Three Months Later

It has been three months since I had my surgery and what a difference it makes in my life. I have no pain, drug free and able to walk, bike and work in the garden. I am by no means completely back to normal as that will take several more months. The slow process causes me to take frequent breaks when working and careful thought when bending , twisting or reaching.

Theresa is my task master and warns me of over zealous actions that could hurt the curing. The most significant change is the lack of pain. After many years enduring pain nearly all the time, there was a tremendous impact on your whole life. The day after the operation that pain connected to the nerve damage was over. The small amount of pain connected to the healing process is so minimal there is no impact what so ever.

My challenge is to keep my patience in check and not expect unrealistic results. All this takes time. In one area I am going to take exception and that is in the game of golf. Dr said I could try to play but no using the driver. I cannot bend to put the tee in place so will play everything off the ground. A light wood (#4) will be my long club and I will have to be content to score poorly for a while.

Throughout this three months I have sung the praises of these Dr's who have given me a second chance at life and of course to Theresa who was with me every step of the way. The process will help both of us to live a more active life and share our  dreams of more adventures and travels which require a person to be mobile.

The three months flew bye and I am sure life will do the same so we have to fill our time with all those things we talked about when we were waiting for this cure. I am able to think like all the people who are waiting for their own miracle and hope they receive one like me.

Spring in Florida

The spring weather has come to Florida with little possibility of any more cool weather. The trees are in flower and the crops from here are being sold at the market. Strawberries are great this year as there was no frost or bad weather. Our yard wintered well with the good care of our neighbors.

While the temperatures are above eighty every day the evenings and night  are about sixty. This makes for comfortable living. The boys of summer (baseball players) have returned and the two teams who train here are drawing people by the thousands. The community here built a new training stadium for the Boston Red Sox at a cost of $84,000,000. The official opening was this week and the whole project came in on time, on budget and appears better than expected. It was built exactly like Fenway Park except the capacity is only 11,000. It will be filled for all 16 games.

There is a general feeling of optimism here in the south west as the economy is getting better and signs of activity are evident.  This spring comes none too late as we have had five years of record downturns in the tourist based economy.

There are birds a plenty here in our neighborhood and our own Mocking Birds are once more building a nest in one of our trees. They have such a great selection of sounds it is no wonder it is the Florida State Bird. I have no sightings of our two families of eagles as yet.but hope to be surprised in the near future.

Settling Down In Paradise

Theresa and I usually take a week or more to get back to normal when we make the transition from home to Florida. This year with Henry Jr we were able to settle in quite well in  a few days. There is always more to do but for me the priority was to get the small garden planted.  I went the Home Depot and checked through the tomatoes and found four with double stems so that is all I purchased. Along with lettuce and beans will make up my efforts this winter.

Our other trees and doing well but because of watering problems our orange and grapefruit trees are in for a fight to survive. They are however doing well with new leaves popping out all over. We have to wait for the bananas to start new shoots before we will have a crop like we had this year. There is excellent weather with the temp around the eighties and that is good for growth as it is not too hot.

Seems a little strange with the absence of Doris but we talk to her often and she is doing well in her new surroundings. We can settle in now and begin to meet our old friends and enjoy the couple of months of healing and enjoyment of our winter home. Of course we have to get back to golf as well.

China Is In the News

China is in the news nearly every day for some reason or another but this time is because our oldest daughter and her hubby are going there for a couple of weeks to clear up the mess that exists with their forging ahead too quickly. This country of over a billion people has the potential to become in a short time the most powerful country in the world. I don't think that  that daughter will change much while she is there but the personal knowledge she picks up will give her fuel for her blogs for a long time. Her new camera will take many pics and I am sure they will turn up in her blogs in the near future.

Few people are fortunate enough to be able to visit that mysterious country but Lynda jumped at the chance and our whole family will benefit. I wish I was going as well but I am less energetic than she and the Great Wall might do me in.

Have a good trip and return full of rice and wonderful experiences to share with us in the coming months.

Bananas

We arrived at our home in Florida and were greeted to a display of fruit from our trees that demanded immediate attention. Five bunches of this small variety ,apple bananas were in need of attention. Bananas only bring one crop to the table and when the fruit, although green in colour,  matures, the tree dies.

The trees do not really die because another tree grows in its place. We had a good crop this year in spite of the fact that they did not benefit from the daily watering. For some reason the water system  did not respond to that zone. Everything else was OK.

We will be eating bananas, having banana milkshakes and banana bread for a while. Ain't nature grand.

Best Trip South I Ever Shared With Henry

Shared is the word as I had a helper this year for the Journey to our Florida home. Henry came along and carried the load by driving with skill and speed. !438 kms the first day and only 800 the second day. We try to average 100 kms an hour and we did. It was a great help to have the young lad along not only for his driving but a new audience  for the stories about laces and things we experienced during the previous years.

The weather was perfect and we were able to see the seasons pass before our eyes as we sped through New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and finally Florida. A highlight was a herd of deer with a count of about thirty spotted by Theresa. We took advantage of the HOV lanes where possible and they give relief to any traveller wishing to navigate through a strange area.

 I had a cramp in my foot and attempted to take off my running shoe while driving. My bending ability is impaired so I had difficulty trying to pull the bow out of the laces. I kicked off the running shoe but it ended up under the brake and gas pedal. Trying to clear up this mess came to Henry's attention and the erratic way I was driving caused him some concern. I tried to act cool but I was beginning to worry as I couldn't reach the shoe. Finally I made contact with it and tried to pull it back with my other foot. Again my driving became erratic but I did get control. I will not try to describe how I put it back on but you get the picture. Never try to change shoes while driving your car.

Arriving home in Florida always makes me feel real good and with the extra help we were able to get off the shutters, put on the water and do all the little things that make our place a livable place.We picked oranges and bananas and prepared to relax but there were other chores to do. Henry made them look easy so we settled in quite nice  and look foreword to sharing a short visit with Henry.

Feeling Great And On My Way To Florida

Yesterday Theresa and I went for our last major Dr appointment to see if I was fit enough to finally get away to Florida. Dr was surprised but happy that I had a perfect recovery from my surgery. During the viewing of the X-rays of the carpenter work he performed, he said I had a perfect work and my recovery entitled me to be free of any conditions. I can even play golf (carefully). I happen to have a large spine and very hard bones so all the nuts and bolts and devices held very well.

I was absolutely happy and after he gave me a letter to enable me to go through customs at the airport we shook hands and I was returned to the real world in 2 and a half months. Hardly 4 to 6 as he predicted. I praise and thank my whole medical staff for work well done and promise to never do anything to dishonour their work by doing something foolish.

Medical science has given me a second chance to be a whole and healthy person and even promised that I might be able to run again in six to eight months, I have zero pain and as I make up my little pill box routine there is no pain control medicine their in.All this work was done for me by doctors who work within the Canadian Medical Association at no cost to me. I was relieved of the burden of economic ruin because of our health plan.

Tomorrow morning at 4 am we will leave and head to our home in Cape Coral. Our family will take care of our home and try to keep our flowers alive while we vacation and recuperate under the sun. Life is good and I appreciate the second chance to contribute to the world around us.