Hey Everyone!
What a day! Day 2 was a lot of fun and I have a lot to tell you, so hopefully you enjoy all of the writing and the pictures! Feel free to send these entries to your friends as well if you think they'd want to read about this trip!
When we woke up in the morning after a good sleep, we got ready to visit the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear Arizona. I had always heard about the CTCA on the TV and always wondered what it was like. Today I found out and was beyond impressed. It's hard to tell you exactly how amazing the hospital was without writing out an entire few pages of details. But I can tell you this: It's like a resort for cancer survivors. It doesn't look like or feel like a cancer hospital, which is only a small reason why It's awesome! There are more reasons, and I'll explain with some bullet points, since this email is going to be long as it is.
CTCA Treats survivors 18+ with Stage 3 & 4 (advanced stage) cancers
Each patient/survivor is assigned a "Care Team", which is generally 5 people- an oncologist, a spiritual advisor, a mind & body therapist, a nutritionist & a naturopathic doctor. All of these people work as your care team & help you through all of your treatments!!
Flights to and from the CTCA are included for qualified patients
The are 100% digital! This means that when you are picked up at the airport by them, you get the paperwork in the car on a small tablet, this way you can fill it out on the way to the hospital!!! Saves time!
They do grocery store trips and activities with the patients
They have a restaurant on the grounds for the patients & their families that offers 90% Organic food and an experienced chef that cooks all types of food!! (Delicious & beyond affordable!)
They offer a lot of other treatment help like chiropractic, acupuncture, and more!
They offer a manicure & pedicure to survivors while they are getting treatments
They go above and beyond to make sure that every patient feels at home and is comfortable.
We were unable to video tape the interview with Beth, the survivor that we spoke with, but we were able to get the tour on tape, which you will see later. Beth's story is exceptional, and she shared with us how she was diagnosed and was at a treatment center that wasn't giving her all of her options. Her father told her about CTCA and within 2 days of calling them, she was admitted. She was very appreciative and excited about speaking with us. Her story to come soon!
Betsy, who gave us a great tour of the facility, bought us lunch and organic smoothies!! After our adventure at CTCA, we were on the road again, heading out to El Paso, Texas - a 6 hour drive. The drive itself was fun and of course Sarah and I found ourselves laughing the majority of the drive. We saw some extremely colorful checkered buildings near Phoenix, and had an interesting encounter with a cop, who was driving behind me for a few minutes- turned on his lights and as I pulled to the right he rushed past me. I can't even begin to tell you how fast my heart was beating (Sarah's too), and that I couldn't believe that he didn't just go around me. Lol. Classic.
I can tell you that Arizona seemed to go on forever and for the longest time we thought that we were in New Mexico already...but we had another 75 miles to go. As soon as we crossed into New Mexico, we noticed the time change- we had gained an hour and and it went from being 3:45pm to 4:45pm! We did stop in a small town to get some gas and as we drove back to the freeway, we noticed a deserted town that looked destroyed, and many run down buildings with businesses closed. It was Lordsburg, New Mexico. One hotel stuck out to us, as it reminded Sarah of the Bates Motel on the Universal Studios tram!
By the time we reached El Paso, we were beyond excited to finally be here. We spent some time just hanging out and ended the night by going out to karaoke for a bit. I had looked up a karaoke bar that was in El Paso, prior to us arriving and was beyond excited about being able to go out and sing with Sarah! We each sang a few songs and returned to our hotel.
I can tell you that today has been a busy day and we have another full day ahead of us tomorrow. Some things have changed with the trip so far, but we are working through them and finding a way to still get what we need to get done - DONE! We had 2 cancellations from hospitals, and some small route changes. We won't be able to go to Fort Worth tomorrow, and instead will be heading out to Austin, Texas to meet my online friend Eric and have his share his story. Till tomorrow...... This is the end of Day 2 and finally I am off to sleep!
PS. Day 1 I made 20 "Share the Hope" Bracelets and today I made 10. So far we have only given away 2, but there will be more!!!
Till tomorrow.... signing out!
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