GLOW POSTPONED TILL OCT 5th!!

  

With all the crazy nightly thunderstorms this week, the forecast of similar storms tomorrow night, & Doug's Dad's hospitalization yesterday we are postponing our sold out GLOW Bioluminescence Paddling Trek till Saturday night October 5th. The last place you want to be in the middle of a lightning storm is on a paddleboard or kayak on open water. Hopefully our new date will have a better weather pattern. There is nothing that you need to do. We will transfer your registration to the new date. Let us know if you aren't able to go on the new date and we will open your spot for those on our waiting list. My sincerest apologies if the new date doesn't work out for you!!!

 

 

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BACK TO THE HOSPITAL! ...AND DON'T FORGET THE PENS!!

 

A little bit after returning home from dialysis this afternoon Dad "didn't feel right"... abdominal pain, low blood pressure, lightheaded, borderline passing out, profuse sweating. After about 45 minutes of taking BP, pulse ox, changing his positions, etc, etc he was feeling worse and started to pass out so I called 911. Jan was working here today and was so helpful comforting Dad. The Pinellas Park EMT's & Paramedics showed up and took great care of the Tomato Man and loaded him up and took him to the Emergency Room... but not before Dad reanimated and summoned the strength to say one last thing before being carted off, "Doug, can you go over to that box by my chair and grab a handful of pens so I can give them out at the hospital." LOL! That's The Ambassador / Tomato Man!! Always loving to give gifts to others... that's just who he is. The EMT's & Paramedics really loved the pens! Watch out hospital, the Tomato Man and his pens are on the way!! I'll update this post as I learn more. Thanks for praying for Dad... this is his 4th trip to the hospital in 2 weeks... that's a lot of pens!!

 

 

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Beautiful sunset tonight...

Beautiful sunset tonight at Redington Beach... Goodbye Mr Sun!! See you tomorrow!! 😀 

 

 

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It's good to be back in church :)

 

It's good to be back in church :) 

 

 

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OUR FALL RETREAT IS 2 MONTHS AWAY!! ....REGISTRATION PAGE IS NOW OPEN!

 

 

Our annual Fall Retreat is back babie! We've reserved an AMAZING group campground on a 71 acre spring fed lake with all kinds of family friendly & kid friendly activities!! Keeping Jesus first is our main objective so join us on another God-awesome GTD adventure as we say goodbye to the dreaded summer heat & humidity and say hello to the wonderful fall Florida weather in late October!! I can't wait!!!!!

 

CLICK HERE for Details & Registration Page on our website

 

 

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Back to the hospital for the 3rd time this week

Poor guy! Back to the hospital for the 3rd time this week. Dad returned home yesterday afternoon from our early morning ER run. He ended up receiving a stent for a partially blocked artery near his heart. Today while receiving his regular Thursday dialysis treatment his heart rate dropped so low that the doctor on site felt it would be best to err towards caution since he just had a heart catherization and send him back to the hospital. Dad is in good spirits and is being checked out by the ER staff at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater... hoping he can return back home quickly!! It has been quite the week for him!

 

 

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EARLY MORNING TRIP TO THE ER CAN'T STOP DAD FROM GIVING GIFTS TO OTHERS!

  
Around 1am this morning my Dad woke me up complaining of chest pain & heart attack symptoms. Over the next 20 minutes he took 3 nitroglycerin pills spaced out 5 minutes apart. That's the first time he has ever taken nitroglycerin. The pain went away and we continued talking about going to the ER or not. Dad has had a few times when he had chest pain and it resulted in several days in the hospital running a lot of tests to find out it's not a heart attack. The hospitalizations take a negative toll on him so it's not as easy as saying everytime I feel chest pain we are going to the ER. It's more like pick your poison. So after a few minutes of weighing the pros & cons he opted for going back to bed. Around 3am he woke up with more chest pain so we went straight to the ER while taking 1 more nitroglycerin pill enroute. My role is to break the speed limit (yesssss!!) and keep his mind distracted usually by minimizing what's going on, "This is probably just a false alarm like the others. You'll be fine and back home quickly. How 'bout that Rays game last night!" So we arrive at the ER in record time lol (it helps that nobody is on the road at 3am). And there are no other patients waiting. They take Dad straight back and start running all the tests. So what does Dad do? He does what he always does and that's that he had me load up his "briefcase" with all his goodies he loves to give to people (while he thinks he is having a heart attack, mind you) and then we drove to the ER (had to backtrack for a minute) and then while the medical staff is caring for him he is handing out his Tomato Man pens to everyone!! LOL, you've got to love this guy!! I was able to snag a pic of him in action. You would never believe how much nurses & doctors ABSOLUTELY LOVE a good writing pen!!! It's like giving them a brick of gold! They absolutely love it!! I tell the nurses that tonight will be like getting Santa Claus for a patient hahaha! Well, long story even longer, the preliminary tests showed no signs of a heart attack, but they wanted to admit him for more testing (that's the part that takes its toll over time... for elderly people to be confined to a hospital bed even for a few days can have a lot of negative impacts, especially the strength to walk. It can take weeks to recover from hospitalizations for aging people not to mention all the infections & diseases you get exposed to in the hospital. I love hospitals and greatly honor & appreciate those in the medical staff - I used to be a Respiratory Therapist - but a few more tests and observation can turn into pneumonia or covid in just a few hours for elderly people. Like I said, pick your poison.) So Dad is in the hospital for only a day or two (hopefully), but I already know that it's Christmas time in Room 627 for anyone who is taking care of the Tomato Man :) :) :)

PS: This is an unrelated post about Dad's health from my post yesterday. Dad had a procedure done and went under anesthesia, but by yesterday afternoon he was back home and doing great.

