7/22/2012        Update for Clients - Health and Business Issues

THANK YOU - We are truly blessed to work for and be friends with so many kind and caring people. The thoughts, prayers, understanding and encouragement from you has been phenomenal. It has made our days so much easier knowing that you understand, and our nights a little more "sleepable".

We are truly sorry that we haven't sent out an update sooner, but between routine homewatch (including service calls for problematic ACs, appliances, and roof leaks) and medical testing we have been "time constrained".

Bob feels exactly as he did six months ago. There are few if any noticeable changes (possible a little more tired, but we attribute that more to the aches and pains of arthritis than to the current issue).

The Good News - There is no conclusive bad news yet. We have now seen five MDs, four remain seriously concerned and one seemed somewhat uninterested. All have suggested further testing, but none of the testing to date has been sufficiently conclusive either way, although the truncated brush biopsy of the pancreatic duct was negative (which encouraged all that if there is a malignancy it is very early).

What's Next - We have another consult at the Moffitt Center in Tampa on Thursday to talk about the next round of testing - an endoscopic ultrasound of the pancreas and surrounds. They will do needle biopsies and try to place stents again if they confirm the CT results. The actual procedure will be sometime after the consult, so it will be another one day trip.

The Business - We are continuing to do ALL homewatch duties on a somewhat altered schedule. We tend to work longer days to give us the time for medical testing or consults. The longer days are not a burden, but they are a bit warmer - we normally try to be back in air conditioning earlier in the day. We have been a little irregular in our phone calls, especially with those people near the ends of our routes. Please be assured that whenever we find something you will get a call and/or e-mail immediately. In fact, this year has started off to be a particularly active season. We have already found 6 ACs out or needing service, 2 roof leaks, 1 pool pump, and a refrigerator that was taken out by a lightning strike power surge.

Contingency Planning - Just in case we need to, we have a list of homewatch providers in the area that we could turn to take over the business, but we DO NOT see that as a immediate possibility. We will NOT make any changes without notifying you and providing you with options.

Communication Update - Our website      http://bobonthejob.us/      has a blog that we originally hoped to use as an alternate means of communicating in case of hurricanes or other major issues. We will be posting these updates on that blog. You can always check it manually, or if you choose  you can subscribe to it by entering your e-mail address. You would then be notified whenever an update occurs.

THANK YOU AGAIN - Your thoughts and prayers mean so much to us. We are confident that your support can and will make a difference. The ability to go off and do homewatch and routine tasks takes our minds off the infinite possibilities and the attempts to calculate incalculable probabilities. Thank you for your continuing trust, faith, prayers, and wishes.

Marj and Bob

Dear Homewatch Clients –

Yesterday we learned that Bob has a pancreatic mass and will be undergoing a series of tests, starting today, to further define the scope of the situation.  Although we do not yet have a final diagnosis, it has been made clear to us that this is a serious situation that will require time and attention.  At this point we plan to continue "life as normal" as much as possible, but are arranging for back-up for the "abnormal" times that will probably be coming.

All homewatch inspections will be covered by us this week, and we are currently making arrangements for coverage for the rest of the homewatch season.

As these plans are solidified we will write explaining how this will occur.  We are truly sorry for any inconvenience and disruptions that might result from this situation, but we are sure that you understand that this is beyond our control.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and we will continue to keep you informed as soon as we are able.  Thank you for your understanding.

Bob and Marj

Smoke Detector Battery Issues - fall 2011 battery change

We, for the first time, tried purchasing the Lowe's house brand batteries rather than a name brand from Costco.

Since October  we have been getting sporadic calls about chirping smoke detectors. At first we simply replaced single batteries as they failed. As we became more suspicious of the battery quality we began changing all batteries in a home when one failed. Unfortunately, we did not keep track of whose batteries had been changed out, still thinking that it was probably a single package of bad batteries.  We have now had enough failures that we are offering to replace batteries at your convenience for no charge. Call us to schedule an appointment if we have not already changed yours as a result of this problem.

Not all problems will be solved by changing batteries. Smoke detectors have a life expectancy of 10 years based on the product manuals accompanying new smoke detectors. 

We have a claim in to Lowe's, but at present they are still selling their UtiliTech brand batteries. They  maintain that these were isolated incidents, and to date have only offered to refund batteries that we bring back in. We feel the problem is bad enough that we will absorb our labor and the cost of new batteries.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

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