So there I am sleeping this morning, and I hear some old man elsewhere in the hotel, snoring and grunting his old man grunts, and wake up to discover that it’s me … Lord have mercy.

Was up at first light, see yesterdays post to know whose fault that is, got the suitcase packed and headed downstairs for breakfast at 8:00. Can you imagine a restaurant that doesn’t open for breakfast until 8:00? Truth be told, I kinda get irritated when they don’t open at 6:00. That said, I like the pace here. The night before last in Rabanal, I was having a conversation with Michael, a student from Germany, and he was saying how nice the Spanish culture is. I asked if it was similar in Germany, and he said “phew, no. In Germany is hurry, hurry, hurry”. Thought to myself, that sounds familiar.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could move pretty well. Still down a little energetically, but not bad. Today was an easy day compared to yesterday. No rugged terrain, just short stretches of up and down, and plenty of watering holes. I stopped in a little chapel in Camponaraya and they had these amazing life sized statues based on the gospels. I don’t care if you’re religious or not, even as just works of art, these pieces were phenomenal. I did try to do one thing today. As I was walking along, I kept stopping and taking a second to see where I had just been. I’m glad I did this, because a couple of times I was blown away by how beautiful the countryside truly was that we were walking through. I didn’t see it as I was walking, but only when I stopped and turned around to review. I think it’s good to stop and see where we’ve been. Too often we get so busy “walking” our lives, that we’re not even aware that we’re traveling in beautiful country, with other people, who are as cool as we think we are. Make it a point sometime this week, to stop and look behind you.

Not going to get all sharey preachy today. Most of my thoughts were, “I think I can, I think I can” … kinda kidding. Make sure to have a wonderful day today/tomorrow, and see if you can make someone else’s day better while you’re at it.

Pamela Neal writes: “I am a staff RN on night shift in Edgewood IPU (Inpatient Unit) and have been working here for going on six years. I am “called” to Hospice work because I believe it raises humanity to it’s highest level where compassion and dignity for the individual are what we bring. I also believe you can’t give what you have not received”.

If you have not contributed to St. E’s Hospice, please consider a gift today. My personal goal was to use this website and social media to raise awareness and see if we could get 200,000 people (not a lot really, in a country of 300,000,000) to give $5 dollars each. I know there are lots of things that require your hard earned money, but I am hoping that $5 won’t be too much of a burden on anyone. On my website, www.wakwithe.com, is a page, “Donate to St. E Hospice.” On that page at the bottom is a link to the St. E hospice page where you can choose “other” and make a $5 gift. Yes, I do know what a pain giving online is, with all the information to fill out, but I hope you will see how awesome it is that you’re taking this time to help.  Directly below the money box is a drill down menu.  Please drill down and choose Walk with E. That allows us to track all the gifts we’re receiving through this effort. To date we’re at about $2,000 dollars which I think is wonderful. Thank you to all who have given!

Buen Camino

Today was a difficult and glorious day. The distance was 32+ kilometers, approximately 20 miles. After I add in the difficulty factor, I’m calling it a “gimme” at 20 miles. The first 17 kilometers were up and down, mostly up. I was expecting inclines of 30 to 35 degrees, think trolley car inclines in San Francisco. Turns out the pitch was only 15 to 20 degrees, which didn’t make them difficult, but they went on for miles. When I hit the town of Acebo, it was lunch time. I went ahead and stopped for fifteen minutes. During that time, I changed my socks, and inspected my feet. I had an orange, two petite almond pastries, a child’s juice box of pina (pineapple) and one-half a litre of water … hit the spot.
Expecting the second half of the day to be about the same, I was surprised when the trail turned very difficult. Instead of walking down smooth trails, the Camino became an old riverbed of exposed bedrock. It was uneven and littered with smaller rocks any one of which if stepped on could upend you and put you on your back before you realized what was happening. I had to use my walking poles to control my descent. Eventually made it to Molineseca, and after that I walked mostly on sidewalks and roadway. The road out of Molineseca climbed for at least two and one-half miles and when I finally got to the top, the Camino went off road again where I climbed for another three of four hundred yards. Eventually ended up on the road leading into Ponferrada, but when I got into town, there was noone around I could check my directions with. I just  followed the waymarks until I was just about out of town. I saw a young mother with two boys, and asked her if she could help me find my hotel (much sign language). She said something to her husband and then walked me to the front door of the hotel a block and a half away … my angel of mercy today.
At one point during todays walk I was reflecting on how me walking this “way” is not so different from the day you had. I have decided to call your day, “El Camino de tu vida”, “The Road of your life”. Even though I was surrounded by some of the most stunningly beautiful natural scenery I have personally ever seen, I was walking a path that was at times flat and easy, at times climbing and a little more difficult, but not dangerously so, sometimes downhill, but manageable, and sometimes extremely downhill, treacherous, and threatening to hurt me if I wsn’t paying close attention. How much different from your life today was that, really. I’ll wager that you had some easy walking, some slight uphill climbs, and maybe some gentle letdowns. Some of you had to fight spiraling in for a crash landing if you didn’t focus, pay attention and keep your head in the game. This is true for us everyday, no matter where we are on the planet . Sometimes we have strings of days where everyting goes well, but sooner or later, we’re going to have difficulties. “The Road of LIfe”. I would only suggest that when you find yourself on a difficult part of your walk, don’t forget that you have the experience and knowledge to get through the day. Believe in yourself. And as a Vietnamese lady told me right  after I had been diagnosed, “Trust God”. I have found this to be exceptionally good advice.  I don’t know exactly what tomorrow is going to bring, even though I have a guide book that tries to explain it to me. I get up in the morning and “trust” that I will have what I need to handle whatever situation I find myself in. The only thing I think we do on our Camino de tu vida that has any value is pay attention to others who are walking their Road of LIfe, and be helpful when and if we can.

