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Tam’s Bloody Fall

August 24, 2013 By Tam Warner 7 Comments

I don’t mean that in a British kind of way, I mean it literally. I am sort of famous for falling. I fall on flat surfaces, mostly, but also out of boats, into boats, on boats, bus steps….but mostly on flat ground. I fell on Capitoline Hill, right in front of Marcus Aurelius. I received a message this morning from a student who sounded upset, and my phone died. I decided to go get a phone charger from my son, who was sleeping upstairs. I leaned over a pet gate to see if his door was closed….but as I found out, the pet gate was not attached well, so forward I went, and kept going. The gate went down, I went down, and I crashed into the wall (cussing all the while, of course). After I “landed”, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, I could feel the pain of injury, and blood. I quickly put cold water on it. Wes and Carisa came out of their bedroom (they are staying while Randy is waiting for his lungs), expecting another of my usual falls, so the blood came as a shock. Carisa said I needed stitches in my nose (she was right) and so off to the Emergency Room. The Director of Cranial Facial surgery at Medical City was there in the ER, and he is the one who stitched me up…13 or 15 stitches around my right eye and my nose. sigh. What a mess I am! This is a reason I love to dive….I cannot fall when I’m underwater…I feel safe and supported by the water. I am NOT a land animal. My brother showed up at the Emergency Room and we absolutely roared with laughter…really, how can we do anything but laugh? After four hours, I am home and taking my pain pills. Now everything is hurting….shoulders, neck, I’m scraped up….sheesh. My guardian angel is beside her/himself now! It’s also my mother’s 86th birthday, well….she said she would haunt me! Just kidding, come on, I’m on pain pills, give me a break. I guess I won’t be going to the lake to paddle board tomorrow.

Randy and my daughter are sharing a laugh at the hospital, as I said, falling is sort of expected with me. I usually don’t bleed or need stitches though. I think Ran will probably cringe when he sees my face….I am really lucky, I have a stitch at my tear duct. My guardian angel did what she could. As I always say, it ain’t easy bein’ me! So should I tell fall stories? There have been some pretty spectacular ones. Thankfully they did a cat scan…I’ve had more concussions than an ice hockey or football player. Not this time at least. The pain pills are quite welcome, and if I was concussed, there wouldn’t be any pain pills. I just have mild ones….we could get the call any time for Randy’s lungs. Now I hope it is a couple more days so I can heal a bit…. Actually, my brain scan person said her husband had a pancreas transplant 6 years ago and came home after 3 days! She said he has done very, very well. I love happy transplant stories…they are so helpful.

When I came home from the hospital a delivery came….Swiss and German chocolates from Marcel (Zurich) and Daniela (Munich). So sweet of them (no pun intended). They are fellow All Out Africa volunteers I met in Mozambique, and they came to see me and to dive in Cozumel just a month ago. We had a wonderful time together….amazing what can happen in a month. Stranger than fiction, wouldn’t you say?

Family and Friends, and Number One on the Transplant List!

August 20, 2013 By Tam Warner 12 Comments

Randy has not only been approved to be on the Lung Transplant List at UT Southwestern, he is number one on the list. My daughter and I were with him when he found out and he was absolutely overwhelmed. He cannot understand why he is so deserving of the number one spot, but he is very happy about it, as we all are. He is working hard with the occupational and physical therapists to remain as strong as possible for the surgery. Randy is positive.

The last few days have been a flurry of events. My cousin, Lisa, arrived Saturday morning with her daughter, Brittane, and later on Saturday Spencer, her son, arrived. One of my husband’s very best friends, Brian, flew into Dallas from Memphis to visit. Randy’s dad, Rex, arrived on Wednesday, another of Randy’s closest friends, Tony, drove in from Louisiana to visit him for a couple of hours. The texts, emails, phone calls, and prayers are pouring in. Several other friends have been visiting as well. We are heartened by all the people who care. You really know who cares about you when something like this happens…..and we are blessed.

