Nurse Ratchet moves on to his next assignment

Our original plans for today were to drive over to the west entrance to the Okefenokee NWR to take the boat tour out of Stephan Foster State Park.  I had wanted Kurt to see how different it was from the swamp near the east entrance.  Large cypress trees draped in Spanish moss create a different feeling and environment from the open wet prairies of the east.  However, when I called them yesterday to be sure to get a seat on the 10:00 am tour, I was told that on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they require a minimum of five people to conduct the tour.  We were the only ones to sign up, and it is a 75 mile drive one way to get there.  There was also the threat of the approaching cold front with storms moving in from the west. 

I also felt that Kurt was getting a little anxious to be heading for home in Arizona.  So, we cancelled our iffy plans.

After all, by the time he drives home he will have been gone a month, and I’m pretty much at the point where I can take care of myself.  So I gave Nurse Ratchet a big hug this morning and told him how much I appreciated his help.  I just couldn’t have done this hip replacement thing without him.  I must have about the best brother on earth!  He vacuumed, he cooked, did dishes, helped with the dreaded ‘putting on of the white socks’, learned how to give injections, and was a great chauffeur.  I’m a very lucky lady.

This afternoon, I took Emma for a slow walk around the pond.  She has been very good about adjusting to my condition.  All I have to say is slow down, and she adjusts her walking and sniffing.

As always, when I say I want to take a picture, she stops and waits until I’m done.  That has always been mind boggling to me since she is such an energetic wild child by nature. 

The bandage nurse, who was supposed to show up yesterday, finally arrived this afternoon to sign me out of that service.  I told her last week that I didn’t need her to come anymore.  Both Kurt and I were not fond of this nurse, and Emma must have picked up those vibes as she ignored the woman entirely.  She didn’t go through her usual antics as the nurse arrived.  I’m just happy to be done with her.

Tomorrow I’ll begin the packing up process inside to move back to the refuge.  Fellow volunteers will be here Friday morning to help me move and do all of those things involving bending and lifting that I’m restricted from doing for a while.  I am very grateful for their help.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

The ‘wild child’ returns

Not much happened the last five days.  It’s been rounds of PT exercises and not much else, but this morning it was time to pick Emma up from the kennel.

As usual, she ignored me when we went to get her.  She’s spent three weeks romping around with other dogs each day, so she’s had more exercise than I’ve been able to give her in quite some time.  However, I think she was happy to be home.

This afternoon, Kurt and I went back to the refuge to be sure I am able to drive my car.  The plan is for him to head home to Arizona on Thursday, and I’ll move back to the refuge on Friday.  Before I relieved him of duties, I needed to be certain my leg worked for driving my little car.  I left it on the refuge these last three weeks, and things went smoothly as I took it for a test drive.  So, it looks like a go.

Took a walk around the campground this afternoon and found something interesting.

There’s a pond on the north side that I hadn’t been able to investigate before.  I think I’ve mentioned that the owners of this campground are a little different, and this reinforced that for me.

I’m not really sure what all this UFO stuff is about.  I especially found the white sign with “Use of deadly force authorized” a little odd.  Then there was the light leaning out over the water that is on 24/7.  I have no idea what that’s all about.  The owners are on vacation for the month, so I may never find out the significance of this stuff.  Maybe it’s just a hoax.  Who knows?

That’s about it from out in the swamp for now.  I’m hoping we’ll have an exciting tour on Wednesday before Kurt leaves.  It all depends on the weather.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Pretty boring around here

My days this week so far haven’t exactly been worth blogging about.  The weather has been chilly, and each day either a nurse comes to change my dressing, or a physical therapist comes to put me through my paces.  Of course, they don’t work the same days.  The therapy has been challenging, but I’ve been religious about keeping up with all exercises that the therapist wants me to do.  I’m moving right along with improvements and hope to move from the walker to a cane by the end of the week.

I’ve been in a state of withdrawal as far as taking pictures is concerned.  The robins running through the campsite are about the only thing that happens when I do get a chance to sit outside.  So that’s it for pictures the last three days.

