was a bit mortifying. I will never get used to the stares.
We got to the condo and found it to be really great. It had all we needed. Spacious and well located. Mom did need to rearrange some furniture but thats nothing new. The pool was fine and all in all I would return to that place again. This is a pic of my medication command centre.
My lungs adjusted after about 48 hours. Sea level gives me a bit of a break. Not much, but something. In fact, I enjoyed 3 nights without the use of oxygen and did just fine. Humidity is pretty low in that part of the island so I didn’t have to contend with that feeling of suffocation when its too hot and too humid. It was super windy the entire time which isn’t a big deal but with a high of only 26 and the wind it actually felt cold to me! Can you believe it!!
I think, considering that my lungs are on their way out, I did manage to walk a lot and not suffer too much. As we traveled the island we were able to use my handicap pass and limit my amount of walking. In some cases it really did save me. The rest of the fam enjoyed it too, lol. I call it a magic pass so my nephew would be on the lookout for magic pass spaces.
It was a busy vacation for me considering I was used to the last 18 years of all-inclusive’s in Mexico. The hardest part of my day on those trips was deciding between pools or the ocean, which buffet to hit, along with which cool drink shall I try. I’m not complaining but I really do like being pampered. I am a vacation Princess.
The one thing I did enjoy was the shopping. My weakness…purses. I found a brand out of Barcelona,called Desigual that I fell in love with on my second trip to Barcelona. I was super excited to see that the mall close to our hotel actually had a Desigual store. I did limit myself but lets just say I am the proud owner of 3 new bags and 1 pillow/blanket combo. FYI Desigual means Unequalled in Spanish. Check them out- very cool stuff. My second weakness is anything we can’t get in Canada. Examples of things would be Mr.Goodbar, cool Kleenex boxes, shrimp marinade, Taco Bell taco seasoning, many things from Target, Zicam cold remedy, Alka seltzer cold remedy, well you get the picture.
The purchases piling up!
The one thing we did do was visit several different beaches. As I have been to Oahu 4 times prior to this trip I found the beaches familiar. I actually remembered many of them. My favourite beach for my soul was the North Shore. The power of those waves were just awe-inspiring. When someone talks of waves crashing, the North Shore is what I hear. Thunderous, beautiful, deafening, gifts from God. There is a lot of beauty in Oahu. As there is a lot of beauty at home.
I did realize that the comfort of the same language, same food, same conveniences and luxuries are what draw many people to Hawaii. They get a tropical vacation but do not need to venture out of their comfort zone too much. Waikiki is literally downtown Calgary on a beach. You hear the sirens all night long, you deal with rush hour, you see the hustle and bustle of people going about their workday. Its corporate, its commercial, its life. I too succumbed to this and was able to watch 4 of the Flames Hockey games from the comfort of the condo. That was awesome.
The cost of living is more on the Islands but not by much and in fact some things are cheaper. Even though much of their commodities are shipped from the mainland or from China, Japan and New Zealand. I was at Target a couple days in and they had run out of bags. The sign on the door said they were coming in the next shipping container delivery on the 5th. This was funny to me as I stuffed my beach bag with twizzlers, headphones, dog toys etc.
I really did enjoy my time. It was a great family trip and everyone pitched in to help. Neil would carry the beach chairs, dad would get the cokes, Mom and Traci would do whatever I needed to get done. In that sense I did get a bit of CF vacation. I also realized that at this point in my life I like having my living quarters on one level.
As for my CF, it did not bring me down, it did not stop me from enjoying the beautiful island, it did not frustrate me, it did not win. Once again I threw roses into the abyss that wants to swallow me alive. I was victorious once again. I am grateful and blessed.
My next adventure is packing up to move to Edmonton for a month. I am weary of this move as it takes me away from a routine that works for me. That keeps me healthy. And.its.Edmonton. Ugh. For now I will revel in what the body can still enjoy while it circles the drain. Follow me next week as I start my pre-lung transplant rehab. Or Lung Transplant for Dummies as I call it.
N
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