My cousin Lisa and I have been close all of our lives. She is a couple of years younger than I, and our daughters are the same age, just 3 months apart. Our boys are 18 months apart. We have remained close their entire lives. Holidays, family vacations, visits….all important events for a cemented family relationship. Although the kids are 3rd cousins, they are as close, if not closer, than 1st cousins, and I hope they will be so for the rest of their lives. For the first time in quite a while, the four of them were together: Spence, Britt, Ally and Wes. Lisa and I have made an extended family with ropes of gold, I hope. I am so grateful Lisa is here. It’s not that we even talk that much about really emotional things….but we are right next to one another, standing by. It has always been that way and I trust it always will be.

Lisa and Brittane leave tomorrow….and more of Randy’s friends are arriving. Now, that is a story for a later date. These guys are quite a special group. But right now, I know that any day, any minute the call that lungs are on their way could come. I guess I am talking around that fact because although I know he needs new lungs, it does frighten me.

Randy asked me and our children, Ally, 26, and Wes, 22, to spend a bit of time with him today. He had things he wanted to say to us as a family….it was very emotional. We have been a close (albeit loud) family, with differences now and then, but a family rooted in love. We have done so much as a family, gone through so much together. Like all families, we have had our ups and downs, but the love and willingness to help and try has always been present. We have grown together, adventured together, and been grateful together. We want Randy to continue with us, I cannot bear the thought of losing him, or the thought of my children losing their father. Randy is strong, I know he can succeed.

I know this blog is a bit frayed around the edges, but hey, so am I!

Lung Transplant Approval, an Unexpected Journey

August 16, 2013 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

Randy and I, snorkeling with Whale Sharks

How did we get here? I am still so stunned that I am not quite sure. 7 months ago my husband and I were in the Revilligadoes Islands south of the Baja, diving with hammerheads and Manta rays….6 weeks ago Randy was still walking 3 miles a day…2 weeks ago today my son and I rushed him to the hospital because he was having great difficulty breathing. This morning the University of Texas Southwestern University Hospital Lung Transplant team approved Randy for lung transplant. My head is spinning like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist.

So how did we get here? Well, 3 years ago Randy was diagnosed with a strange lung disease we had never heard of: Sarcoidosis. It is not caused by smoking. It is triggered by something…but they don’t know what. It may or may not be an auto-immune disease. We were told that in 90% of cases sarcoidosis clears up, probably nothing to worry overmuch about. Treatment? Nah. Of course, I did my research and discovered that this is the disease Bernie Mac had and died of…but only 10% of people have any serious issues. I was concerned, but the pulmonologist was pretty blase’ about the whole thing. Fast forward a year and a half. Randy is worsening. Dr still feels that it is probably not at a point where it should be treated. Another six months….and Randy’s lung capacity is at 59%. Well, guess we should start steroids now. I become so incensed that it takes everything in me not to scream at the doctor. So, back to my research, and a decision to seek out an EXPERT opinion. I called USC, UT Southwestern, National Jewish Hospital, Cleveland Clinic….National Jewish can see him first, so we went there in March, right after Wesley (our son) graduated from college. Dr. Nabeel Hamzeh conducted many tests, and told us he felt that there was something other than sarcoidosis going on. Yes, he might have sarcoid too, but something else was going on. He let us know that the reports from the first doctor, from 3 years ago, showed honeycombing of the lungs (a sign of end stage lung disease.) Hamzeh suggests a lung biopsy at UT Southwestern, one of the top Interstitial Lung Disease Clinics in the country.

I called UT every day, asking about cancellations. We couldn’t get in until MAY. All testing had to done again. In April my mother had started to really go downhill….she had been declining of emphysema and COPD for quite some time, but by March/April it was getting very serious. My mother passed away on June 22. Randy had to wean himself off of prednisone before the biopsy, and it took 2 weeks for our doctor to even get in touch with the surgeon. Surgery is scheduled for August 8. Randy and I head to Cozumel, Mexico where we usually spend every July. We needed some rest.