There were a couple of personally exciting things that happened today.  We got up before the crack of dawn to get to a doctor’s appointment in Waycross, an hour away.  First thing was x-rays of my hip.  Sure enough, I got to see them and admire my bionic parts.  All of the nurses were surprised that I was getting around so well and not in a wheelchair.  Then after waiting a while, I had the 21 staples in my incision removed.  It went a lot easier than I expected.  The home nurse warned me that I had better take a pain killer for that procedure, but it wasn’t necessary.  I did count each one as it clinked into the pan. 

Then they put on a much smaller dressing without so much of the horrible skin ripping tape.  After that, I got to ask some questions, and halleluiah!  I don’t have to wear those compression socks that go from my toes to my crotch anymore.  They are terrible to put on, and I needed Kurt to put the one on my right leg.  He was as ecstatic as I at this news.  It’s been a real struggle with those things. 

So how boring was this afternoon?  Well, after doing my exercises, I ended up cleaning my six year old remote control device with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol.  Now that is a sad state of affairs in my book.  I’m really chomping at the bit to get back to normal activities.

Several folks have asked for an Emma update.  She is still enjoying her time with the dog lady of Folkston.  She is doing just fine, and enjoying her playtime with some of the boxers.  I’m hoping to be far enough along to have her come back some time early next week.  Right now I can’t take a chance on her causing me to lose my balance and fall down.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Off for a visit to Jekyll Island

After having the home nurse and the physical therapist visit me yesterday, I was pretty worn out.  The physical therapist came again this morning and put me through my paces.  She was done by about 9:00, and Kurt and I were getting a bit of cabin fever from being stuck in side for a couple of days.  We decided to make a visit to Jekyll Island on the coast.

It was too cold and windy to enjoy the beaches, but we were finally able to find the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.  I’m not able yet to walk around the Jekyll Island historic district, but I thought I could manage getting to the center. 

Not many people, I’d guess, take the time to read the bricks along the path, but using a walker, I had plenty of opportunity to do so.  I got a kick out of these two border bricks.  Kemp’s Ridley is the name of an endangered sea turtle, but Olive Ridley??    (Kemp’s wife??)

                                               Then I came upon a brick that fit me to a ‘T’. 

There are many displays and interactive activities for young and old that educate folks to the plight of the sea turtles.  Having participated in the turtle watch program at Pea Island my first time there, I found it all very interesting.  We were also able to attend a program that explained the winter hazards to sea turtles when cold snaps happen.  Since sea turtles are cold blooded, when the ocean gets cold their body temp goes down and they are unable to eat. 

Many of these sickly turtles are gathered up north along the coast, and sent to facilities like this one for rehabilitation.  The surgery area of the center is pictured above on the bottom right.  In the last two months, around 200 turtles have been gathered and treated at similar facilities.

The part of the visit I enjoyed the most was going through the turtle hospital where a number of turtles were being rehabilitated.  The temperature of the water in the pools is raised about five degrees daily with the turtles in them until the ideal temperature of 70-75 degrees is attained.  At that point, the turtles are able to begin eating again.  At the lower temps, the immune systems of the turtles are also compromised, so the turtles are also treated with antibiotics to ward off infections.  Eventually, almost all will be released back into the wild.

It was a great day trip to get us out of the rig, and to learn something new.  If you find yourself on the Georgia coast south of Savannah, I’d recommend a visit to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.  I, of course, had to buy a tee shirt to add to my collection and to support the work of the center.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

A coming family visit

I got an email from my daughter, Robyn, in the last couple of days saying she and her family would be driving down to Disneyworld in the early part of March.  Since they would be driving from Indiana, I asked if they were planning to stop to visit me at Okefenokee.  After speaking with her husband, Dennis, she got back to me that they all would be stopping by on March 8-10.

The two grandgirls will be coming with them so I suggested they stay in one of the cabins at Okefenokee Pastimes Campground.  I can’t fit them all in the rig with me, and I have been very pleased staying at this small, very clean, friendly place. 

