Nearly five months after the collision in Italy, we are returning to Europe to resume our trip, but without our bikes for now. While Paul continues to improve with the able support of his GP, neurosurgeon and physiotherapist, he has been advised that a full recovery may take up to 12 months. Neuropathic and musculo-skeletal symptoms continue to be managed with gradually reduced levels of pain medication. We are hoping this can soon be eliminated. It will likely also take some time for both of us to no longer relive the experience daily. However, we are anxious to get back to some sort of “normal”, which for us at the moment is being in travel mode.

We very much appreciated the opportunity this enforced break gave us to reconnect with friends and family and to spend precious time with our children and grandchildren in Vancouver (now Victoria) and Paris. We were pleased to be around to see our daughter and family get settled in their new home and neighbourhood in Victoria, which also prompted us to sell our Vancouver condo, with the expectation that we will follow them to Victoria on our return to Canada. So, if we weren’t feeling sufficiently dislocated with the interruption of our world trip, we have added a self-imposed sense of rootlessness!

After a day of recovering from jet jag in Nice, we will travel by train to Pietra Ligure, Italy, where we will meet up with the emergency medicine specialist who took care of Paul and who has texted us twice to follow up on his recovery! We will then carry on to Finale Ligure, our planned destination of last May 10.  While we are still working out a revised itinerary, we plan to spend a month in Italy before heading further east in Europe. The increased flexibility of travelling without our bikes and the approaching fall in Europe are new factors to consider in planning, along with the need to ensure a level of fitness and well-being that we normally enjoy from being on our bikes all day.

Meanwhile, Parkinson’s Disease will be uppermost in our minds as we think of our friends in Vancouver and continue to raise awareness of the disease wherever possible and encourage donations for PD programs and research (Please see “Donate” button below). We are thrilled that the film “Never Steady, Never Still” written and directed by our talented young friend Kathleen Hepburn has had such positive reviews following its premiere at TIFF and now, at VIFF. Marg de Grace, the dear friend behind our PD fundraising efforts, is Kathleen’s mother.