LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON... WE BOTH GOT COVID > AGAIN!! BUT DAD IS THE COMEBACK KID!

 

I was able to spend most of Friday visiting my Dad in the hospital delivering homemade cards from an incredible family as well as fresh cut roses from Dad's rose garden. It was a great time together as I read to him all the well wishes and encouraging words you guys have left in the comment section. It all means so much to him (and us)! As have all the phone calls you guys have made to him... he appreciates them so much! We had a great time together on Friday! The next day we both tested positive for COVID > again. Dad had COVID in December of 2020 before the vaccine came out. He has since been vaccinated. I had COVID two months ago (right after visiting my Mom in the hospital). Thankfully both of us have very mild symptoms and are both doing well. On Friday Dad's kidneys were continuing to get worse. I'm thrilled to report that his kidneys began to improve on Saturday and have improved for 3 straight days. His kidney function is almost back to where it was before his heart catherization last Monday. PRAISE! THE! LORD!! Dad truly is the COMEBACK KID! Unfortunately 12 days in the hospital has made him very weak, sleep deprived, and a little confused. He can hardly stand up and can barely walk. On Saturday he was moved to isolation in the hospital (and I'm quarantining at my house). His improvements over the past 3 days translated into being discharged from the hospital earlier this evening and moved to a nearby rehab center for COVID positive patients where Dad will undergo a lot of physical therapy to get him back on his feet and walking again. Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement! They are making a big difference and we are forever grateful. Dad will be in rehab for the next week or two. Keep calling him... he loves the phone calls! Thank you everyone!!

 

 

.

Work Day Wednesdays, Volunteer Meetings, & Monthly Volunteer Work Weekends all starting in February! (Pathway to Progress!)

 

Volunteers are the backbone of any non-profit! We have been blessed with a lot of people who have started volunteering for GTD over past two years (or who have been asking about getting more involved as a volunteer). 

 

2022 is THE YEAR OF THE VOLUNTEER! 

 

Starting in February (next week!) we will be having monthly Team GTD meetings, monthly work weekends, and even weekly work days that we are calling "Work Day Wednesdays".

We have built a website link with a list of all (or most) of the work projects as well as a schedule of work days, work weekends, and monthly meetings. 

 

If you love Jesus, love people, love nature, and love making a difference then we would love your help as we work on all the behind the scenes tasks that turn our hopes & plans into God-awesome unforgetable events!

-----------------

Feb Volunteer Meeting: Monday Feb 7th (6:30p - 8:30p) at GTD Headquarters

 

Feb Work Day Wednesday: Every Wednesday 12p-7p starting Feb 2nd

 

Feb Work Weekend: Feb 19,20 (Sat 10a-5p | Sun = 1p-5p)

-----------------

 

For more information or to sign-up to volunteer click HERE

For the Volunteer Online Sign-Up page click HERE

Thank you and God bless you ministry friends!!

 

 

.

CRAMMED & SLAMMED 5 MTHS AWAY! SAME EVENT; DIFFERENT NAMES; DIFFERENT DATES ...REGISTER NOW!

 

The websites for GTD's CRAMMED & SLAMMED Adventure Trips have just been updated and registration is officially open!

  

These are 2 of our most popular events so register ASAP to lock in your spot!

  

-------------------------

- CRAMMED Adventure Trip

- 2nd Annual!!

- June 4-8, 2022 (Sat-Wed) 

- Lakemont, GA

- Costs starts at $26/person

-------------------------

CRAMMED Link

 

 

-------------------------

- SLAMMED Adventure Trip

- 27th Annual!!

- June 8-12, 2022 (Wed-Sun)

- Lakemont, GA

- Costs starts at $26/person

-------------------------

SLAMMED Link

 

 

.

SIDEWINDER IS 4 MONTHS AWAY!! ...ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

 

The FREE GTD SIDEWINDER Stand-Up Paddleboarding Day Trip website has just been updated and registration is officially open!

  

This is one of our newest events with limited spots so register ASAP to lock in your spot!

  

-------------------------

- SIDEWINDER Stand-Up Paddleboarding Day Trip

- May 14, 2022 (Saturday morning)

- War Veterans Memorial Park (St Petersburg, FL)

- Cost: FREE!! (includes lunch)

-------------------------

  

SIDEWINDER Link

 

 

.

LIQUID IS 3 MONTHS AWAY!! ...ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

 

The FREE GTD LIQUID Kayaking Day Trip website has just been updated and registration is officially open!

  

This is also one of our most popular events so register ASAP to lock in your spot!