Eric Miller writes: “I have worked with the staff and other volunteers at the St. Elizabeth Hospice Center since February of this year. I am in fact one of the newest volunteers there. I don’t feel like I do that much, but everyone who works there is always so good about thanking me (and all the volunteers) for giving our time to help. What started out as a ‘debt to be repaid’, has now become a labor of love for me”.

Please consider a gift of $5 to help this wonderful program. You can find the link on my website www.walkwithe.com. It’s at the bottom of the Donate to St. E hospice page. Please note under the “other” box where you put your amount, that you wish this to be recognized as Walk with E. I heard from Tina today at St. E Marketing group that we have received a little over $2,000.00 in gifts. This is FANTASTIC!!. Please help me spread this appeal from Bangor Maine, to Tacoma Washington. From San Diego California, to Key West Florida. From Bozeman Montana, to Corpus Christi Texas. I see so much positive energy happening on Facebook, that I have to believe we can keep reaching ever outward. Please consider asking your friends in other states to have a look at what we’re doing and consider helping. You all continue to amaze me with your love and support. Thank you.

Buen Camino,

First day on the road. I was determined not to wake up early, but that hasn’t been a reality since my oldest child (don’t worry Amanda, not going to snitch you out) used to sneak down the hallway three or four steps at a time in the middle of the night because she needed a snuggle. Eventually I would hear the soft “thunk” of her feet hitting the floor down the hallway, and would lie there waiting for her. Haven’t really slept long into the morning since then … yes, I did just pin it on her.
The day was downright chilly when I started at 8:30. I was glad I had layered up with a sleeveless tee and a short sleeved tee. About two hours later in the first little village we hit, and I say “we” because there were pilgrims ahead and behind me, I was able to peel down to the sleeveless tee only, and change my French Legionnaire hat for a bandana dew rag. The weather pulled in at a perfect 70 – 72 degrees with low humidity, and the walking was awesome. It was only a 22.65km day which is about 14mi. Got to Rabanal around 12:30 … a good walking day.
No major pilgrimage insights today. I was focused on making sure I stayed on the trail and didn’t step on any rocks and twist an ankle. There may be something in there, go get it.  I did notice that the countryside is absolutely spectacular. We were surrounded by low mountains, or high hills whichever you prefer. If there had been a 15,000ft. mountain behind these hills I wouldn’t have been able to tell this countryside from where I grew up in Colorado Springs. Tomorrow the stage is Rabanal to Ponterrada at 32.12km or 19.95mi for those of you who, like my lovely bride, want me to be precise (laughing at myself when I typed that. I am apparently a disciple of Spooner). While the next couple of stages seem to be the most challenging, I will get through them, and hopefully get myself settled into a good pace and walked into a little better shape. I’ve noticed in the past when I’ve gone on silent retreat at Furnace Mountain (a Zen monastery in the Red River Gorge area just east and a little south of Lexington) the first day and a half  seem to clear a lot of “toxins” out of the system, (mostly from my flexitarian diet) and by about the end of day two I start to get energy back and feel much better overall. Hoping this is the case here as well.