As Randy started decreasing the amount of steroid he was taking, he had more difficulty breathing. By the time he was down to 10mg, we headed back to Dallas to prepare for the biopsy. We did email the doctor at UT, and were told it was normal to start struggling when weaning off the meds. That seemed totally reasonable. We returned to Dallas on July 31. On August 3 my son, Wes, and I took a reading of Randy’s oxygen saturation, and it was at a critical level. I could not believe it. We called an ambulance. At first we were told, pneumonia. Ok, so get rid of the pneumonia and he’ll be ok, we’ll have to reschedule the biopsy. He is transferred from Medical City Dallas to UT Southwestern so the Lung Specialists can take over his care. He is in ICU, conscious, not sedated, but in ICU because his lung capacity was not coming back, no matter what they did. We were told at the end of last week we should probably do some testing for the option of lung transplant, but it probably would not be necessary. They tried a cortisone “blast” over the weekend. No result. The unthinkable, the lung transplant, became not only an option, but about the only option. Today he was approved by the lung transplant team, and we are just waiting for insurance in order for him to get on the list. He is a high priority patient.

The four of us and Pop Pop, Randy's dad — The four of us and Pop Pop, Randy’s dad

So, I am stunned. Randy has always been Mr Healthy. We are fairly adventurous, we like to travel, we are active with our young adult children, we’ve done safaris, been diving with Great White Sharks, handgliding, skiing, diving, snorkled with whale sharks…… and now Randy needs a lung transplant. There are many, many people driving and flying in this weekend to see him. We are all in disbelief. 2 weeks! How your life can change in two weeks! I will continue to assimilate, and will blog about this journey….this very, very unexpected journey.

Close Encounter with a Great White Shark

June 21, 2013 By Tam Warner 44 Comments

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I will receive a small percentage of sales, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me in my travels, and my mission to encourage others to explore this incredible world, experience other cultures, and help to make it a better place!

I am often told how adventurous, crazy or “brave” I am. Well, that’s flattering, but I have to tell you that it is really not the case. I do take calculated risks, and participate in activities that may seem risky, but I make sure all precautions are taken. More people are killed in car accidents than in “adventure sports” accidents. I love nature, I love diving, but I am not reckless, far from it. My husband, Randy, and I took our young adult children, Wes and Ally, on our dream trip to Guadalupe Island to cage dive with Great White Sharks, and we could not wait to get on the boat and into the water! Precautions were taken. (Besides, this kind of stuff only happens to me. Out of 16 divers? Only me.) [Read more…] about Close Encounter with a Great White Shark

Boulders Beach

June 16, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Outside of Cape Town is Boulders Beach, a beautiful spot where a South African Penguin Colony lives. They are the cutest …birds you can imagine! They are birds, but of course, they don’t fly in the air, they fly underwater! The penguins are nesting at this time of year…I had no idea that penguins made little dens and sat on their eggs. These little babies are brown and furry! We always hear about the Emperor Penguins, but most penguins do not live in such arctic conditions. These penguins are known as Jackass Penguins. I’m not kidding. They are called Jackass because of the “heehaw” sound they make! They really do sound like donkeys! We walked among them, saw their nests and their young, then walked on the beach where a small group of them came out and swam. I sat near the water and enjoyed watching them in their little tuxedos! It was a cloudy day, and “winter” (to them) as well, so we pretty much had them to ourselves. The beach was pristine, with huge boulders (hence the name Boulder’s Beach), and tidal pools filled with sea stars and crabs and other little critters. Incredible experience!

Wes and Ally...bouldering — Wes and Ally…bouldering

We also met a new animal, the Rock Hyrax or “dassie”. Strangely enough, their closest relative is the elephant! They look like rodents….they are absolutely adorable. I’m sure you will agree that Ally took some wonderful photographs of them.

The Rock Hyrax, or “Dassie”!

We stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town where Ally took a bit of a tumble (fell on her ass, actually). It is usually me, but Ally took the fall on the continent of Africa! (Of course, I have fallen on Africa too….just not on that trip!) Afterward we went up Table Mountain to see the view….endless vistas…

Another beautiful day in South Africa!

