When Cancer Strikes
Everything changes in an instant
For the first time, I understand the Yiddish saying: “Man plans and G-d laughs.” In the fall of 2021, my wife and I thought we had it made. We sold our North Carolina home for more than we ever thought possible, bought a small one-bedroom in Green Valley, AZ, as a home base, and headed to Mazatlán, Mexico.
My money worries were eliminated when one of the hospitals in Mazatlán began referring people ages 65 and older to me to discuss Medicare. Suddenly, my client list was growing, and with it, my income. Semi-retirement looked great!
And then, things began to change. First, my wife had surgery to correct a hiatal hernia. Then, in December of 2022, I began to have pain in my legs. That turned out to be spinal stenosis and required surgery. I have written about that mess in other articles. Long story short, 2023 was a lost year.
As we began 2024, my wife and I had grand plans. And in the beginning, everything went as planned. We took a few trips, had our son spend time with us, followed by our granddaughter, and started building a social life in Green Valley. We had a good income, we were healthy, we moved into a larger home, and our savings account was growing.
