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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, February 14, 2013

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!!

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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. Eye rolling smile  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. 

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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.

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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

30 comments:

  1. Boy do I know the feeling of making an assumption about the sunset. Been there done that exactly the same way. But your pictures of the evening you did go are still really gorgeous.

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  2. Keep up the hard work of recuperation and it won't be long before you can get your jump rope out of the closet.

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  3. The sunset you posted is very beautiful!

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  4. Love, love, love the last picture. with you taking it from that angle really made a difference verses head on. The small amount of sunset added the perfect touch. By the way how is Emma doing? Rid of the worms yet??? Hope so!

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  5. So glad you are doing so well.. continue to take care :)

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  6. Knowing how diligent you've been with your exercises and therapy, I'll bet you will ease into the abduction exercises with not too much problem! Beautiful photos and how great to have visitors look you up because of your blog! That's a nice compliment to your wonderful photography and writing skills.

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  7. I'm never anxious to get back to cleaning, but after I had my heart valve replacement, I was very happy when I was finally able to do my own grocery shopping! Keep up the good work, Judy. It sounds like you are doing great!

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  8. Judging BBQ contests - now that would be interesting. Wonder how much of each dish you need to eat though. Hope they have a good supply of Rolaids! I thought your sunset was pretty darn good.

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  9. That happens so often, the sun coming out at the end of the day!!! So glad to hear your hip is coming along so well. Isn't it crazy the cost of surgeries these days. Thank heavens its being covered!!!

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  10. Certainly don't want that new hip hip hopping and popping, so do as they say..(I, of all peeps, should not give that advice)....

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  11. I'm just amazed at how well you are doing! Keep up the exercise, it seems to be working.

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  12. Good luck with the new exercise, after what that new hip cost, I don't want to see you popping it out of joint. Hopefully the ding to your wallet after all the dust settles won't be too bad. Thank goodness you have that supplemental insurance.

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  13. Isn't it amazing how much this stuff costs. My last knee replacement was 28,000. After insurance it cost me about $287. But like you said no pain Priceless.
    Glad they gave you those days off you needed it.

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  14. That last photo - brilliant! Love it. Seems you are healing well & you are wise to still practice caution. No need to go gung ho & hurt yourself like so many folks seem to do! Neat that you got to meet some fellow followers too.

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  15. The reflection in the water and the color of the sky are so awesome in that last picture.

    Glad to know you got time off. What a nice surprise to meet a follower and what fun he must have judging BBQ.

    Take care of yourself.....until next time.

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  16. that is quite the price tag on your hip surgery! will be interesting to see how much you have to pay out of pocket!..
    beautiful pictures today as always!

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  17. "abduction exercises".. being the curious person I am I had to google it to see what it entailed. Sounds like doing them is quite important. (not telling you something you don't already know... but something I didn't know) I read that the most critical time is the 6 weeks following hip replacement surgery.. Glad you have passed that mark okay. As to the cost... last Humana statement I got, that's about the same cost of my bladder surgery... It sure is expensive to stay healthy... but SO worth it!!!

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  19. Wow! Those are the first photos I have seen of that dock area since the fire. That area used to be completely wooded. You would never have even thought to try to catch a sunset there. Thanks for posting them.

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  20. How does a guy get a job being a BBQ judge - it's almost enough to tempt me back into the job market (almost)!

    Good luck with your new hip-popping exercises!

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  21. Gorgeous sunset.

    Paul had hip replacement and wanted to be sure to tell you to go slow. He tried something before he was allowed to and paid a big price for it...lots of pain.

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  22. I surely know about those assumptions about the sunset ... there was one the other evening, but it would have been gone before I got to a clear spot, so I just sighed and went about whatever it was that I was doing in the rig.

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  23. butterbean carpenterFebruary 15, 2013 at 9:58 PM

    Howdy Judy & Emma,
    DON'T RUSH IT!!! Take your time and get well before pushing to get back to normal!!! Keep using the 'appliances' to help you gain strength before putting them aside... You're doing fine, just DON'T RUSH IT!!!
    Give Emma a hug & pat, for me!!!

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  25. kind of worried me when you said you were going to do some new "abduction exercises" - thought maybe you had joined the Navy Seals...

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