Camping Soon, I Hope

Well…the hip is progressing and I took the truck out for a spin to see if I can work the brake and accelerator without much pain. Everything looks good for some camping soon. I did take the truck up to Flying J to fuel up and at $4.499/gallon; it was a lot of pain at the pump. Luckily, I only needed about 87 gallons so the bill was about $392.00. Last year I could put in 100 gallons for about $200.00. Still, RVing is the way to travel. I hope that we can get in a few short trips this year and will get some planned longer trips next year.

I would love to go to the Black Hills next year for a couple of weeks. In addition, the RV Dreams group will probably have another Rally next year and maybe we can catch that one.

PTSD wise, I am doing well and hope that continues. Joanne says I am still hibernating more than she would like me to do but it is difficult to get out among many people. The medication works well in stopping the nightmares but I still have weird dreams. I have no flashbacks to report since the ones in the hospital so that is a good thing. I am back to attending my group sessions and being with guys with many of the same problems. A couple of our group members only show up sporadically because they have trouble adjusting to life outside of the safe zone (home).

My sister seems to be adjusting well to her single life and that makes me happy. I was concerned about her down in Atlanta by herself but she is keeping very busy so that is excellent. I still would love to get her to move up to Michigan near us. We do talk on the phone very day so that helps both of us.

Happy Father's Day

Well, I am walking without a cane. It is a dull pain when I walk but that side is also weak from lack of weight bearing. It should really begin to loosen up quickly once I put more and more weight on the leg. In fact, we sent to church this morning without the cane and everyone noticed right away. I still cannot bend enough to get my sock on the right foot. As it loosens up it will get more flexible and Joanne will be free of the sock duty.

It is Father’s Day but our kids are in Fort Wayne at a soccer tournament so it is just Joanne and me celebrating.

Another Sad Day

It started out a sad day for Joanne and me. We had to put down one of our older cats. Boyd was about 16 years old and was having troubles. We did not want him to suffer so off to the Vet Joanne took him. They become part of the family so it is difficult to put them down even when you know it is best for the cat. We had a burial in the back yard for Boyd. Now we are down to three cats and all three are a lot younger. They will be around for quite awhile. I think the oldest, Bear, is about five year old. All our cats are former Ferial cats but live indoors fulltime now. Boyd is the tan cat in the picture. Ace is our youngest and is the black and white cat.

I have a Doctors appt this week so we will see how the hip is doing from a medical standpoint. Putting a sock on and tying a shoe is still out of the question. It hurts too much to bend the leg way up to reach my toes. My movement is getting better with only a few sharp stabs of pain if I move wrong. Every night we try to walk a little further but I am still using the cane for support.

The RV-Dreams Rally starts this week and that was going to be out first trip of the season. The Rally is in ABC Campground in Branson, MO. It would have been a fun time with that group that follows the travels of Howard and Linda on their blog. Maybe next year they will have another Rally and if I stay healthy, we will join them.

Walking With A Cane

I’m finally using the cane but it is a lot more difficult then I had imagined. The hip is painful while walking on it but not unbearable. I can get around fairly well but not very fast. I have driven myself to two group sessions and that worked out fairly well and it will probably be easier with the cane. At least it is easier getting in and out of the car with the cane. With the walker, I had to fold it up and put it in the backseat of the car then scoot along using the cargo railing on the roof of the car to get to the drivers seat. People probably figured they wanted to stay clear of my on the road. They were probably thinking, “What is that handicapped old coot doing on the road?” The foot is still swelling up during the day but the more I use the muscles the more that should go away. Just moving around will be good physical therapy for the leg.

Hopefully, we can start to plan some RV trips. We had to cancel the Branson RV-Dreams rally but I’m sure I should be able to deal with traveling by the middle of June. It sure will be costly for diesel fuel this year though. I usually fill up when I get to the point that I need about 100 gallons so that will be more than double the cost of a fill up from last year. It is still cheaper than staying in hotels and eating out. Plus I’m sleeping in my own bed and have everything I need close at hand.

I still have not tackled stairs in the house but in a week or so I may try getting to the basement. I’m tired of using this laptop and would love to get back to my regular computer. I hate typing on this flat surface keyboard. Plus, I would love to get back to my comfortable recliner chair and the big TV. I want my normal life back. My wife, Joanne, also wants her normal life back too. Probably more so then I do.

Ahhhhhhhh!

Well, life continues on and I’m still struggling with this stupid walker. Joanne did go out and buy me an anti-embolism stocking for the right leg. I do think it helps with the swelling and does feel better when I walk. It was a bugger to get the stocking on though. If the swelling goes down then it should be easier to get the stocking on in a couple of days.

Our weather has been so nice for the last few days that it makes this process even more of a pain in the hip. I would love to be outdoors working in the yard and getting the truck and RV ready for traveling. Guess that will not happen until about June. Maybe in a week or so I will give driving a try and see if it hurts the hip or not. I hope that I will be able to drive with little or no pain. I am a goofy footer so I only use the right leg for the accelerator and brake with my left. That is what my dad did and that is how I learned. With the Freightliner, I have to do everything with the right foot because the accelerator and brake are both on the right of the steering column. There isn’t any room to get the left foot over to the brake.

Maybe if my driving test works out okay then I will be able to go to Group. I asked the doctor when I would be able to drive and he said it was up to the “Boss”. He was referring to Joanne. It would be a lot easier if all I needed was a cane but dealing with the walker sure throws a wrench in the works. Things will get better…right?

Four More Weeks

Well, after visiting the doctor on Friday, he gave me the bad news of four more weeks with the walker and no weight bearing on the hip. I sure was hoping for better news. It has been a tough two weeks and having to do four more like this will be so boring. I feel like I can’t do anything. Pain wise, the leg is doing fairly well but I do have some swelling of the foot and calf. I try exercising the leg but the muscles are very tight.

Guess we will have to cancel our first trip of the year to Branson, MO for the RV-Dreams Rally. The brake pedal on the Freightliner takes a lot of pressure and I will not know how that will affect the hip. Rather than push it too much, guess it is best that we delay the first trip of the season. You should check out the RV-Dreams website for some young folks that decided to travel the country and leave the corporate world. The site is at http://www.rv-dreams.typepad.com/.

The thing that I miss right now is not being able to go to my Thursday group therapy sessions. I had a couple of flashbacks in the hospital because I was out of my safe zone. I’m doing fairly well now but still would like to get back with my sessions and the guys.

I've Fallen and Can't Get Up

The best laid plans of mice and men…. Well, our trip to the Hall China Convention in Pittsburgh was cancelled at the last minute on Wednesday, April 2nd at about 3 PM. I had gone out to the RV to get a new pair of flip-flops to take on the trip. While exiting the RV, I found myself flying through the air and landed on my right side. As I was falling, I said to myself “this is going to hurt”.

I could not get up from the ground because of extreme pain in my right leg. Joanne came out of the house and saw my feet under the RV and thought that maybe I was fixing something. She asked what I was doing and all I could say was that famous saying, “I’ve fallen and can’t get up”. I told her to call 911 because I better go to the local ER.

To make a long story short, it turns out that I did break my right hip in two places. I went to surgery on Thursday at about 7 PM and was discharged the next day by 2:30 PM. At 10:00 pm this evening it will be officially two weeks since the three pins were placed in my hip. No weight bearing for four to six weeks is going to be a real pain in the neck. Of course, my allergies to pain medication did not help the situation any. Hopefully, I will get the sixteen staples taken out tomorrow and maybe the doctor will let me start doing more things and start putting a little more weight on the leg. Hey, I can hope can’t I.