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By Lisa Adcox
Last October 25th changed our lives. My husband, Rick, had a stroke and life got turned upside down. We were workamping in Mission, TX, and boom! It happened.
Rick was a very healthy man. He was very active, but the stroke didn’t care. Life got crazy. Hospitals and doctors in your life can be stressful. Suddenly my active workaholic husband no longer could do things he loved in the park. He was the head maintenance man. He upgraded electrical boxes, plumbing and any other issues that came along. Also, he was involved in the Helping Neighbors program in the park. We had made friends and decided to make this park our home base. The owner and manager were happy because they now had a maintenance man there 12 months a year.
Suddenly he couldn’t do what was needed. The other park employees were beyond supportive. We could not have done it without them.
Then it came time to make a hard decision. Should we go back closer to our family or not? Our kids were really guilting us to come back to TN, so after hospitals, doctors, and therapy, we decided to leave TX. It was a very hard decision. Other workampers and guests stepped up to help us get ready to move. Then, friends we met early on when starting our workamping experience came to help us get our travel trailer home since my husband couldn’t drive after his stroke.
Next was saying goodbye to friends we made and to the lifestyle we love. We shed lots of tears. Now, after being away for four years, we are back in our hometown in a house closer to our family. It’s been a big adjustment.
I am so happy we jumped into full-time RVing and got this experience when we did. We met so many many wonderful people along the way. We have some that are lifetime friends. How lucky to have seen so many beautiful places in the U.S.!
Now, I am thinking I may have another big goodbye coming. We have sold our truck and are selling our travel trailer. The tiny home we love. We hope the new owners will love it as much as we do.
If you are procrastinating going full-time and find yourself saying “someday,” well, someday may pass you up. We have wonderful memories and friends we met living this lifestyle. Maybe one day we will meet more if Rick’s health gets better. He is doing great but still has a long way to go. I hope to continue reading here and seeing all the fun things others are doing. Stay safe everyone.
Also by Lisa:
- Plans change. What do you do as a sick full-time RVer?
- Letter to the editor: Why it’s important to have a plan in case of a health scare
- Full-time RV living: What do you do with 30+ years of accumulated “stuff”?
Related:
I’ve met far too many couples that made plans for retirement, just to loose one part of the pair in less than a year. RVing or not, make sure to share love and find enjoyment together.
We are on our newest adventure. AirBnB. We are loving it. Meeting people traveling across country or working in area. We are meeting people who are traveling while we are the stationary ones.
UPDATE:: We sold our RV and the couple that purchased it have became our new friends. They love it as much as we do.
So as you see, we are writing that new chapter in our lives. Rick is doing great. Taking it day by day.
At 49, I was healthy and very active as Rick was. I had a stroke and it turned our lives upside down. I lost some vision and short term memory which affects your cognitive development. Had to learn how to read again, but With the exception of the eyesight, I was back to 90% after roughly 2yrs. Retired in 2020 with a package, sold the house in January of 2022 and now we are both full timers at 58 because I got a 2nd chance. My wife of 32 years stuck by me through it all. You need to nurse Rick back to health and we will see you down the road.
I am working on just that. Healing him.
Yes. My husband’s stepmom had MS and died in her fifties. My father in law died at 65, unexpectedly.
Make time now. Even if it is only a few long weekends – if you want to camp, do it. If you want to go to music festivals, do that.
This is so true. My wife and I planned on retirement at 50. Unfortunately cancer took her from me almost 10 years ago now. We did have the type of relationship where we were able to tell each other everything. Her last wish to me was to continue the RV lifestyle. Then 70 days after hitting the road I suffered a minor stroke. I never have regretted for a minute leaving the corporate world to enjoy the RV lifestyle over the last 9 years. Just like y’all said, don’t procrastinate
Wishing you many more happy days together discovering new adventures.
Sorry to hear Rick had a stroke. Everyday is a gift and we need to enjoy life. When camping I’ve wondered what would happen to me should I pass away, have a hearth attack, stroke or take sick. All of which is my family history. Wife could never drive towing my camper. Have AAA RV coverage and hope they’d tow my camper home or some good people will help her. Hopefully, things will work out and God bless you.
You’ll be lucky if AAA even shows up to jump a battery. Sounds like this is a wakeup call to do something besides ‘wonder’. Teach her to hitch and drive while you are both still healthy. She can always find help for the tricky back-ins, but not for making a long highway drive. And take out some medical flight coverage.
Couples keep assuming death happens to other people. It doesn’t. No marriage has a happy ending; either there is a divorce or someone dies. If you love her, make some contingency plans for the day one of you dies, and for illness too. For her part, I’ll bet she needs to train you on a few things you’d be lost about if she were gone.
Great article Lisa, and you are right. Life can take unexpected turns, don’t count on carrying on ‘normally’ forever.
Please join FMCA. They have a program which gets you and your rig home if you have a medical emergency. The program has other benefits too. Membership is very inexpensive and sure give me peace of mind when we’re on the road. Please don’t count on AAA anything! They are cutting benefits like crazy.
Wow, you guys have been through some major changes in the last year! I’m glad your husband is improving and hope that continues.
I couldn’t agree more about the “someday” comment. My husband developed a type of dementia when he was only 54. We had always planned on retiring early to travel. We did retire early, but it was forced on us by illness. My husband passed 4 years ago and I have found joy with a fantastic RVer. We are now full time. The moral of my story is that you NEVER know what life holds. Don’t put off too long; tomorrow may not come.
Health makes a difference. We traveled a lot during the summer until I got congestive heart failure and required a big change in our life style. We still some travel but only days instead of weeks. Also home projects are done in a slower manner.