A surprise visit

My three days off were pretty much consumed with recuperating from my days in the VC, laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning.  Not very exciting.  Today it was back to the VC for a half day in the afternoon.  Tomorrow’s a full field trip day, and Saturday will be my last half day.  It’s back to full days on Sunday.

I think I’m ready for that as I’ve continued to be faithful to my PT exercises.  I’ve been able to advance to not using the cane in the rig, but I still rely on it for any outside activities and working.  Next Tuesday will mark six weeks from surgery, and I’ll be beginning a new regimen of abduction exercises.  That means practicing moving my hip and leg out to the right. 

In preparation for the surgery, I tried to do many of the exercises beforehand to build up my muscles.  The abduction exercises were an impossibility at that time due to the pain.  I’m a little apprehensive about beginning them next week, but I’m hoping they will help take care of the one set of muscles that are still giving me some twinges.  Restrictions to lifting and bending will be in place until July.  I’ve been told the biggest threat is the hip popping out of the socket, so I’ll willingly accept those restrictions.  I can’t imagine the pain a dislocation would cause.

I got my monthly mail delivery yesterday, and it included several statements from Mayo Clinic.  Care to guess the cost of a full hip replacement?  So far, and not all charges are in, it is running about $33,500!  It will be a little time before all bills are in and I find out what Medicare and my supplemental will cover.  My opinion of living with a bionic hip and being able to walk?… Priceless!!

Shortly after I reported for work this afternoon, a delightful couple came into the VC and asked if I was Judy.  I had to admit that I was.   I’d like to introduce Ford and Lorraine Hilton from Coventry, RI.  It turned out they have been following my travels with Emma for some time, and stopped in to meet me in person.  They are presently part-timers that travel around being official judges at Bar-B-Que competitions.  How interesting is that!  They have quite a schedule of places to move around to through April including Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.  (I hope I got those states correct.)

The phone was ringing, and I had other visitors so our visit didn’t last too long.  It’s always nice to meet folks that read my blog.  I just wish we had more time to get acquainted. 

The other night, Emma and I hopped in the car and made our way down to the refuge boat dock because I thought there was the possibility of an outstanding sunset.

It was pretty, but not what I was hoping for.  Wouldn’t you know, we came inside this evening because the skies have been 100% overcast all day.  By assuming the sunset would be nonexistent, I was of course proved wrong.  As I began writing this post the skies suddenly turned brilliant with beautiful shades of red and orange.  Grrr.  Too late to head for the dock…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy