Big Brother Does it Again

New Law on Painkillers Please  click the link to the left and read this short News story.

Big Brother does it again. In trying to protect us from ourselves, they end up harming the most vulnerable of us. Due to several untreatable medical conditions, I have suffered from chronic and sometimes acute pain, moderate to severe, for about ten years. I am on two opiates to try to manage this pain, one slow release to give a base level of relief and the other fast acting to manage breakthrough pain. It is a regime reserved for cancer patients and those who suffer from untreatable, long term conditions with moderate to severe pain.

Without these meds, I cannot function, period. The pain takes over, demanding all my attention and driving me to do anything for relief... I pray, I lay in bed sweating profusely, often vomiting, and I moan because I can't help myself. Tears come, accompanied by anger and frustration that the medication that can make my life bearable is almost impossible to get. And no, I am not an addict. One look at my X-rays and there is no doubt of the need for medication. It's crazy!

The face of advancing pain. It is moderately bad here and can progress to severe within 30 minutes or less.

Our nation and especially Florida has been waging a war on prescription drugs. Sadly, their efforts have added to the suffering of those with legitimate needs than cutting back on those with recreational drives.

For months now, pharmacies have been experiencing a contrived short supply of opiates. I have to spend days trolling for a place where my prescription can be filled. One month, we could only find a place that had 35 pills out of the 120 I was prescribed. I gladly took the lesser amount only to later discover I could not fill the remainder since controlled prescriptions cannot be split. It took two more trips to the doctor's office and many trips to pharmacies to finally fill my whole prescription, but the sad affair left me in several days of agony because I was out of meds. 
Also, in a relatively short time the cost of a month's supply of one of my pain meds soared from $45 to $280!!! This means my copay is now more than the entire cost of the med only a short while back.
Today, I went to fill my prescription for the long acting med, but the new law, which took effect July 1st, requires a diagnosis and specific wording be written on the scrip, so the pharmacist, who knows me well, could not fill the prescription. I was sent back to the doctor who has been my physician for over ten years, and she immediately wrote a new prescription. The one it replaced had been written in June so that I wouldn't have to pay again for an office visit. She didn't charge me for today. 

Then, when I got back to the pharmacy, they only had 35 of the 60 that I needed! We hit the streets again, drug shopping. Finally, after over an hour, we got my meds. It had taken all day and to stay relatively comfortable, I need to spend several hours laying flat in bed... So it's been a painful day and promises to be a worse night. Ridiculous.

Pain keeps me flat parts of every day, but my trusty guard dog keeps me company.

So, here I have a doctor and pharmacists who know me... but on the road, I will just be a stranger looking for pain relief. How hard will it be for a doctor to look at my X-rays, believe I am legit and haven't got falsified papers... These laws turn me into a potential "druggie" and I may really have a time getting help. I am praying.

I am one of the lucky ones, those who are terminal, have cancer or long term incurable disorders. Those who simply hurt from accidents, surgeries, or any less dire causes of pain, no matter how severe can only get a prescription for a 3 to 7 day supply of pain meds! Are they kidding? There is no estimating the amount of suffering that has already been caused by these politicos tampering with drug administration, but now they have, knowingly or not, inflicted a near fatal blow to the humane practice of medicine.

What makes me most frustrated is that there is no real concern for the patient. Most of it is political posturing from both parties. The doctors and pharmacists hate it and they were not really consulted! The government has usurped the ability of professionals to care for the medical and pharmaceutical needs of patients.

Are We Living' the Dream or Are We Homeless?

For many years we have chased the impossible dream of wandering aimlessly around the country in an RV, stopping here and there for as long as we want, just enjoying the beauty and the wonder of this great land. But who can afford that, right?

Dreaming to wander... This taken at Orlando Thousand Trails RV Resort.

We began living full time in an RV nine years ago and recently bought 38 feet of mobile joy in the body of a 2017 Thor Challenger thus taking care of part "the Dream." 

Volunteering at Olustee, FL in our 30 foot Hurricane.

Also, we traveled the country volunteering in the National Parks and Forests in exchange for a full hook ups pad. And there are many workamper  opportunities, as well. But neither scenario fulfills our fancy free Happy Camper hopes. 

Volunteering at Boise Creek Campground in northern California.

Let's be real, RV campgrounds and resorts are pricey and boondocking (dry camping) has lost its adventuresome appeal at our age, since I am crowding 80 and some of my parts are already done in.

With my therapist two weeks after back surgery in 2013... Yes, they were remodeling the rehab center.

One of the reasons we came off the road was to pay off some debts, and now we have more debt than we came with, so paying pad rent is out unless we land somewhere with a monthly discount... Not what we were dreaming of, actually, but not the end of the world for I did love volunteering.

I truly loved volunteering but now, I'm just not up to it.

We continued to pray for a way. Prayer works and we were convinced that something would come along... or we'd go back to volunteering.

Our faith is a big part of our lives and  we believe in the power of Prayer. This little chapel in Las Vegas is where we renewed our vows on our 30th anniversary. The picture above was taken years later.

Well, when we bought our motorhome from LaMesa RV Sales, they gave us a one year Thousand Trails campground membership. You can stay 14 days free in the area of the country you pick, then be out of their system 7 days, then 14 days in any of their parks (in your chosen area of the country) over and over all year long. A great plan, but you're still stuck paying for your 7 day stays in between your freebie 14 days.

Free is great, but do we really want to relocate every two to three weeks?

But they offer an upgrade which gives you the whole country in all their 81 resorts, 21 day stays (now 28, I think) back to back at another park. Rent free all year! 

Are we privileged resort hoppers or are we homeless? It's all in the attitude. We feel pretty privileged.

We checked it out, found there was a healthy market for used memberships (upgraded ones) which are transferable. We discovered a number of Disney drivers live in RVs and bounce from park to park in this area, living rent free with electricity and internet free as well plus great amenities and activities at each resort.

Parking, canoes, observation dock (you can see Disney's fireworks from here while seated in a porch swing) and a dog park (back in the trees to the right) add to the charm of this small lake at Orlando TT park.

We dealt with a reputable resale agent Kimberly Hoel, phone 800-272-0401. She's amazing and we saved over half and got benefits no longer available on new upgrades. We could not be happier.

Our shaded site at Orlando TT RV Resort

So, on June 1, we moved from Kissimmee South to Orlando Thousand Trails RV Resort in Clermont where we stayed 21 beautiful days in a secluded and shady spot before moving to Tropical Palms RV Resort where we will be until July 6 when we have reservations to move back to Orlando TT RV Resort again for another 21 days... 

Looking out our windshield as the park fills up for Independence Day. There is a wildlife preserve just behind us and deer wander all over here, but they'll soon hide. We chose the more remote, less developed section of the park.

Deer wander through this section of Tropical Palms Park. Ducks are seen all over, short, fat and colorful. We've also seen turtles, a harmless snake, hawks and other birds... and cats, several. Our cat is happy to come and go with the others.

After that, we are not sure. We planned to head north at the end of the month, but I have a medical procedure coming up and Richard may get a bonus at Disney if he's still there in early August. Life is good but not always predictable.

Bingo says he's not homeless. There's his pillow up near the window so he can watch the world and save us from invaders.

Our daughter, Athena. Yes, fun runs in the family.

So, are we homeless? Sort of, but in another way, we live in luxury... a beautiful home on wheels, free spirits moving from one resort to another. I feel very blessed.

A note to other free thinkers. We've met so many people who full time it in trailers, motorhomes or other mobile accommodations, some boondock it, others workamp while yet others live off of pensions of some sort. Now, we are meeting folks who live free as they work full time, or are fully retired or something in between... some home schoolers. 

Richard with his thinking cap on.

A campground membership lets us live rent free, and we found only one that actually provides FREE living including electricity and usually wifi, and that is the Thousand Trails used membership since you can save about half off a new one. We bought the membership for a one time $3350, then you pay $550 - $600 annual dues. You can get a whole raft of other campgrounds by just paying their annual dues of $199. And beyond that you can accept a free membership in RPI parks for annual dues of around $100, so you can live rent free all over the country for under a grand! But if you just want to hang in one area, you may not need the extra membership.

Iona knows how to eat dinner. Desert first.