  

-------------------------

- LIQUID Kayaking Day Trip

- April 16, 2022 (Saturday afternoon)

- Weedon Island (St Petersburg, FL)

- Cost: FREE!! (includes lunch)

-------------------------

  

LIQUID Link

 

 

.

IGNITE IS 2 MONTHS AWAY!! ...ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

 

The GTD IGNITE Camping Retreat website has just been updated and registration is officially open!

  

This is one of our most popular events so register ASAP to lock in your spot!

  

-------------------------

- IGNITE Camping Retreat

- March 11-13, 2022 (Fri night - Sun afternoon)

- Word of Life (Hudson, FL)

- Costs starts at $26/person

-------------------------

  

IGNITE Link

 

 

.

Keep my parents in your prayers =)

 

Lots of good stuff going on that I look forward to sharing, but if you can keep my parents in your prayers they are going through rough waters every couple of weeks. We had to take Dad back to the ER yesterday. He has been wearing a heart monitor for the past 2 weeks and experiencing atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. His heart doctor called yesterday and wanted him to go to the ER and admit him to the hospital for the whole gamut of tests. They think he may need a pacemaker. Mom recently finished up her 3rd UTI in 6 weeks. We are starting to zero in on her UTI symptoms because it's a stranger form of confusion than Alzheimer's, but looking back we think that some of her bad days/weeks may have actually been UTI's on top of the Alzheimer's. She has been getting home health nursing and physical therapy since the end of November. The nurse said that she has many elderly patients that are in a constant state of recurring UTI's. It's oftentimes related to hygiene and if you've ever dealt with Alzheimer's before then you know that this condition causes an aversion to water... and for us specifically Mom believes that she showers everyday, but she goes 6 to 8 weeks without a shower and we can't convince her that she hasn't showered and we can't forcibly pick her up and put her in the shower. I am thinking about just dumping a bucket of mud on her every couple of days to help her realize she needs to shower haha! If anyone has ever had success dealing with this part of dementia let us know any tips we can implement for hygiene success. Other than that our parents are in good spirits and Mom is on a streak of really good days. She has been so sweet and funny! Her sense of humor has tripled and the funny things she says keeps us in stitches... think of Aunt Bethany from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie and that's sort of what Mom is like on her funny days. Last week we had some dear friends (the Routman's) come over and spend the afternoon playing games and hanging out with Mom. Mark is a Physical Therapist and took Mom for a walk and did some exercises with her. They did this to help give us a little break from Caregiving which we greatly appreciate! Mom also has 2 dear friends that come over each week for a few hours to spend time with her. Laurie helps fill in a lot of gaps. And their neighbors across the street come over daily to help the folks with all kinds of stuff. God is developing a good team of awesome friends that are helping us manage the 24/7 demands. I've had to establish my capacity of hours I can be there for my parents without the rest of my responsibilities collapsing. I'm with my folks every Tuesday, Thursday, and every other weekend which averages out to be about 40 hours per week... which is way less than the 85 hours per week we were doing last year. But when the UTI's, ER trips, and hospitalizations happen we go back to the 24/7 "figure it out as we go" schedule. Praise God, Mom's balance and overall health has returned to a much stronger level than most of last year because she doesn't come close to falling as much as she was last year. Thank you for your prayers and support! I'm sorry I'm way behind on social media and replying back to comments... it has been a wild couple of months with the health issues and holidays and preparing for upcoming GTD events. We are doing well and navigating each new challenge as they pop up =) 

 

 

.

SWAMP THING 2022 DONE! ...OUR BIGGEST GROUP EVER!!! ...ONE OF OUR BEST TRIPS EVER!

 

We just returned from our annual Swamp Thing Backpacking Trip with 18 brave swamp hikers (a new record)!

 

It was a trip full of firsts & new records... our first time having a record setting 18 participants... our first time having a swamp hiker as young as 10 years old... our first time having a pregnant swamp hiker (2 months along)... our first time having a non-emergency (almost emergency) evacuation... our first time meeting a stranger in the wilderness that hikes in a tennis skirt and goes by the trail name of "Twig"... our first time adding hiking poles to our swamp hike... our most participated gator hole swimming excursion... a new swamp romp 50 yard dash champion... and probably some other firsts that I'll remember after this post.

 

It was a phenomenal adveture with an extremely fun group of people! In fact, a couple day hikers going in the opposite direction loved our enthusiasm so much that they stopped me to ask about our group and how they can join our ministry.

 

I'll be sharing more pics and stories throughout the week. This trip was an INSTANT CLASSIC!

 

Thank you to all of our donors and supporters who make events like this possible! You're helping make an impact & difference one trip at a time!

 

All glory to God!

 

SWAMP THING 2022

(more pics on the way!)

 

 

.