Naples, at last!

Our 2011 Florida trip did not happen as planned. In mid-January, Lynn's routine dermatology exam turned up a suspicious dark spot next to her right eye, which was identified through biopsy as a malignant melanoma. In situ, thank goodness, which meant that only the top layer of skin was affected. Since it was so close to her eye, she was referred to a specialist in Greensboro NC for surgery. The earliest appointment we could get was on Tuesday, February 8.

Surgery went well, but the excision was more extensive than we expected.  We couldn’t leave for Florida until after the sutures were removed on February 17, and Lynn wouldn’t have wanted to leave any sooner than that, anyway! She looked quite a mess, even though each day brought improvement.

Our schedule changes meant scrapping a planned FL visit from Lynn's sister and brother-in-law, and cancelling our Myakka River camping reservations. John and Cathy Ney, who swap their Naples condo for time in our Blacksburg house, were fine with a shorter exchange. We left Blacksburg on February 16, spent the night in Greensboro, had the sutures removed on Thurs morning, and headed straight south.

We arrived in Naples in the late afternoon on Friday, in time for one of Cathy's scrumptious meals. We did a lot of catching up in a short time, and the Neys left for Blacksburg on Saturday morning.

It's been a lazy few days. Lynn looks each day for some reduction in the swelling of her surgery site. It's improving, but not fast enough to suit her. Her eyes get tired quickly, so we've done a good job of lying around the condo, reading and napping. The weather has been spectacular - daily highs in the low to mid-80s, and nighttime lows in the 60s. We sure don't miss the cold!