 

 

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Dad has had a very full summer of procedures...

Dad has had a very full summer of procedures, Dr's appointments, & dialysis. Today he was up at 4am getting ready for his outpatient procedure today at St Anthony hospital in St Petersburg. He will be under anesthesia for a couple hours, and hopefully returning home later today. Dad has been averaging about 5 days per week of medical appointments (along with dialysis) for the past few months. He is in good spirits... he keeps on keeping on :)

I'm soooooo thankful for Traci, Dave, Carson, Laurie, Tom, Dianne, and everyone who helps the Tomato Man get to all his appointments, especially when I'm out of town running events!! It takes a village, and God has blessed us with a great village indeed!! After being gone for weeks at a time I try to return and make up for all the Dr's appointments that I would have been helping with if I was here. My aim is to alleviate Traci & Laurie's load for the 5 weeks that I'm here before returning to North Carolina in September. 2 weeks into it and so far so good! PTL :) 

 

 

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INTRODUCING GTD'S NEWEST OUTREACH >>> SAILFUTURE ACADEMY (SFA) FOSTER CARE AGENCY & PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR AT-RISK TEENS!!

OUR RECENT 5-DAY ADVENTURE TRIP WITH SFA WAS FANTASTIC!

 

(Note: SFA is a secular private academy not to be confused with a faith based private academy.)

 

I'm thrilled to share with you that GTD has recently been blessed with a wonderful outreach opportunity with an incredible organization based in St Petersburg, Florida that reaches out to foster care youth & at-risk teens in a very unique way that includes sailing. In fact, we just got back from our first 5-day Adventure Trip with them in North Carolina, and God blessed us with a great experience sprinkled in with some challenging moments that SFA teachers & staff turned into mechanisms of growth. On the 3rd day a few teachers shared with me that they could see some significant breakthroughs in some of the students. Camping and adventure has a unique way of stretching you & growing you quickly in a concentrated amount of time.

 

Long story short, a few months ago one of our former GTD employees (Tessa Ward) who now works for SFA introduced me to Hunter Thompson (Chief Operations Officer of SFA) and I was able to tour the academy and their enormous 100+ ft sailboat. I was immediately hooked on what they are doing, how they are doing it, and the results they are seeing. We began to talk about ways GTD could partner with SFA. Since we had an open week on our calendar and a campsite already reserved in NC, and since the students typically don't have the funds to do trips like this, and since we could run this event at minimal expense, and since God through our amazing supporters & donors blessed us exceedingly & abundantly at last year's Annual Banquet, and since it seemed that God was prompting my heart to reach out, I offered SFA a free 5 day Adventure Trip in North Carolina for up to 60 people. And praise God, with deep gratitude they accepted the offer. So in a matter of a couple of months they organized things on their end and we organized things on our end and it all culminated into 30 staff & students arriving to camp in 4 rental vans for a 5 day adventure in Pisgah National Forest!! We not only all survived, we had a fantastic time!!

 

In the weeks ahead I look forward to sharing with you special moments throughout the trip.

 

I want to profoundly thank all of our donors, supporters, Ministry Partners, & volunteers for making this event & experience possible!! You would have all loved seeing how the week transpired. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to GTD!! God bless you dear friends of GTD!

 

ABOUT SAILFUTURE ACADEMY (from their website):

"SailFuture is an innovative foster care agency, and private school based in St. Petersburg, Florida. We serve children and families across seven different programs throughout the Saint Petersburg community.

 

Our comprehensive continuum of care is designed to serve Florida’s highest-risk teens in foster care, meeting many, if not all, of their needs under one umbrella.

 

As an organization, we offer a broad range of programs and services designed to holistically treat childhood trauma and equip teens with the skills and resources necessary to navigate life."

 

More posts and updates to come!

 

 

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SLAMMED 2024 was a blast!

SLAMMED 2024 was a blast! Not even unrelenting rain to start the trip could dampen the spirits of this near record crowd of adventurers!! Everyday was a new day full of excitement & new memories being made. ...I've got so much more to share!

 

 

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Got back a couple days ago...

Got back a couple days ago from our July Adventure Trips in NC... it has been a full & blessed summer!! I'm behind on our social media updates, but lots of good stuff to report PTL!! I'm back for a few weeks to work on Dad's home renovations before our next series of events. Many pics, vids, & updates to share!! Thank you Ministry Partners for all the love, support, & prayers throughout a very full God-awesome summer :) 

 

 

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