4 of 6

What a joy! Jeremy and Shawn along with their families visited yesterday for a little backyard cookout and R&R which means we had four of our six grandkids along with their wives / moms. We had a great time. The kids all played in the kiddie pool and the 3 year-olds even had thoughts of climbing a small tree - they need some more practice. After lunch, Moms shopped & Dads watched kids while sipping a fine Texas brew.

First Beer ***

Had my first beer in over six months last night! Out to eat with friends and neighbors & my next door neighbor, Buddy, bought my first beer. Mmmmm, it was tasty. Life is getting better by the day. I felt that I could have a beer because I'm now going 14 to 18 hours between pain pills and it had been 12 hours since my last pill when I had the beer.

Great Day!

My Internist today said that I'm making great progress and has released me to do anything I want (including working out) with a warning to take appropriate precautions and to "back off" if I feel any pain or discomfort. Therapy will continue for another couple of weeks to further strengthen the abdominals but I'll continue the exercises that the therapist has me doing even after the therapy ends to maintain the progress that I've made. The doc also gave me a release to go back to work immediately and said the next followup appointment with him needs to be in 4 to 6 months. Life is getting closer to normal bit by bit..... I am maintaining my two mile a day walk and might increase it to 2 1/2 or 3 miles just for the heck of it.... My most sincere thanks to all of my family and friends who have supported me throughout this ordeal. Also to the Thomas Group (where I work) which is a great consulting firm with an awesome HR group. I am so looking forward to getting back to work and contributing in any way that I can...... While I still have some healing to do, this closes the topic of my recovery and medical adventures as the central theme for this blog so future posts will cover other topics of, hopefully, a more fun and interesting nature.

Road Trip - Day 3

7:00am - Up and --- oops, it's raining so back to bed
8:30am - Up again & it's still raining so lets go eat
11:00am - Finished eating & packed. Still raining with a forecast of rain for the next couple of days and flash flooding today... Head northwest to drive through the Davis Mountains. Wet drive.

Well, we headed home after two days of too much rain with more forecast. Rained intermittently until near Odessa where it cleared. Then a torrential downpour between Weatherford & Ft Worth. Sleeping in my bed tonight.

Road Trip - Day 2

8:45 Loaded & ready to roll.... scratch the visit to Guadalupe Mtns NP because of the rain and not so good roads.... head down to Lajitas via Fort Davis & Alpine
11:15 Stop in Alpine for lunch
1:30 Lajitas is dead as a hammer - absolutely nobody around and most of the shops are closed
2:00 Head out on the river road for Presidio... oops, first low water crossing has quite a flow over the road - okay for trucks maybe but not my Vette... Turn around and back to Alpine for the night after getting a nice dinner at the Gage Hotel in Marathon

Tomorrow we're heading to Fort Davis and spend some time driving the mountain roads. Maybe visit McDonald's Observatory tomorrow night if anything's going on there.

Road Trip - Day 1

10:45 - Vette loaded & rolling out the drive
10:46 - Go back for Connie's cell phone
10:47 - Rolling again... stop for cash... stop for gas... head west
12:30 - Stop for lunch at the Smokestack in Thurber... Mmmm good
6:00 - Stop in Pecos and get a room... eat dinner... time to relax... update blog

Hit some rain on the way but the Vette just kept purring along... Hit the stretch of I-20 west of Midland with 80mph speed limit. Crank it up & fly - I enjoyed it - the Vette enjoyed it - thank God for cruise control or I could have left some extra cash with the boys in the black & whites. Weather forecast doesn't look too promising but we'll forge ahead in the morning. Thinking about going to Guadalupe Natl Park tomorrow & then maybe to Fort Davis.

Victory!

I am declaring victory over the wounds. The last of the wounds have closed up to the point (about the size of a pinpoint) that it no longer has to be treated. Victory!...... Gotta go load the Vette for the road trip. We're outta here.

Road Trip

Can't wait to get on the road. Tomorrow we are going to pack a bag & load the Corvette and take off on a road trip headed generally west or southwest depending on the weather. I'll post from the road if I can find internet connections. Can't afford to be gone very long but we both need to get some road time and do a little sight seeing & relaxing out in God's country. I'll have to wear out the cruise control on the Vette so I don't get the attention of the guys in the black & whites.

Jury Duty

Rescheduled! The judge decided that he didn't want to take a chance of my dozing off in court when I told him that I am on pain medication. Smart man - saved both of us some potential embarassment. He told the clerk to invite me back in six months...... Bet they don't forget.

Day After

My visit to JPS Trauma Center yesterday wasn't as fruitful as I had hoped. It was interesting to see the operation but I was more interested in meeting the people. Only one doctor was on duty and the hospital records were incomplete so they could not determine where in that massive complex I exactly was. Therefore, they couldn't tell which nurses cared for me but I did meet one nurse and a supervisor who remembered me. Oh well....... I'm still feeling good - did my 2 miles early this morning before going to therapy which went well. And now I have to get ready for jury duty this afternoon.

