Phannie

Phannie
Photo taken near Monument Valley, Utah

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

So Close, But So Far...

 At Majestic Pines RV Park, Willis, Texas...

We have moved near Conroe, Texas, but still trying to stay as far away from the Houston madness (and Covid) as possible. It has been excruciating to be so close to our family for weeks and not be able to see them due to Mindy's constant exposure to Covid as a nurse. But we have a plan for Christmas, involving all sorts of safeguards; can't wait!

Meanwhile, we have been catching up on seemingly endless medical checkups and Sandy's foot surgery, which has her pretty much immobile and has resulted in my new job as a housewife/nurse. I do it gladly, though; she has seen me through two surgeries, and it's hard to imagine having to recover without a thoughtful spouse to help with those things we can't do for ourselves. 

Unfortunately, her foot surgery was brutal, as the surgeon nearly had to rebuild it. She hadn't been injured; part of her problems stemmed from bunion surgery 40 years ago that was done using primitive methods that are not practiced now. This allowed her toes and metatarsals to become deformed--in essence, lapping over each other--and, thusly, becoming very painful. On the same foot, she had a large bone spur that was also removed during the surgery. I have some photos of her foot when they changed the bandage after the first week, but the pictures are just too gruesome to show here. I'll just include this one, which is the position she will mainly occupy for several weeks:


This photo was taken in Phannie only a couple of days after the surgery, and, as you can see, Sandy has a notably unstylish protective boot that she must wear for several weeks. The bag around her neck is a pump that periodically injects pain medication into the affected area. That she could manage any kind of smile in this photo was amazing. The empty recliner is mine, and the nearby computer--a Dell all-in-one--is where I'm writing this post right now.

If you're wondering how Sandy climbed the six steps into the coach, it took a few tries, ending with the use of her climbing on all-fours. I wanted desperately to take a video of this spectacle but, unfortunately, she knows where we keep the firearms and threatened to use them if I dared do such a thing.  

As I write this, the election is over and the winner declared by the press. I have learned over the years to keep this blog as apolitical as possible, but I'm pretty sure I won't be watching much TV news for the next four years. Instead, I'm going to enjoy being with family (soon, I hope) and friends and figuring out how we are going to transition from fulltiming to part-timing. We have some ideas, but Sandy's recovery from surgery will be mostly on our minds for quite a while. I'll check some reliably honest Internet news sites to keep up with events.

In a previous post, I mentioned my bad knees, but I'm going to put off that surgery as long as possible. Every six months, I get knee injections that supplement the missing collagen, and that helps immensely. My day of reckoning is coming, I'm afraid, but it will be well after Sandy is back up to full speed. I hope any young folks reading this blog will try to appreciate more keenly the gifts of youth while they can. It will not always be so, unfortunately, in your sunset years. It's pretty cool to have attained a lot of wisdom as I have aged, but I wouldn't mind being stupid for a while if I could do some of the things I used to be able to do.

We spent three weeks in the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, and we are now out for a week, which is one of the membership requirements at our level. Except in our case, we will not be able to return to TT until late December due to heavy bookings. It seems that RVs have been deemed the ultimate Covid escape, and RV parks haven't kept pace with the demand for parking for all the new units being bought by the public. We'll probably find a park in a different location not far away to hang out for a month until we can go back to Lake Conroe TT.

I think we're just going to try to forget 2020 and hope 2021 will better for all of us. We'll give you an update with any changes that take place. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 
please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it each day as I should.

We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing. 
 ---George Bernard Shaw

"I get up every morning, and I just don't let the old man in." ---Clint Eastwood










14 comments:

  1. Mike, I'm SO happy to hear that Sandy's complicated surgery is behind her. The journey to complete recovery may not go as quickly as she would like but, with you by her side, she'll have plenty of laughs - at your nursing skills, at your housekeeping efforts, at your holiday shopping and gift wrapping dilemmas. You do realize, don't you, that her surgery and subsequent recovery were timed to provide her with maximum rest and relaxation at the busiest time of the year? That Sandy is a wise woman, always thinking. She has exceptional planning and scheming skills, and you fell right into her trap, my friend. (Good job, Sandy!) All I can say to you, Mike, is carry on. Oh, and will you please bring Sandy another glass of iced tea?

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    1. This nefarious screed of yours proves what I have thought all along: Women are all tuned in to some sort of cosmic frequency--something like a dog whistle that men can't hear. I've been had. Thanks (not) for pointing it out!

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  2. So thankful my friend has a wonderful love to take care of her.

    Can't wait to hear the details and upcoming plans for your transition.

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    1. Thanks, Janice. We're looking forward to our visit.

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  3. Although laid up for a while as she recoups, I'm sure Sandy is so grateful to have the surgery over with. And you too. At the end of it all, you can move on more planning before you are the one in the chair. :)
    Take care and stay well!

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    1. Thank you, Patsy. I don't think either of us knew a foot could be so troublesome. Our best always.

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  4. Recovery is so frustrating especially when you've never been so dependent. But happy to hear the surgery is behind her and now its up to you to make sure she doesn't over do it. The voice of experience. Spent four looong months in casts and a wheelchair when I broke my ankle and ruptured my Achilles Tendon. But the two of you make a great team and this too shall pass. Hapoy to hear you will be able to enjoy family at Christmas.

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    1. Thank you for the encouragement. This has been a bigger deal than we thought, but you're right--this, too, shall pass.

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  5. Good to hear that Sandy is on the downhill (or maybe downmountain) side of her foot issues. Regards your last paragraph, I don't think anybody will forgot 2020, but I will bet at the end of the year almost everybody will be celebrating the "old man year" leaving!

    Also, your apparent FEAR of Covid and the subsequent avoidance of being where you can catch is shared by many...…… especially me! We are avoiding large family gatherings, local club rallies (everything they do is group activity with a lot of laughter and excited talking which spews the little moisture particles all over the place...……. just not worth the risk.

    Wishing Sandy the best!

    Richard & Patsy

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    1. Amen, Richard; this has been a year to forget! I'm not sure what to believe about the virus, but I don't think it's a good idea for older folks to get it. Patsy's not a problem, but you should never leave the house. LOL

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  6. Sometimes landings don’t go as planned and a tire blew on take-off which caused other problems.Any landing you can walk away from is a good one. Stay safe.

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    1. Good thought. If this is the worst thing that happens, we are truly lucky. All our best, my friend.

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  7. Get yourself some collagen powder to add to your morning coffee/tea. Daily use will benefit those knees. My daughter had both her knees rebuilt and the surgeon made her supplement before and after surgery on that 2nd knee and she said she wished the doc who did the first knee would have made her use the supplement. Get it at Amazon, it is Collagen Peptides, in a black jar.

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    1. First I've heard of this, but I am intrigued. Gonna look it up when I finish writing this. Thanks for the suggestion!

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