April 4, 2000, Tuesday- after yesterday's early wake-up, and three hours of time change- it was natural that we would be up early today. Well, it was as expected, with us up and around at 6, and Phil, who got up even earlier, was knocking around at 3 AM. Phil was kind enough to make a lot of phone calls, and got us into an orthopedic office at 3:30 PM. Between the appointment time and the morning time- we had to find a motorhome park to move to, and see who best to drive the coach over- could I do it with my left foot, or should Susan start her driving under tight maneuvering conditions? I won and we found a place, Sun Life Resort, a long block from Phil and Karen that was more roomy then Mesa Regal, and faced the north direction…less sun in through the front window, and a shady patio. However, as we approached the coach in storage, I noticed that someone had put a note on our door. It asked that we stop at a particular space- "we have your old coach". So off we go and meet the owners- who, fortunately are pleased with their purchase. They were in New Orleans, had sold their old coach, and spoke to the folks at Beaudry. When our old coach was described as a 9.5, very close to a 10, they agreed to fly in and either fly home or drive home- based on what they saw. Needless to say, they drove the coach home. They winter in Mesa, two blocks from Phil and Karen, and have a home in Spokane and a boat on Coeur d'Alene Lake. Maybe we shall see them this summer.
Susan got to do all of the setup by herself, with my verbal guidance, for the first time. This ranged from the jacks, to water, sewer and electric, satellite dish, room slides, and awnings.
Lu is still in the hospital in Denver- and may be for the week, getting a series of tests performed.
The orthopedic physician was in a busy office and squeezed us in at the end of the day. Apparently the two lower bone fractures, from the twisting of the foot, also resulted in the tearing of one set of ligaments, and the pulling of a second ligament causing the second bone to be pulled away. The twisting continued up through the long ligaments, and fractured the fibula just below the knee. The next thing I knew, I was in a long leg cast, from just above the toe, to the mid-thigh. It shall be a challenge for the next 4 to 5 weeks with the leg totally immobile! On the left leg, not the broken one, I also did a fair amount of Archilles' Tendon damage, more reason to take it easy. For the next week, we shall stay put, and have a follow-up visit in one week. With hindsight- it's a good thing that I didn't have the long cast put on in St. Lucia. I couldn't have traveled commercially with a leg that didn't hinge at the knee. I don't think airport wheel chairs have provisions for full leg extensions, and I couldn't have kept my leg in the isle for the full flight.
Now, many of the things I could do with the short cast, I can't do with the full immobilization. Try to slide a pair of shorts over the end of a fully extended leg. It doesn't happen.
A crazy day in the market today with both the Nasdaq and Dow down over 500 points at the low point, but finished down 50 and 75 points, respectively.
99 degrees today…more then toasty at 15 degrees above average.
April 5, 2000, Wednesday- this full leg cast is a challenge- to get into the front of the car- I have to lift and slide my butt over the center console, before being able to get the unhinged leg into the car. There is no way to get into the driver's seat. Hobbes was happy to see us, and except for the kennel cough, none the worse for wear. Susan, however, has the beginning stages of cold. Let's hope that it doesn't get any worse. For me, a lot of time parked on the couch, catching up on the computer that was returned yesterday after repairs from Gateway. For Susan, all the work- shopping, laundry, and ironing. Not fair!!!
After a few more calls to St. Lucia- they are still working on the correction on crutch pricing, but haven't finalized it yet….
One thing we did realize on the trip, was the need for an active ATM card. Each country we visited had it's own currency, and with the ATM machines, our group could get the needed local funds for those establishments that didn't take charge cards or US dollars. Today I reconfirmed our PIN numbers.
April 6, 2000, Thursday- it was a relaxing day with a few errands outside- where Sue did the legwork, and I did the sitting in the car. Catching up on the computer work, bills and starting on the trip photos will keep me busy for the next few days.