Marlene Carl RN writes: “I work as a staff nurse at the Ft. Thomas IPU (Inpatient Unit) on nights 11pm – 7am.  When my mother died of lung cancer in 1988, I began to search for work in a field that suited all my interests. I went to LPN school first and then later received my RN. Losing the ones you love is NEVER easy, but I feel I help make their end of life journey a little easier and more comfortable. At hospice we also work with the families of our patients, and help them understand the end of life process and then support them through this very difficult time”.

Please consider a gift of $5 dollars to support these saints who show up everyday and give their all to help our loved ones through this most difficult time of life’s journey. There is a link on the Donate to St. E Hospice page towards the bottom. If you’re reading this on Facebook, you’ll need to go to my website, www.walkwithe.com to find the Donate to St. E Hospice page. Put $5 in the other column and right under that drill down the menu and choose Walk with E.

Buen Camino

Had a deliberately slow day today. Slept in until around 7am and then drifted downstairs for coffee and some breakfast. I gotta tell you, if you knew how they eat over here, you’d be a little smoked at what we put up with … just sayin’
I wandered over to a little church about two blocks away for 11:00 mass. It was celebrated in Spanish, and even though I didn’t understand a word the priest was saying, it followed the order very accurately, and I found myself responding in English while all around me were responding in Spanish, and we were ending at the same time. Afterwards I suited up in walking gear and headed out of town to make sure I would recognize the signs to walk by and because I wanted to get a little bit of exercise in.
Turns out the trail is well marked. I walked about two and one-half miles out to what looked to be the trailhead, and came back. Felt good to stretch the legs. I got to thinking about how much I will be depending on this sign, this yellow arrow for the next two weeks. As long as I follow the trail, I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be. How much is that like our everyday lives. Truth be told, the trail we follow for life isn’t the same for everyone, but there are many things similar in each of our “trails”. Regardless of what career path we choose, it’s always helpful to be perceived as the guy/girl who gives the most helpful infomation with the least amount of nonsense. When you establish that reputation for yourself, I believe half of your career battle is won. When I was walking this morning, many times the arrows were spaced within blocks of each other so that I moved easily from arrow to arrow very sure of where I was going. A couple of times, the arrows were spaced far enough apart that I was just beginning to wonder if I had missed one, and was I still on the correct path. So too, as we follow the arrows of our individual paths sometimes they’ll be close together and you’ll be sailing, but sometimes they’ll spread out and you have to trust yourself that you haven’t strayed and are still on the path even though you may not have seen the “yellow arrow” for a little while. Keep doing what is good and true, and the arrow will show up. If you do get off the path,  you’ll know for certain and will work your way back to the correct path.

William Berry writes: When I returned from Iraq, I applied for every CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) position in the hospital. Hospice was the only department to call me back. I like to believe the reason is that Hospice was the place I was supposed to be. It is  a privilege to spend time with our patients and families as they go through the end off life process.

Please consider a gift of $5 to the St Elizabeth Hospice center. You can find the link on the Donate to St. E Hospice page at the bottom of the page. After you designate a gift of $5 use the menu right below to mark it as Walk with E. I know that together we can help make a difference for this wonderful organization. Thank you.

