I’ve always had the question asked about “what if‘ when it comes to full-timing. One of the biggest what if questions has been about medical emergencies and what would you do if you had a serious incident or health situation. Well really it’s no different than if you are living the conventional lifestyle as I found out personally. In fact in many ways the full-time lifestyle made the difficult times easier. Many commented that it would be disastrous if they were away from “home”. Well in my case it proved to be beneficial since my home was with me. Here’s a small excerpt from my recently published book that gives a keener insight into what can happen and how a full-timer deals with it and a little more personal peek into the life of the Firedude……
“One big question arises all the time and that is what happens if a catastrophic or major health issue arises while on the road, etc…? Well, to me anyway, it’s no different than if you lived in a conventional home. I even often wondered about that myself, but said hey, I’m only 55 and the wife 60 so that shouldn’t be an issue
for some time. Wrong! In early 2007 I was diagnosed with a Parotid tumor in my neck. This resulted in a 5 hour operation to remove the tumor and thankfully it was benign! No it was not the end of the world being a full-timer. In fact I found being a full-timer made my recovery much easier and me more comfortable. Due to
the fact initially I had a tube coming out of my neck I had to sleep in my recliner for the first several nights home. The bathroom was a mere few steps away and most everything actually was just a few steps away. There were no major concerns or issues at all as some think or fear. It was overcome as if I was living in a conventional home and actually easier.
It was only about 2 months after my recovery that my wife was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Cancer of the uterus. This required 2 surgeries. The first being a D and C to diagnose the cancer. We were then referred to a specialist Dr. Scott Eisnekop in Thousand Oaks, Ca. He was one of the leading GYN/Oncologists in this area of cancer. This resulted in relocating to the area of Thousand Oak, Ca. I found a piece of property to dry camp on near the hospital thanks to some very generous people I knew. We simply pulled up stakes and headed south to Thousand Oaks. I feared this would be the end of my camp hosting career and the loss of my home on the beach. I was wrong. The rangers told me you go down there, get your wife taken care of and bring her home well. Your home will be waiting for you and we’ll find someone who can fill in on a temporary basis. That in itself was a big relief. Off we went. We spent several days before her pre-op appointment visiting with friends and some of our RV.net family. They were all great and offered tremendous help and support. My wife had major radical abdominal surgery (hysterectomy) and following treatment. We spent nearly 5 weeks down there and fortunately she has fully recovered without an ounce of chemo or any radiation. Well, to me, being a full-timer made it all easier on her and me. I was able to be nearby and not have the huge expense of a motel or apartment for 5 weeks. Meals were cheaper as I ate at “home” and there were no long trips or commute. That’s one tremendously good thing about full-timing, having your home with you wherever you go. I didn’t feel so out of place and was able to also care for my 2 dogs and not have the expense (or trauma to them) of having to put them in a kennel. I can’t imagine the nightmare this all would have been had we still been in our conventional home and had to deal with all this. It would have been financially excruciating not to mention a logistical nightmare. In reality besides what my poor wife went through, it was all so easy in as far as the logistics. Thank God for my home on wheels.” (end of excerpt)
I have found that many of the fears, unknowns and “what ifs” of full-timing have been washed away over the last 6 years. I also find that with today’s economy and my own personal life the lifestyle has made things easier for me and less costly. Full-timing is not all fun and games as I found out . You still have to deal with the issues and situations life throws at you and in my own case full-timing and having my home with me has seemed to have made it all easier. More of the “What If’s in part 2….