Today I asked to see one of the cabins to determine if it would be suitable.  Kurt helped me case the joint, and pointed out the features for me to photograph.  There are bunk beds for Avery and Phoebe. 

Dennis and Robyn can use this double bed.  (That will be a challenge since they’re used to a king size bed.)  I want to note that Kurt doesn’t use a cane, he was just carrying it along for me so I could get up the stairs.  Who amongst you gear heads can identify the picture on his tee shirt?

He was game for posing until I asked him to model the ‘throne’.    But it didn’t take much to persuade him so I could show the bathroom and kitchenette area.  He’s such a ham!  It’s making my recovery time quite enjoyable to have him around. 

I thought the cabin was perfect for their visit, so told C I was interested in reserving it after I spoke to Robyn.  Within the hour, C came to the rig to report that the reservations were pouring in, and there was only one cabin left for that weekend.  I used Kurt’s cell phone to leave a message for Robyn to get back to me ASAP.  Surprisingly she called within the hour, and I went down to the office to put down a reservation deposit. 

So Robyn, Dennis, Avery, and Phoebe (Buckle) will be staying three nights before they head to Disneyworld.  I’m excited about that.  I plan to send a post card to the girls with lots of alligators on it asking them to come visit me soon.  I’ll be back on the refuge by then, and I know I won’t have any trouble getting those days off for their visit.  Cool Beans!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Stymied the physical therapist today

I don’t think that I’ve mentioned that since I got out of the hospital, the weather in this neck of the woods has been outstanding… sunny days with highs near 80.  Unbelievable!  I’ve been plugging away at my exercises and trying to increase my walking distance with the walker each day, but I was still getting antsy.  I’m not used to just sitting around.  Yesterday was the day that broke the camel’s back.  We had to sit all day waiting for a call from the home nursing service so I could get my bandages changed and set up the physical therapy sessions I needed.  I appreciate the fact that these folks will come to the rig to do what is necessary, but the beautiful day was really calling to me.  I’d been cooped up too long!

Finally, around 6:00, the nurse showed up to change my dressing, and to admit me to the home nursing service.  That dressing change was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.  The dressing over the incision had been on for a week and I can only explain it as a big sheet of pigskin type material covering up the gauze and such below.  It was like I had a football on my hip.  She told me to stand up and drop my drawers so she could begin removing the ‘pig skin’.  As she ripped it off, I thought I might go through the roof.  It was an indescribable combination of pain from my skin going with it and a most deep tickling sensation.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  It was crazy. 

The nurse told me before she left, that the physical therapist would call me sometime today to set up my three times/week appointments.  There was no way I was going to sit out another day waiting for a phone call.  So, Kurt and I headed for the refuge this morning.  I wanted him to experience the boat tour of the swamp from the east entrance.  Being a volunteer, I got to go for free, but we purchased a ticket for the noon tour.


We had about an hour and a half to kill before the tour began, so we did the Swamp Island Drive.  Because of the warm temps the last five days, Kurt was able to see a bunch of alligators along the way.  That had been something he wanted to see, so it worked out well.  I was able to get a nice shot of this Savannah sparrow.  It was perched on one of the charred tree remains from last year’s great fire.

Just as we were about to board the boat, I got a call from the therapist about her coming out to put me through my paces.  I told her I was about to get on a boat for a tour of the swamp, and her response was, “You’re doing what???”.  Ha Ha lady!  I’ll talk to you when I return…

The tour goes down the Suwannee Canal for several miles, and then turns into the Chesser Prairie.  Not the kind of prairie you’d find in Kansas, Dorothy.

                                   
                                Kurt said he enjoyed the tour.  He was getting as antsy as I was.


I continued to work on my quest to get a good kingfisher picture.  It’s a personal challenge I have to capture this skittish bird.  As you can tell, I’m still on that quest.

It was warm enough this afternoon, that the basking alligators had their mouths open to lower their body temps.  Eventually I met with the physical therapist, and she worked me through my exercises after being a bit surprised that I had been out and about on a boat tour.  I’ve got a plan, lady, and it doesn’t include just vegetating in bed.