Buen Camino

Today was a travel day. I got up, got everything packed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Earlier this year, Nancy, Erin, and I spent two and a half weeks on a driving vacation. We drove from our home in Cincinnati, to Phoenix AZ to meet up with the Bobjuan, his wife and our friends Andy and Penny. From there we drove to the Sea of Cortez in the Sonorran dessert and spent a week in Rocky Point, (Puerto Penasco) a wonderfully sleepy little village where doing not much is the order of every day. The water is comfortably warm and you don’t often hear the Jaws theme … kidding.
From there we traveled back to Phoenix and then north through Colorado, stopping in Colorado Springs, and eventually home. We stayed in nice, reasonable, breakfast included motels, and it was the breakfast that they offer that I was expecting this morning. What I got instead was fresh croissants the size of a salad plate, fresh hams and cheeses, an assortment of fresh fruit, and coffee. No waffles, or oatmeal. If you know me, you know absolutely the way to  my heart goes right through my stomach. A good nights sleep, plus this breakfast, put my enthusiasm back in place. True confession time. Yesterday while walking around Santiago, I wasn’t sure if I was a pilgrim or a tourist. I was tired from the trip, and got a little low. But today, the sun is shining, and I was on a bus to my starting point at 10:00am … felt good.
The motor coach we travelled in was nicer than the Piper Cub we flew to Paris in. For those of you who don’t know, a Piper Cub is a two or four seater plane that people learn to be pilots in. I’m being ridiculously silly when I suggest that Delta would fly us to Paris in one. They actually use 6-seaters. I do have to figure out how to get home in one of these big land yachts (pronounced ya-chet) that I rode out to Astorga in.
Once here, I drifted around town determined to find my own way. Because this is a small town, I didn’t see any cabs, and not a lot of multilingual signage. I finally broke down and asked a young couple if they could help me. Contrary to my belief that all young people in Europe speak English, they did not. That said, we communicated by good old fashioned  sign language. Turns out I was mostly heading in the right direction. The hotel I am biletted in is right on the Mayor’s plaza. The plaza is ringed with shops and restaurants, and people. As I write this, I have my door open to the square and can hear people having a beer and talking, children playing, and couples enjoying each other’s company. It’s going on 8:00pm here, and after I finish this post, I am going to take a shower and head down for some supper. I noticed last night that people don’t even start coming out until around 9:00 for dinner. I suppose when nothing opens for business until 8 or 9 in the morning, and then closes for a couple of hours in the afternoon, there’s more energy left to enjoy the evening with your family and friends. Here’s my question for today. Why, oh why did we choose in America, to sacrifice the simple joys in life for bigger houses, nicer cars and more money? I know we didn’t do it intentionally in most cases, but done it we have … kinda sad
What would it look like, if we decided we had enough? If we started the process of reconnecting with our families, and friends. What would it look like to do with a little less stuff, so we could actually enjoy our lives, and by lives, I mean loves more fully?

Sherry Tillman shares: I am an admission/visit nurse. I became a nurse later in life, and did some of my clinical work with one of our current case managers. When preparing for my first clinical assignment, I was a little nervous and apprehensive. I expected everyone to be very sad. Turns out, my actual response was an almost spiritual experience. Families are so appreciative of the care we provided, This feeling stayed with me, and after a few years of floor nursing I was fortunate to get the opportunity to work as a hospice nurse. I truly believe that this is what I was meant to be, and do. I know that as God gives me strength, I will finish my career in nursing as a hospice nurse, and intend to volunteer, when I quit working.

If you haven’t yet, please consider a gift of $5 to the hospice center in Edgewood KY. There is a link on the page Donate to St. E Hospice. If you have given, thank you.

Buen Cmino

So I’m sitting at the airport in Cincinnati, looking at all the people who are on the 5:55p to Paris. Then I look at the end of the jetway expecting to see a six story 7gazillion77 jumbo jet, and the thought that goes through my head is “how are we all going to fit in that Piper Cub”? Turns out we did all fit, although everytime the guy sitting next to me wiggled his fingers, I got a back rub … not necessarily complaining.

I was nervous about getting through Charles DeGaulle because I know how big this airport is. When I went to get my suitcase, however, there was an employee there in a red sport coat, who gave me very detailed instruction on where to go to catch the train, and where to get off. I ended up at my connector flight with plenty of time to spare. It was a bit odd sitting in the terminal waiting to catch my flight to Spain and realizing that I may as well never have gone to school for all the good my American education was doing me. I couldn’t speak the language, couldn’t read, and with no wi-fi, couldn’t delegate my thinking to my phone … very humbling.

I arrived in Santiago after sailing over an ocean of clouds so dense you would swear the plane could just stop and everybody hop out and have a picnic. As we dropped through the cloud cover, I was blown away by how stunning the countryside looked. I was picked up as promised by a gentleman named Luis and between the two of us working at it had a good conversation into town. Santiago de Compostela is a town with a total population of about 125,000. Looks big, but has a nice “small” vibe to it. Because I was afraid I was going to lay down and not get up until tomorrow morning, I decided to take a spin around town to stretch the legs. I tried to avoid it, but ended up at St. James Cathedral. I ended up going in and walking around a little. I wanted to see it now, and note how it felt, so I can compare it two weeks from now. I took a picture of the incense brazier you see swinging wildly in the movie “The Way”, but am having trouble uploading media … could be worse.

After taking in the cathedral, I started just drifting through the side streets. It’s exactly what you would expect, narrow streets, many converted to pedestrian walkways. One  thing that ended up being an unexpected surprise, every 75 feet or so is a small bakery. I was a bit nervous about going into a restaurant and trying to order with my non-existent language skills, but these were small, and I could point. I ended up in a small park on a bench enjoying some local bakery goods, and just trying to take it all in. Even as I know that there is no “magic” way to be a pilgrim, I kept finding myself thinking, should it be THIS easy? No doubt it will get interesting in the next couple of weeks, but today, it’s all good.