April 7, 2000, Friday- work proceeded on the web page for our trip, coordinating text and photos, etc. In the evening we tried the movies- and saw Eric Brockovich, with Julia Roberts. Fortunately I found a seat on the isle that had an offset of the seat in front- which gave me room to keep my leg forward. The movie was great, but sitting on the edge of the seat for almost two hours was a challenge to my butt.
Karen, who drove back to Denver yesterday, reported that her mom is doing well, and is expected to be released shortly from the hospital. Good news indeed!
April 8, 9, 10, 11, 2000- Saturday - Tuesday…..a quiet few days. Master's Golf on the weekend, a catching up of more movies and reading. Hot….90 to 95 degrees. Went to the orthopedic guy today and got the green light to start traveling. A new x-ray showed no changes since last week- so follow-up next week in Denver. At week 4 to 4.5 get the large cast removed and replaced with an immobilizer- so that I can do exercise but still remain non-weight bearing. It shall be good to get into more reasonable temperatures.
As we look back onto a few items from Mesa- the entire Phoenix area is a dusty area…so dusty- that the EPA measures the accumulation and compares it to prior time periods…net result--- everything is covered, repeatedly in a layer. Dust the car or coach, and it's covered soon after. I guess being downwind from the desert has its problems.
Susan was opening the CO2 pressurized whipped cream maker- that we use on the ice cream that Hobbes insists that we have every evening. She thought it was empty- but it still had some pressure- and, you guessed it, it went everywhere. The floor, cabinets, counters, etc…were covered, as well as it being all over her blouse, face and hair. It was definitely a comical situation for everyone by Susan.
One of my flying magazines had a story about the GPS, global position system, timeclock. By sending signals down from the satellites, position speed etc. are calculated. This clock is accurate to one second in 70,000 years. Now that's a goal for your next Timex.
Garrison Keller on Prairie Home Companion, was going though a series of jokes, and did you know that in the Jewish religion an embryo is considered viable when he graduates from medical school?
April 12, 2000, Wednesday- after an 8:30 departure, permitting the Phoenix rush hour to disburse, we cruised during the day an arrived in Albuquerque, NM. My right leg swung out to the right, permitted me to drive the coach with my left leg. After reaching Flagstaff, Susan got behind the wheel and did great for a several hour leg. By the end of her leg, she was whipping on the interstate and passing vehicles as needed. It was nice to share the driving. I-40 was a lovely, scenic road to drive with lots of vistas and viewpoints. As we approached Albuquerque, a flatbed truck with lumber passed us, and pulled in front of us. The next thing I noticed, was that he was loosing his load- piece by piece onto the highway. After dodging four pieces of 2x's, we proved the advantage of the CB radios, as we got his attention and he pulled over to do so emergency repairs. At 6 PM we arrived at the Flying J service station and did the fuel and propane thing, and then noticed that they had a dinner special in their Cookery Restaurant. A 24 oz t-bone steak for $8.88. So, we checked into a park down the street, and headed back to fill our bellies. Coming out of the restaurant we noticed the lights of the city below- simply beautiful! Also, after being in California and Arizona since October, it was nice to fuel up with less outrageous prices. Propane at 95 cents verses $1.50 to $1.80, and diesel at 25 cents less per gallon.
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April 13, 2000, Thursday- it was an easy ride from Albuquerque to Denver with Susan sharing the driving. With sunny skies and no traffic, except a few minutes of rush hour at the start, and a little around Colorado Springs and Denver, it was truly a "cruise".
In Denver we stay at the Dakota Ridge RV Park, sort of north west of downtown, about 15 minutes without traffic. The park's location is convenient to the mountains, being at the base of the I-70 foothills, and on Debi's way home from work in the Boulder area. So, we were lucky when she joined us for a nice dinner and were able to catch up on lots of stories. Again, it's a small world- as we pulled into the park, a man came over and asked if we had been here before- he remembered Hobbes. We had been here for one day in September- that corresponded to his time at Dakota Ridge.
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