No, I am not a sales agent, just a happy customer. If you do buy a membership from Kimberly at Campground Membership Outlet, she will ask how you learned about her. Tell her Iona Hoeppner sent you and she'll buy us dinner. I will, of course, eat dessert first, then the traditional main course, and take home left overs. This is peanut butter chocolate cake at the Prime Time 50's Cafe at Walt Disney World.

Are you ready for Independence Day? Have a safe and fun one!

We've Got a New Home!

We started full-time RVing nine years ago in a gorgeous 5th wheel, and just over a year later moved to a class A motorhome where we lived in Theme World RV Resort (just 5 miles north of our six-n-brix home) for two years before actually chucking it all and hitting the road. Check out our first blog post.  

Our first Live-In rig.

Our first Full-Timer motorhome.

After five years wandering and volunteering all over the U.S. and trading rigs twice, we spent two years at Kissimmee South RV Resort in Davenport, Florida while Richard went back to work driving bus for Disney World. We needed to recharge our finances and rethink our motorhome housing needs. Plus, I had some medical issued needing tended to.

Our 2005 Damon Challenger getting ready for trade-in. Equipt Cleaner did an awesome job!

We loved our Challenger and our time at Kissimmee South. Good folks surrounded us and the park is comfortable and well cared for, but we miss the road. Our dream would be to travel all over without obligations to stay and work... yeah, right! More on that real soon.... And more on the fact that we left Kissimmee South June 1st and have already made a second move... Next post, probably tomorrow.

Here we are enjoying a Community Meal at Kissimmee South

As to motorhome issues, we live with aging pets, and really always will, so a fully carpeted home with all cloth furnishings is just not practical, but redoing it all is beyond our skills and our budget. Also, my back could no longer tolerate our bed so I was sleeping on the couch, and it was lonely there, even the critters chose the bed. And finally, there was really  no room for guests. Our previous and smaller Hurricane accommodated guests better than the 2005 Challenger.

 So, we went motorhome shopping, but with a new twist. Instead of looking for something we could afford, we shopped for what we wanted at a payment we could afford, like rent. Something we have never done, payment shopping rather than price shopping. But I am soon to be 79 years old and we went for a 20-year mortgage on the motorhome of our dreams that cost us more than I could imagine! This was not a snap decision. We worked our way up to it, but it really is the best deal for us.

Using similar thinking we traded in our two small cars for a large SUV. We need something that can carry my scooter and its carrier or later a wheelchair, if needed. The Focus and the Fiesta just can't do that. So, now we are wandering (locally for now) in a 38 foot Thor Challenger. It has a separate front living room with slide-outs on each side plus phony leather seating, electric fireplace, and a huge TV we never watch, LOL 

Sliding wood and glass doors lead into the kitchen which features a residential side-by-side refrigerator, pantry, convection oven/microwave, and a neat little dining area complete with overhead TV (we don't  watch, either). 

There is a nice bathroom with glassed-in shower and linen cabinet. The large bedroom is in the rear of the coach, and the Denver mattress on a wooden platform is heaven for my back. Lots of closet space and plenty of drawer space finish off my dream motorhome. I can't say how thankful I am. There is a TV here, also, and Richard has watched it. Yippee.


I'll wait till the next post to discuss the problems this pretty-faced rig has sprung on us. But, now for the best part, the floors are all some sort of rock looking covering that looks dirty when it's clean, tee hee. No more carpets except where the slides come in over the main floor. The awnings are electric and roll themselves in when the wind blows too hard and empty themselves of excess water collecting in a hard rain. There is an outdoor TV and stereo... We've never watched this one either.

Am I a TV snob, you ask? No, I love old NCIS and other stuff on the computer, but the TV now has so many channels you can't figure out what to watch.

I love my double sink and cool faucet.

At last! Enough refrigerator space.

Nice counter tops with stove and sink covers.

The dining room, really, a dining room, LOL

Ahhhh, a bed I can sleep on and not be lonely.

Nice bath with bedroom and dining room doors.

No more carpets or fabric furnishings for pets to get dirty.

Sliding doors close off the living room where a sofa and drop-down bed sleeps guests.

Richard checking out our new home.