I’ve been extremely lucky that my recovery has been moving along quickly without the use of pain medications.  I haven’t felt I needed them since I came home.  I have them available, and will use them if I need to.  Tomorrow, the bandage nurse will be back, and I’ll keep doing my exercises.  My goal is to walk the four mile trail on the refuge before I leave here.  I can envision the prize…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

A little bit about my hospital stay, a couple of new experiences, Nurse Ratchet is challenged, and where we are staying.

As the title implies, this will probably be a rather long post.  First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement, and concern.  The number of comments and emails I have received has been overwhelming.  What a great blogging community we have.

I was in the Mayo hospital for almost three days.  There’s not much I remember about that first surgery day.  I was pretty much out of it all day.  I was the first person in the operating room, and we had to leave the rig at 4:30 a.m. to get there!  The only thing I really remember is having to use a bed pan, and it overflowing several times.  (TMI?)

Wednesday, they got me out of bed so I could start to learn how to walk again.  Painful?  YES!, but the morphine helped zonk me out after each physical therapy session.  They had me take some pills to help with constipation, and also milk of magnesia.  Let’s just say that they more than worked, but at least I could use an elevated portable toilet rather than the bedpan.  The problem was I wasn’t very quick at getting out of bed in time.  I think I may have set a record for having the sheets changed more frequently than any other patient on record!  I was also cut off from the morphine since it plummeted my BP to very low levels. 

By Thursday, I was ready to get out of Dodge!  I spoke to the Doctor about it, and he said it would depend on what the Physical Therapist had to say about my progress.  You can bet I did my best to impress her with my progress.  I had shown her the pictures of the stairs into the rig so we practiced stairs, and I passed!   A bit after 5:30 in the evening, I was released, and we boogied out of there for home.

On Friday, we had to drive to Kingsland to get three prescriptions filled.  One for pain, one for nausea from the pain meds, and one to help prevent blood clots.  First stop was Walgreen’s.  I used my handicapped tag for the first time, and we parked right next to the door.  Thank Goodness!  I used my walker to get inside the store, and as usual the prescription department was in the far back corner.  Kurt went ahead to give them the prescriptions while it took me about ten minutes to get there. 

They didn’t have the blood clot one, but called the CVS in town, and transferred the prescription there since I had to have it that day.  By the time I walked back out to the car, I was about done in.  We stopped at the Publix for a few things, and I had my first experience using one of those handicapped carts.  After Walgreens, Kurt had to go get it for me so I could drive from the car to the store and back.  As we approached the CVS, it dawned on me that these pharmacies have drive up windows.  Duh!  Why hadn’t I thought of that for Walgreens??

It turned out that the blood clot prescription was an injection!  Nurse Ratchet was a little nonplussed, as he had never given an injection before.  We read the directions a couple of times, and things went off without a hitch.  I think it was the least painful shot I’ve ever had!  He has nine more days to practice that skill on me. 

I have been religiously doing my exercises every day since I’ve been home, and am impressed with my progress.  Getting in and out of the rig on those stairs is easier than walking, if you can believe that.  So I still get to sit outside whenever I want since we’re experiencing fantastically warm weather near 80*.

At the beginning of the entrance road to Okefenokee NWR, there is a campground on the opposite side of the highway.  It is Okefenokee Pastimes.  The owners are a little different, but I eventually persuaded them to allow me to stay for the duration of my recovery.

It is small, quiet, and very clean.  The workampers, C and Shawn, here are wonderful and very helpful.  Before I took Emma to the kennel, C came by a time or two each day to walk Emma for me.  As we pulled in from the hospital on Thursday night, they both came over to be of help getting me into the rig. 

I’m able to do my walking exercises each day around the campground, and got this shot of my site, under Kurt’s watchful eye last night.  I have been blessed with my nurse, friends, and folks here at the campground to help boost my recovery.  It’s no wonder I haven’t needed any of the pain meds since arriving home.  ‘In rig’ visits from Charlton county home nursing will begin next week for further PT.  I’m maintaining my positive attitude and can envision being back on the trails in the not too distant future.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Just a note

I made it through the surgery and came out the other side.  I am back to the rig, and it has been a long painful three days, but I’m already seeing improvements.  It’s feels very late since you all know how much sleep you get in the hospital!  Perhaps tomorrow I’ll be up to a few more details.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Nurse Ratchet arrives!

