Well here I am again. . .

It's been several weeks since I have blogged. Fortunately, Terry has taken up the pen and done the duty for me. Much like he has done everything else for the past couple months.

My back surgery was March 24. I don't know what I was expecting, but suffice to say, I got more than I wanted! Pain that is. I had multiple, I think maybe four rods placed, along with what looks like six screws and two cages. The doctor's comment was, "She's not gonna feel like doing much of anything for the first month." Truer words were never spoken. But pretty much one month after surgery I was doing well and much of the pain had subsided. Pain pills are a godsend I must say.

We started walking the week after my surgery. At first I would do 3/4 to 1 mile. We walked the Washington Square Mall. That's is very close to where we are camped and they open for mall walkers at 9 a.m. We've also walked Castleton and Greenwood Park Malls. The last two are still pretty decent malls. Washington Square is dying and it truly is a tragedy that yet another of the icons of years gone by are fading away. I suspect within a few years that mall will be gone. We are now walking two miles in the malls in the morning and in the afternoons we walk Duchess usually on two half-mile walks around the campground.

As the weeks rolled on, the pain diminished and at about five weeks the surgery pain was pretty much gone. This is the last pain to leave. . . it's the one at the base of your spine. I kid you not, every time I would move, change positions, or get up out of bed or a chair, it felt like someone took a butcher knife and stabbed me in the back. That's as close as I can come to describing the pain. And this pain was there even with pain pills. I can honestly say I was starting to get a little depressed, so we planned a few little outings to keep things interesting.

Riding in the car is a challenge. Short hops are fine; but we have made two trips up north to see family and after two hours, things start aching. I still am taking the occasional pain pill for moments like that. My legs get "restless" and my butt starts to hurt. I did buy some gel cushions for in the car and those are helping. I also wear my back brace in the car and that helps. I'm guessing it helps to stabilize my back.

It's now seven weeks post surgery and I still have the same restrictions. Basically I can't do anything. I am up though and I have driven some, if I haven't taken a pain pill. Picking things up off the floor is difficult because I can't bend. I help with dishes, but I not supposed to do things with repetitive motions. I don't do things every day, but occasionally I help set the table, etc. It feels good to be a team again and I don't overdo it. Terry keeps a watchful eye and will remind me. He's getting me back for all the times I "remind" him about stuff he's not supposed to do. LOL

Saturday we will be leaving Indy KOA and heading north. We are spending a couple nights in Warsaw as we are all taking Mom out for Mother's Day. Then we will spend a few days at the house. We hope to work on it some this summer and start cleaning it out in preparation for selling it. We use it so infrequently that it doesn't pay to keep it. We will never live there permanently because Terry can't stand the cold weather in the winter, so we need to work at getting it sold.

We are toying with the idea of heading to Mississippi for the family reunion. We are going to try to do it, but whether we succeed will be determined by my being able to withstand the travel. I'm hoping the motorhome with its air suspension will be better than riding in the car.

So that's where we stand now. Things are going very well with my back. My limp is slowing fading and my bursitis is also healing. The two conditions were related to my back problems and are starting to correct themselves as the back heals. Whoo hoo!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Healin' time!

We be healin'!...Terry here.

Dale had her surgery last Friday morning, the Doctor was very happy with the results and found nothing outside his expectations. He felt both places in her spine were relieved of pressure during the surgery.

The doctor released her late Sunday afternoon after her incision drain was removed and she was able to walk the hall and climb a set of stairs.

We arrived back at the campground about 7:30 with a couple Wendy's cheeseburgers and a large order of fries to split for supper. She has been in some pain and has eaten little without feeling nauseous. The pain pills knock out the pain and her at the same time. So yesterday was spent watching her dose in and out between pills. Today she called and got some nausea meds called in. After adding those she has felt much better and was able to walk twice as far outside as she did yesterday after dinner.

I dressed her incision as directed yesterday and it appears to be between 4 & 5 inches long, but looks rather good considering it's only been 3 days. We've been hanging out in the motorhome for the most part, only going out for perscriptions and groceries.

I picked up Duchess from the kennel yesterday afternoon about 4. The kennel owner said she did great and ate all he foods and gave no problems on her insulin injections. She acted happy to be back in the RV.

Until next time

Terry

Twelve Days in Charlottesville

The time, it's flying. . . I tell ya'. We spent time in Charlottesville and I was pretty worn out each day and didn't take time to post.

Our daughter had breast reduction surgery. I had it about 32 years ago. Like mother, like daughter, I guess. Let me tell you. . . carrying around the weight of a newborn on your chest for 30 years takes it toll. I was so glad when I had my surgery and so glad now that Jocelyn was able to have hers. In the time since, she has not had a recurrence of the C-spine migraines she had been experiencing for years. Hopefully she will have other problems that disappear as a result of getting rid of that extra weight.

We arrived two days after her surgery. Tommy's parents had been there for a couple days. Our job was to take care of the kids. Tommy needed a break and Jocelyn couldn't drive or lift anything and was spending a great deal of her time resting and recuperating. I was glad that we were able to be there and help with that process.

Since Aenea's birthday was last month and I had sent some gifts, I brought the remaining ones so we could see her unwrap them and get some hugs. Toward the end of our visit, we also gave Ronan his birthday presents since his birthday is the 21st and we obviously won't be there for that. I hope the kids don't mind that we miss these times. By giving them our gifts when we see them it gives them something to look forward to and we get to experience some special moments with them.

I usually tried to get in to their house by 10 a.m. and stayed until around six. Some days I stayed later, if Tom had something on his schedule, and sometimes I snuck out earlier. I took Aenea to gymnastics and Ronan to his friend's house as well as to the park, etc. I took Jocelyn shopping one day, but she overdid that and spent the next day sleeping mostly. One day later the next week, Terry and I took Jocelyn and both kids and went over to Stewart's Draft to the Amish cheese shop on Tinkling Springs Road. We never say we are going to Stewart's Draft, we always say Tinkling Springs. Something about that name, I guess, but we both know exactly what we are talking about. There are a few things we buy there that we can't seem to find anywhere else and it is an enjoyable trip over the mountain. While we were in the area, Jocelyn directed us on a drive back to Sherando Lake which has a campground, the likes of which Phaeton Place will never see. LOL  But MinnieMee would like to camp there sometime.

Their standard poodle, Pepper, was quite the clown while we were there. She still is wary around Terry, but she is great with the kids and enjoys watching out the window for anyone/anything that might go by.

 We took Aenea and Jocelyn out to the coffee shop one day. The one guy there just loves Aenea and talks with her and gives her high fives.

We had a most enjoyable visit and the kids even came out to the motorhome once. I think we helped give the kids a respite by taking care of mainly Aenea. She is not hard to watch, but if left alone to her own devices, she will choose to aggravate her brother all day long. There are like normal siblings, though. Ronan is old enough to entertain himself and also has friends he enjoys being with.












Till next time. . .

Dale