Recovering from Train Show

I think I can safely say that everyone enjoyed themselves at the Amherst Railway Society Train Show this year. Of everyone in the group, I probably had the most problems and even I enjoyed myself.

I've been quietly recovering at home this week.  My week has involved sleeping, showering and cooking meals for myself and dinners for Sheila and Adam.  I'm still not 'myself' but I am slowly recovering. This will be a tougher recovery than usual because I had such serious health issues over our long weekend.

We arrived at the hotel Friday evening and we gathered in the bar/lounge of the hotel for dinner and a few drinks. That was a nice little party and I do believe everyone had a lot of fun!  

Later in the evening, shortly after going to bed, I had some sudden health issues related to my mast cell disease, Systemic Mastocytosis.  I'm not going to get into the disgusting details, but I will say it was not pleasant and it kept me awake most of the night.  Needless to say, my energy level was quite low on Saturday for the show.  I really had no business going to the show on Saturday after my sleepless, nauseating night but I had been looking forward to the show for a full year so I just couldn't stay behind at the hotel while everyone else headed to the show.  My health was right on the cusp of whether I should wander from the room or not.  I took a chance and went to the show with everyone.

I was loaded up with emergency medication and extra medications so that helped stabilize my health enough to enjoy a few hours of the show.  Unfortunately, my spinal injuries seem to be getting worse and this is what really caused an early end to our day.  We left the show at lunchtime because I could hardly stand anymore and the pain was unbearable.  (Actually, for the first time in my life, I was seriously thinking that I might need a wheelchair for events like this.) We ended up leaving the show very early and headed to a nearby restaurant for a nice lunch and then back to the hotel where I managed to get some sleep before everyone returned from the show.

My much needed afternoon nap was interrupted by a barking dog in the next room... Needless to say, I was not too pleased with La Quinta's policy of being a "pet friendly" hotel. (We had some other problems with the hotel which can be seen here - La Quinta, Good and Bad.) Before the barking started in the next room, I did manage to squeeze in an hour-long nap. That, combined with all the extra medications I had been taking, turned out to be enough rest to make it a halfway decent night after some initial health problems.  

We had plans to go to a nice German Festhaus for dinner...  we actually did go to the restaurant but my health was no longer cooperating.  The restaurant was hot... very hot... and I do not do well in warm environments even on a good day. I was already feeling rather lousy, healthwise (Systemic Mastocytosis - not spinal related, this time), so the hot restaurant really affected me quickly and severely.  Before we were even seated, we excused ourselves and headed back to the hotel.  After a bit more epinephrine and some other emergency medications, my health stabilized enough, again, to enjoy everyone's company for the night in our room.  

Our time at the train show on Sunday was nice.  My spine was feeling a bit better...  I was traveling a little lighter this day (because of my spinal problems the day before)... and my health was a bit more stable. The show was really nice and we managed to see just about everything at the show, albeit entirely too quickly.  

I had planned to buy a few model railroading things at the show but had difficulty finding what I was hoping to find in our segmented visits to the show. I'll just have to do some internet shopping over the next few days while I continue to recover!

Okay, I need to head to bed and get more sleep.  Tomorrow morning we'll be at the hospital for one of Sheila's regular checkups in Oncology and I need to be as rested as possible in order for my health to hold up...  then again, we'll be at a hospital, so...

Anyway, here are a few photos from our first evening of the weekend for the train show...  hope you enjoy!

Adam and Matt had the pool to themselves that first night...

Sheila and Tonnya scrolling through the menu for dinner while at the bar/lounge in the hotel...

The hotel lobby as seen from the bar area of the lobby...

Sheila wanted a drink and this is what Sheila's dad chose for her...
I believe, simply because of the name...
Someday, Mackenzie will appreciate this...

Frank, Christine, George and Barbara...

The view from our room, overlooking at Cathedral...