Michelle Motz shares her story: I am an RN at the Inpatient Unit, dayshift. I have worked here since May of 2007. I consider myself to be a very spiritual person and have felt called to help others at the end of life. I felt this call long before I actually became a hospice nurse. It can be sad, seeing this much death, but I find joy in helping the sick during their final days pass with dignity, peace, and comfort. Helping families through this difficult time is also rewarding. Grief can be hard to deal with, but having nurses who care definitely helps ease the pain.

If you haven’t done so yet, please consider going to the Donate to St. E Hospice page and make a small gift of $5. You put that amount in the other box, and right below that hit the drill down button and choose Walk with E. I thank you.

Buen Camino

Thursday morning. Flight leaves at 5:55pm. All the clothes and gear are laid out on the bed and I’m trying to figure out what it is I WILL leave behind. Never gone on a trip where I didn’t forget something.  As long as it’s not my passport, I’m not going to worry about it too much. Today all I’m going to say is THANK YOU. Thank you to all of you who have started reading this blog and sharing it with others. Thank you to everyone following on Facebook. Thank you to everyone who has sent me positive energy, good thoughts and prayers. Thank you to the folks who have made a gift to me, or more importantly St. Elizabeth Hospice Services.
My heart is overflowing this morning with gratitude for life, the opportunity to go on this pilgrimage, and most especially for all of you. Please keep me in your hearts and help me to spread the word as far and wide around this old pebble as we can. I can’t help but believe there are hundreds of thousands of people just within our own shores who would help if they only knew. For now I leave with this thought. Take a little time today to make a positive difference in someones life. Grab an extra cup of coffee for a co-worker, pat your wife’s tush and tell her you appreciate everything she does for your family, tell your husband you appreciate that he works hard for your family. Tell your kids you’re proud of the way they work hard in school, and you think they’re pretty cool. Tell your parents you love them. Be good to each other, we’re all we’ve got.

Buen Camino

E

A couple of days ago my thirteen year old asked me what “T minus” meant. I got to explain the old space program and how they counted down, “T minus 60 seconds, T minus 45 seconds, T minus 10 seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, we have ignition, Houston we have lift off” Pretty exciting stuff when you’re a teenager. I remember my parents church interrupting services so we could all go to the fellowship hall and watch the first lunar landing. Now I’m not saying my upcoming departure will be that dramatic, but it’s kinda starting to feel that way to me … getting excited.
Today was a treatment day for me. I am currently undergoing my second protocol of chemotherapy. Instead of one treatment every other week, I now go three weeks on and one week off. The treatments don’t take 48 hours, I’m done in three, but these treatments have been taking a bit of a heavier toll. It’s gotten better as I’ve gotten used to them, but every week promises to be an adventure. I’m actually experiencing side effects where I didn’t on the first protocol. By far my favorite has been all the hair on my head and face falling out. I am the polar opposite of the photo of me on the site. Fortunately, I’ve worn my hair shaved off before, so, to quote Mike Meyer, “no big whoop”.
Fortune has smiled on us. The Cincinnati Enquirer should be publishing an article Wednesday about my trip, and most importantly, calling attention to the Hospice Center. I have an interview scheduled with Channel 9 on Wednesday at 11am, and I’m hoping to get the word out about the Hospice Center region wide. We’ve created a new Facebook page where I am a “public person” so you don’t need to friend me to see the posts. It’s Walk with E.  Been a highly productive week, and I feel like all I’m doing is showing up. Recalls a line by the great bodhisattva Yogi Berra, who allegedly said, “80 per cent of success is just showing up”. Working on laundry and packing. I will be using a great deal of Dri-Fit clothing, which will allow me to do laundry every day while I take a shower. Note to my cousin Suzi. The travel underwear is awesome. For those of you who like me three days ago had never heard of such a thing, travel underwear are lined with some sort of silver emulsion that repels bacteria. You wear them into the shower and wash the outside while washing your body, take them off, drop a little shampoo inside, scrubby, scrubby, scrubby by hand, rinse thoroughly, wring out by hand, hang over the shower rod and they are dry two hours later … technology that’s helpful.

I continue to be amazed, and grateful for all the support that continues to come my way. Regardless of where this journey goes, the ride so far has been spectacular. Here’s wishing you a good journey.

Buen Camino

Houston, we have contact! And, by contact, I mean, my blog is now “officially” talking to my Facebook page. It is very exciting!  By the time I leave, we may just have this all figured out. (At least I hope we do.)

So, check me out on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WalkwithE

More to come!