Hermanus and a “go around” in Cape Town

June 14, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Hermanus, small town in South Africa, known for Whale Watching.

Yesterday was travel day….we left Botswana at 10a.m. and did the border crossings again into Zimbabwe and to the Victoria Falls airport. From there we flew to Johannesburg, then caught another flight into Cape Town. I think when it comes to Africa, every flight has to go through Joburg! Our flight was VERY interesting heading into Cape Town. As you may or may not know, the cape is known as the Cape of Storms, because storms form with no warning … as we began our descent a line of squalls quickly came up. The pilot came on the PA system and announced that we might have to do a “go around”, a common maneuver at the Cape Town airport. The plane tries to land, but if the squall comes in at a certain speed, the plane must pull up suddenly (no matter how close to landing) and then “go around” before taking another “bash” at landing! I’m not sure “bash” was the right word to use in this case….Yes, we experienced a go around….wow! The landing gear is deployed, you are almost touching down and boom…the plane suddenly pitches up and accelerates and you are pushed back in your seat! Kind of like the plane in the movie AIR FORCE ONE. It took us 45 minutes to land. Most exciting! We then rented a car and drove to Hermanus (Randy is the MAN, cannot believe he can drive on the left and shift with his left!). We expected a charming hotel on the coast….we arrived late and were a bit surprised at the tiredness of the hotel…our rooms had no heat and there were towels under the windows to keep out the howling wind and rain. We were so tired we didn’t protest, just slept. We didn’t arrive at the hotel until midnight. Things always look brighter in the morning… the hotel has a long ago charm to it (a little “longer ago” than anticipated), and we were shown to better rooms with sitting areas and balconies as the view is quite magnificent even in the rain (cliffs, pounding ocean, mountains barely visible through the mist). We are taking a day to have our laundry done, catch up on sleep and reading and Internet, and watching the weather change every 15 minutes. We are hoping to see the whales out there, but it is very rough and we have not seen any yet. As I write Wes is reading, Ran is working, Ally is sleeping, and I am journaling. The ocean is feral as the South Africans would say!

Chillin’ in Cape Town

The hotel in Hermanus was so cold and miserable that we came to Cape Town a day early. What a beautiful city, surrounded by ocean and mountains and islands. We are staying in Bantry Bay (what was known as Botany Bay in history), at the Protea President (which was opened by Nelson Mandela) with an incredible view of the ocean. What is a Protea? Well, Protea is a botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes. Remember, Protea President Hotel is on what used to be Botany Bay.

Ran has been ill and unable to enjoy Cape Town today, but we are hoping he will be able to join us for dinner tonight on the waterfront. The kids and I explored Cape Town, going to the aquarium where I had a bit of fun, Nobel Square where Nobel Peace Prize Winners are immortalized: Albert Luthuli, former president of the African National Congress, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, last president of the ‘old South Africa’ FW de Klerk and the legendary Nelson Mandela, affectionately called by his clan name, Madiba, by many South Africans. We explored the V & A waterfront and shopping areas. Cape Town is quite cold, winter in Africa is just starting.

Nobel Square: founders of democracy in South Africa

Ah, Randy did feel better and was able to join us for a lovely dinner at Quay Four, a fabulous restaurant on the waterfront. I can heartily recommend it! Also, at the Haagen Daaz (of course, South Africa has heavy Dutch influence) they have a wonderful concoction: Midnight Cookies and Cream! Chocolate Ice Cream and Oreos. Heavenly!!!!

A gorgeous city, reminiscent of San Francisco, but Cape Town is marred by the abject poverty of the shanty towns that ring it. I have never seen anything like it….miles of “homes” and “townships” made of scrap metal. It is horrifying. It has been 15 years since the end of apartheid, but there is a very long way to go for true equality. A failing economy is not helping. Our country didn’t have true universal suffrage until 1965, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, so it is understandable that in 15 years things in South Africa are not perfect….but the sight of the miles of shantytowns will stay with us.

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