Big Day

Today is a big day for two reasons. First, I increased my walking distance to two miles and felt good. I felt like I could go another two miles but don't want to push it too much. Recovery is obviously going well. Second, I have an appointment this afternoon to go visit the JPS Trauma Center. That is where the ambulance took me when we had the motorcycle accident. The trauma program manager offered to show me around "from a different perspective". Since I have virtually no memory of my time there - none of ICU and only a few fleeting memories of progressive care before going to a regular hospital room for a day, it should be memorable. I am looking forward to the visit and hope to meet some of the doctors and nurses that treated and cared for me (i.e., saved my life). It will most definitely be an emotional visit for me..... Therapy is going well and I am feeling goooood! I anticipate and look forward to going back to work next month.

Busy Weekend

Man! I need a rest...... I met an old work colleague, Jerry, at Hooter's for lunch at noon Friday. Then, we had dinner with friends Friday night, BBQ at Red, Hot, & Blue - J.O., Jyl, Bob, and Pam. Up early Saturday morning did a one mile walk and then drove to Jeremy & Erica's house where we departed to meet Shawn & Kelly and Kelly's parents along with the grandkids for breakfast in Weatherford. Breakfast was followed by a trip to the Parker County Peach Festival in downtown Weatherford. Got home mid-afternoon and bought a battery for the Tahoe since the old one was failing....... Thanks for great neighbors. First, I didn't have the right sized wrench so borrowed one from Charlie (we've been neighbors for 30 years). He offered to help and given my weakened condition I gladly accepted. Well Charlie did all the work and the Tahoe is humming now with its new battery...... Then we had friends Jim & Terry over for dinner and a movie. Get to bed after midnight....... Up early Sunday morning to go out for breakfast with Bob & Pam, go home and change clothes, take old battery in for the exchange, and then meet all the kids and grandkids for a family picture session. Run home & change clothes before we pick up Bob & Pam to go for a trip looking at travel trailers. Take them home and finally Connie & I break out the grill for a dinner alone (the first time since Tuesday)..... I felt pretty good all weekend except for some pain and discomfort Saturday night after all the walking at the festival. Gotta go take a nap now. Oops, no - I first need to do my exercises for therapy. Up early tomorrow for a walk followed by a therapy session. Whew!

Therapy

I started therapy last Friday to strengthen my abdominals. The therapist, John, was really enlightening (haha) when he said - "you've had lots of trauma", or "you have swelling / fluid in the abdomen", or "we need to go very easy", or "it will take at least a year to fully heal", etc., etc. Please tell me something that I don't know or haven't heard from the doctors before! The good news is that he knows his stuff...... The bad news is that my abs are weaker than a baby's. The exercises that he gave me are so gentle as to be nothing but I quickly found out that he is right and I'm seeing some quick results - I think. Less pain primarily....... I have been lucky to find some outstanding medical professionals like John throughout this ordeal. In fact, I'm hoping / planning to go visit the trauma center at JPS Hospital where those outstanding people brought me back from the dead a couple of times. Can't wait to meet some of them.

Back in the Saddle :-)

I asked my neighbor, Buddy, to take my motorcycle for a ride today. It's important to keep the internal engine components and seals in good working order by keeping them lubricated and by burning away any accumulated moisture. As I rolled the bike out of the garage before he came over I noticed that the gas tank was nearly empty. So, I donned my helmet and rode that baby to the nearest convenience store to put gas in it before turning it over to him. It was only a 0.6 mile round trip but it felt great to be back on a bike. And I didn't fall off this time! :-) ..... I think Buddy enjoyed riding a harley for the first time (he's a Honda rider right now) as much as I enjoyed being back on one. However, it'll be a while before I'm physically ready to ride any distance so maybe some real short jaunts around the 'hood for now.

Big Day!

Well my appt at wound care yesterday was great. The last wound is almost healed & I don't have to go back for a month and only then if I'm not completely healed. Woohoo!..... Today I started therapy to rebuild the abdominal muscles so that I will be able to lift a reasonable amount of weight. It was baby steps to start. Before the accident I would have been embarrassed to do such gentle exercises but, like I said, baby steps..... I think I'm on the home stretch - finally! AND, it's my birthday. My twin sons and their beautiful families met us for dinner last night and I got some really thoughtful gifts from the grandkids & kids. What a wonderful family!!! To celebrate further, I'm going to a Ranger game tonight..... Most importantly, I'm feelin' goooood.

Duaine

Trippin'

On Sunday (after the grandtwins birthday party on Saturday) we drove to visit Connie's sister in west Texas. A good visit that included an outing Tuesday night to see "Texas" (the play) in Palo Duro Canyon..... Home Wednesday in time to take friends to the Rangers July 4th game last night (they trashed the Angels - woohoo!). Then it took an hour and a half to get home (usually a 10 minute or less drive) because we couldn't get out of the parking lot! The idiots were certainly in charge there last night!!!..... And the good news is that I functioned better than ever with a normal to less than normal number of pain pills. It is sooooo good to function even a little better. I left the cane home throughout this and only missed it when climbing the stairs at the ballpark (needed a helping hand from Connie for that)..... Today is wound care doctor and dentist day. Yuk!

Duaine