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June 29, 2023

I’m Still Standing ~Elton john

In my last week prior to surgery, Sharp Hospital wanted to know if our ‘Durable Power of Attorney’ was in place, including medical directives.  The surgery nurse asked if I had a DNR in place.  She said ‘I’m good at CPR.  You will not die on my watch, but your broken ribs will hurt more than the surgery’.  I felt like I may have met the real Nurse Ratched!

Father’s Day

Kami invited us to join the family as the grandgirls took SIL Jason to a Father’s Day Brunch.  An easy ‘YES’!  The venue was TERI Common Grounds Café in North County.  “TERI’s mission is to change the way the world sees, helps and empowers individuals with special needs.”

Jason, Aj, Kami

Never got a picture of the whole table Kg is to the right and Fran to the left.

A lovely time with the kids. and excellent food.  All for a good cause.  And a couple jigsaw puzzles for my weeks of recovery.

This one will be a challenge
.

Lots of fun piece in this one

DIL, Lori designed a coffee cup for me.

"Let's wander where the WIFI is weak

Pretty darn clever, isn’t she!?

Our last chance to bike mission Bay was Wednesday.  A postcard prefect day for fish tacos at the Royal Rooster.

In addition to the grilled tacos I ordered a 50/50 basket; a mix of fries and rings.  And my last adult beverage for awhile, a Mexican lager on tap.


Hiking Equipment

Like many folks I started hiking with branches found along the trail for my hiking sticks.  Eventually investing in adjustable hiking sticks.

For the Zion’s Wiggles and Narrows trails I made a staff from bamboo.  Its strength and light weight were of great benefit.

After I crashed hiking Nobel Canyon I was relegated to crutches and a boot.

I worked my way up to using only a cane for the past couple years

I can’t go much further down as I am now confined to a walker for the next few weeks.

Like Jacob in the book ‘Water For Elephants’ the walker represents my vestige of freedom.  Just for now anyway.  I should soon be back to using the trusty cane.  I'm really looking forward to a bike ride and an adult beverage, and then the hiking sticks.

Neighbors were kind enough to drop off a box of decadent Crumbl Cookies.  Very thoughtful and very decadent.

We started with a half dozen ...

Fran continues her project of painting the kitchen cupboards.  They are looking pretty good, too.


I still have another week with in-home PT to be followed by 4 weeks of outpatient PT. Fingers crossed Fran will finish the cabinets before I am able to help :)

I chose Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ as the title for this blog as the song is a tribute to resilience and perseverance, while overcoming challenges.

And it is hard to fathom the survival story of Jeremy Renner.  The inspiration he provides and physical challenges he has overcome can be found in the link.

14 comments:

  1. Gay and JoeJune 29, 2023

    So happy to read all is going well…fingers crossed those adjustable hiking poles are only weeks away. We just got a Crumbl Cookies on the east side of Houghton near the grocery store…now I’m definitely making a stop there! Fran has done a beautiful job with the cabinets…so bright and cheery. Creative idea for a mug…and great advise. Fingers crossed for a speedy and pain free next few weeks!

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    1. Thanks so much Gay! I keep the poles and the cane together as an incentive to move on. PT says it is a common mistake to try to abandon the walker too soon, so I'll be using it for a while longer. At least until Fran finishes the cabinets and mows the lawn :)

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  2. Best wishes for a speedy and quick recovery. Follow all the directions and you'll be using those hiking poles in no time. Our daughter's MIL is three and half months out and walking a mile. She was not an exerciser prior. So it's nice to see how quickly she was up and going. I love Fran's cupboards!! The white says sunny weather. Great job!

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    1. Fran says thanks! She's glad that her efforts are appreciated by others than me ... it is quite a bit of work ... and I'm not much help. She may finish before I'm walking an unassisted mile ;) Not sure what I miss most the poles or the bike. I would like to check on the change going on in Mission Bay.

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  3. Hopefully you can reverse the progression from hiking poles to walker and will be hitting the trails with those poles again soon.

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    1. Thanks Jim! You are so right, those sticks represent the return a my happy place!

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  4. Hoping you have a quick and sucessful recovery. Our daughter is a PT, listen to yours and do everthing he/she says. I trust that you would have anyways.

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    1. Thanks John! PT is going good so far, your daughter has chosen a worthy profession

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  5. I love the idea of keeping your hiking poles visible to remind you where you want to be - soon. I know it will seem like a long time, but take your time, do your diligence and keep your eyes on those poles!

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  6. As I use walker to make rounds around the house, I pass those poles on every lap right by the front door! Very handy when I make my break for it :)

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  7. Jodee GravelJuly 01, 2023

    Love the evolution of your walking companions :-) Glad you're seeing progress, I'm sure the cookies are a big help! The cabinets look great. They are so much work but worth it when done. Like getting a new kitchen!

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    1. Thanks Jodee! I agree, Fran is doing a nice job on the kitchen facelift. it keeps her busy and I'm not much help.
      I have a really good in-home PT gal that is keeping me doing appropriate exercises.

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  8. You'll be using those sticks soon, if you're PT diligent. But maybe not a paintbrush.

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    1. I sure hope you're right! You know more about PT than many folks :) I'm expecting my knee will heal, just as your wrists did.

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