The recovery begins!

The morning after surgery Physical Therapy showed up to make me get out of bed and walk.  Unbelievable but the first try didn't go well.  Yes the pain was still up there and the fear factor was high.  None of them looked big enough to catch me in the event of a fall.  That afternoon they returned and I was successful at getting out of bed.  The surgeon continued to check of me and most of the care was pretty good.  It would have been nice if they had told me early on that if I wanted Oxy I had to ask for it.  It was prescribed but only if requested.  The next 3 days I continued to be forced out of bed to try and walk and on the 4th day they had me climb 3 steps.  At that point I asked the surgeon if they would send me home in a wheelchair.  His response was " NO, you have walked down the hall a little and climbed some stairs, you don't need it".  Not what I thought I would here.

They didn't want me flying because of the risk of blood clots so Pattie's brother, Charlie, arrived from Richmond with his Ford Expedition.  It would be a 12 hour trip to Cary, NC.  I didn't find the Expedition to be unusually comfortable.  No vehicle would have been comfortable for me on that trip but we did it with Pattie helping with the driving and me moaning in the back seat.  I offered to drive some but the combination of heavy drugs, and a foot that could only push down on the accelerator and no braking didn't appeal to them. 

Home is good!  I can wonder around the house, dress myself(very slowly) and take naps.  I start Physical Therapy tomorrow and the recovery continues. 

Don't say it can't get any worse......It Can and it did!!

Consistent cold in January - March and the full dental implant surgery for me at the end of March started the year off in a not so positive manner.  My diet was limited with this to soft foods for a process that would take 7 -9 months to complete.  My attempt at travel and one camping trip proved that my new diet was difficult on the road.  I have been able to maintain my health with smoothies and pasta and the occasional hamburger steak but the diet was limited and boring!  Summer came and went with little travel but many day trips.  My combined miles on the BMW & Honda was around 8,000 miles but I can't recall where I went other than a lot of miles in the countryside.  My usual 12,000 - 14,000 miles was not achievable so I settled into October doing my usual annual service on bikes that had been sitting a good bit.  October is annual maintenance month just as January is annual trip planning month.  Both I enjoy and find very satisfying.  My final fitting for my permanent teeth is any week now and things were looking up!

On October 22nd I flew up to Woodstock, NY to see a long time friend.  I had thought about taking the bike up but the fares were very cheap and a quick dash up and back would get me back to warmer weather than NY.  I could then take a ride to the beach for fried seafood.  Seems like a reasonable plan.  Jack and I had a great visit and toured the area that was at its peak for fall colors.  We went to a silent movie in a 100 year old theater with a 100 year old organ.  Very cool.

October 26th was the return flight from Albany so I got up at 5:30 am and as I got off the bed my head spun and I felt like I was floating then hit the floor.  My hip was broken!!! By 6:00 am the EMS and police were assessing my predicament.  I was up 3 flights in the house and at 6'3 and 200 lbs it wasn't going to be pretty.  Two very large EMS personnel said they were going to wrap me up like a burrito and tote me down the stairs, and they did.  So the popular questions was on a scale of 1 - 10 what was my pain.....15!  They had me at the Westchester Medical Center in Kingston, NY by 7:00 am.  I was in luck, the orthopedic Surgeon there was from a major medical center in Westchester and spends 2 days a week in Kingston.  At 9:00 he came in to inform me that I had broken my hip!  I asked when would he do the surgery and his response was "the OR is available at 10:00" by 11:00 I was in recovery.  Jack spent the whole day watching me and supporting me even though I was well drugged up.  He picked up my wife Pattie at 9:00 pm in Albany and she was there with me at 10:00 pm.  Their support was critical since I was out of it.  The rest of that day is a blur, I remember nothing.