Just a short update tonight.  After the much appreciated help of four fellow volunteers, I successfully got moved to Okefenokee Pastimes Campground yesterday.  I couldn’t have done it without them.  It’s only 30 amp here, but I’ve lived with that before so it shouldn’t be any problem.

I’m afraid I kind of over did it with all the moving chores yesterday, and suffered today.  The workampers here volunteered to take Emma for two walks today, and I took them up on it.  They are very nice people.

Along about 4:00 pm, I got a call from my brother that he had arrived after driving 2039 miles in the last three days.

                                                              Yes, Nurse Ratchet has arrived!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

What a concert tonight!

Well, today was supposed to be the day that I packed up and moved off of the refuge to the private campground at the end of the entrance road.  You know what they say about the best laid plans.  A message finally came through on my cell phone yesterday that I should call the orthopedic department at Mayo.  My coverage here pretty much sucks, so it took a day or so for the message to get through.  When I called back, they told me I had to come in for some more x-rays.  Since it’s a 45 mile drive, and it seems nothing with any medical appointments is expedited quickly, I changed my plans.  It took most of the morning to get those x-rays done.  I’m glad I did it though, as the doctor needed them to use as a template for my prosthesis.

When I called yesterday, I told them I seemed to be developing some congestion in my chest.  I haven’t had a cold or flu in almost ten years!  I was avoiding, as well as I could, all the other volunteers and staff that were sickly the last two weeks, but to no avail.  I just don’t want it to curtail or postpone my surgery.  I also gave my brother, Kurt, a call since his plans were to head out from Arizona early this morning to get here.  Uf-Duh!  Why is it there always seems to be a fly in the ointment?  Thankfully, his response was that it might only add a week to his stay with me, and was okay with that.  Thank you Nurse Ratchet!

My congestion today didn’t seem much worse than yesterday, so the doctor just told me to drink lots of liquids and take my vitamins.  I can do that.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that it won’t get worse before Tuesday.  I also asked about a handicapped tag for my car.  (wish I had done that two months ago)  Getting that accomplished turned out to be an adventure.

After the doctor filled out the necessary paperwork, and it was notarized, I headed for the DMV in Waycross which was on my way home.  You know how DMVs are… packed with a gazillion people.  After a while I found out I would have to go to the county courthouse in the county I was staying in.  Okay, so I drove back to Folkston.  After waiting there a half hour, they sent me somewhere else.  At place number three, the lady first told me since my residence is in South Dakota, they couldn’t issue a tag to me.  I told her I would be living on the refuge until the end of April.  She then told me to sit down and wait as this might take some time.

It did take some time, but finally I was successful.  Never thought I’d need one of these, but it was worth the all the waits.

Back at the rig in the afternoon, I started my preps for moving tomorrow.  I’m happy to report that I asked for two of the male volunteers to be assigned to help me, and my request was granted.  They’ll be here tomorrow at 9:00 or so to help me do the outside work.  All that bending stuff with the hookups and such are beyond me right now.  They’ll also travel the five miles with me to Okefenokee Pastimes and help me set up.  I normally have to be very independent, but I’m thrilled to turn over most of the physical work tomorrow.

As for tonight’s concert?  As I started this post, the volunteer village was surrounded by a pack of coyotes.  They barked, yipped, and howled around us for a good five minutes.  ‘The Call of the Wild’!  I was the only one in camp this evening, so only Emma and I got to enjoy this concert.  Her hair was kind of standing on edge…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

What a year it was---part 2

After enjoying my time experiencing my private Blue Grass concert and following the quilt trail in north central Tennessee, I headed east a ways to spend about a month at the Escapees Park.  Raccoon Valley SKP park is just north of Knoxville.

My main reason for staying there was its proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  What a marvelous park this is.  It was everything I had hoped for.  It was also the place where I fulfilled a lifetime dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Granted, my hip was beginning to give me problems, and I was only able to walk a short portion of it.  In my heart, that didn’t matter.  It was just one of those experiences that brought tears to my eyes as I limped along.  It’s hard to explain how this short walk sang to my inner most being.  The memory chokes me up now as I write this.

Later in the month, I zipped up to Dyer, Indiana, in my car for a short stay to celebrate my daughter Robyn’s retirement party after 20 years serving our country in the US Army.  It was one of those rare times when I was able to have all three of my kids together, and three out of my five grands too.  Hoo-ah!, Robyn Kay!  All three of my kids are veterans, and I’m very proud of that fact.  Actually, Andy is still serving in the National Guard.

In July, Emma and I moved up to Jenny Wiley State Resort Park to spend a week or so camping with my sister Pam, and BIL Stan.  Pam was very interested in the Hatfield/McCoy feud, so we enjoyed investigating areas where it occurred.  I’m not a big country western fan, but the highlight for me was the real adventure of visiting the childhood home of Loretta Lynn in Butcher Holler.  I’ll never forget how we finally ended up there.

Eventually, I made it to Alligator River NWR in North Carolina for my three month stint of volunteering there and at Pea Island NWR on the Outer Banks.  The best part of my time there was the bears and other critters.

Some of those ‘other critters’ included a visit from my friend Jack and meeting more fellow bloggers.  The Roanoke Island play, lighthouses, and seafood rounded out my time there.  I began using a cane to get around, and began planning for a hip replacement.

About the middle of October, I headed out on my journey south.  I learned about raising cotton, whirly-gigs, and Pearl’s Garden.  As I hooked up briefly with my friends on the road, I was once again thankful for such a nice cyber community out here.

Toward the end of October, I got settled in at Okefenokee NWR in Folkston, GA.  I’ll be here until the middle of April.  That’s the longest commitment I’ve made so far during my time on the road, but it will also include time off for that hip replacement.  Once again, you can see that fellow bloggers and volunteers play an important part in my life.  It’s a life I love, and I hope I’ve got a few more years to go…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

What a year it was---part 1

As I have done the last couple of years on the blog, I sat down today to review and reminisce about the year just ended.  I’ll have to do it in two parts this year since my internet connection is a little flaky. 

I started out the year with volunteering almost four months at Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR.  I had lots of visitors this year, and I’m sure regular readers will recognize several of them.  The visitors included family, fellow volunteers, personal friends, and other RV bloggers.  It seemed like hardly a week went by that I didn’t get to enjoy time with new and old friends.

There were plenty of birds to photograph, and even one to catch in hand.  What a thrill that was!  Bachman’s sparrows are hard to see, and I was lucky enough to scoop one up in my hand on the VC front lawn.

I also enjoyed the other critters and plants that make the longleaf pine savannah their home.  Towards the end of April, it was time to move on.

I took almost three months off from volunteering to slowly make my way from Mississippi to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Spent some time at the Prairie Creek COE park near Montgomery, Alabama, so I could steep myself in the history of the state capitol and the Civil Rights Movement.  I was humbled by their struggle.

Then it was on to another COE park just over the border in Georgia.  More history during that stay including FDR’s “Little White House” with a swim in the Hot Springs therapeutic pool,  and Andersonville and the National Prisoner of War Museum.  Met up with fellow bloggers at the beautiful Callaway Gardens for a wonderful butterfly experience and tour of one of their favorite places.

I then zipped up to Tennessee for a couple of weeks.  So many new experiences there!  A private Blue Grass concert, visiting the home of Congressional Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Alvin C. York, and wandering all the back roads trying to follow the quilt trail.  That brought me to the middle of June, and just about half way through this year’s journey. 

I hope some of you recognize yourselves in these collages, and I apologize for not providing links to all of the bloggers.  With my corrupt hip, I just don’t have the patience or fortitude right now to do that.  I truly enjoy others’ walks down Memory Lane, and hope the same is true for you.  I’ll endeavor to post part two tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy