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

The VC and Emma has a little problem

The way the schedule worked out, I was on duty five days in a row.  I’m thinking that was a little much for me, as I fairly collapsed when I got back to the rig last night.  Three of those days I worked in the VC, and that is very hard on aging lower limbs.

It came to me that I haven’t posted any pictures of the Visitors Center, so that’s what you’ll get tonight.  It’s a nice place, but the slate floor is hard on volunteers.

Besides the displays, there is a small nature store that is run by the Okefenokee Wildlife League (OWL), which is the local friends group for the refuge.  I’ve worked better book stores than this at other refuges.  In my humble opinion, the selections offered for sale here lack appeal to the visiting public.  If I were running it, I’d do it a lot differently, but then I’m just a volunteer and will be moving on in a couple of months.

There are some nice displays, and an auditorium where we show the award winning video about the Okefenokee Swamp.  However, being an outside person I’m not too thrilled that the new scheduler has me working here just about everyday next week.  I’ll be talking to her about that on Thursday.

Most of the folks in the volunteer village gathered around a campfire last night, but I just wasn’t up for it.  On my day off today, I did the laundry and took Emma for a good walk for a change, and did meet with the others for the campfire tonight.

Just before we gathered, I fed Emma and she did her business.  As I hopped up to clean up after her, I was shocked to find some worms in her deposit.  Ugh!  She must have contracted worms at her stay at the kennel when I had my surgery.  Kathy, the intern, told me she would pick up some meds for Emma when she goes to her vet tomorrow.  I’m not happy about this development.  Yuck!

With my surgery, I’ve gotten out of the habit of posting so often.  My life of recuperation also hasn’t been very exciting.  It has been pretty boring for the last month or so.  I’m hoping things perk up as I’m more able to ambulate around.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Getting back in the groove

I worked the VC yesterday afternoon, and as usual the chunky slate floor pretty much wore me out.  Other volunteers have complained about knee, hip, and foot problems as well having to spend hours walking around that flooring.  The floor might look nice, but it sure isn’t user friendly.

This afternoon, I was assigned to rove the refuge and interact with visitors.  Being an overcast chilly day, there weren’t too many folks to chat with along Swamp Island Drive.

However, being outside sure was more enjoyable for me.  Each month on the refuge there seem to be different plants blooming.  The February bloom of the month appears to be this vine that nearing peak bloom, is draped over low shrubs.

I thought maybe the gazillions of robins that have been here for the winter would have been making their way north by now.  Do you think they know there’s a big blizzard hitting the northeast right now?

I guess I can’t complain about overcast skies and temps in the 50’s when I think about those folks up north.  No threat of snow here, and signs are beginning to appear that show spring is on the way.

The swamp maples are sending out their little helicopters, and provide a nice red burst of color in the leaf barren sections of the forest. 

It was an enjoyable afternoon spent cruising the byways of the refuge with my camera in hand.  It seems no matter the weather, there’s always something new to discover.  The best part of this, of course, is not having to deal with constant pain.  I’m feeling so rejuvenated it’s amazing!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

I’m pooped!

It was my first day back to work today, and even though it was just a half day it wore me out.  Most of the volunteers were gone today on a field trip to a big camellia garden quite a drive away.  I opted out of that outing because of all of the hours sitting in the van to get there and back.  They all left at 7:00 this morning and still aren’t home.

Instead, since I was about the only one left around, I agreed to lead bird tours for an Audubon group from Venice, FL.  There were about 48 people in the group so we divided them into two groups.  While one group was taking the boat tour, I led the other group down Swamp Island Drive to try to see the red-cockaded woodpecker.  This included a couple of short hikes, but alas the birds were all in hiding today. 

I’ve never seen so few birds when I’ve been out on the drive.  We had a good time for both tours, though, and I filled in the time with the natural history of the woodpecker and tales about the refuge in general.  When I lead tours like this, I can’t bring my camera along so no pictures tonight. 

Each tour was an hour and a half long, and I was about done in by the end of the day.  It did feel good to get back into the swing of things though, and I’m glad I only have to work half days this week and next.  The hip held up well to the hiking, so I sure got my exercise for the day.

Tomorrow, is my last meeting with the physical therapist so I’ll be ‘graduating’ from that particular experience before I head off to work the VC.  Short post tonight, but it is what it is.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

I’m at the head of the class! ;)

Twelve days ago, I had an appointment to get the 21 staples taken out of my incision.  As I hobbled along with my walker on that day, the vital signs nurse remarked that I was doing pretty good.  She said most patients are still using a wheel chair for this appointment.

Today it was an appointment with Dr. Brodersen to check on my progress.  I drove myself to Waycross after my PT nurse, Buffy, put me through my paces early this morning.  She thought the doctor might be impressed with my progress.  I wasn’t so sure. 

The same vital signs nurse took note of my use of a cane and remarked, “You’re sure picking up speed!”  You betcha!  I’m on a mission.

My BP was fine, so she took me to a room to await the doctor.  Remarkably, in about 30 seconds he appeared and told me I had to perform… a walk across the room and back for him.  I guess he was impressed as he happily said, “That was wonderful, and deserves a kiss.”  He shook my hand and gave me a peck on the cheek.   First time I’ve ever had a doctor do that.  He also told me that most patients use the walker for six weeks before thinking about using only a cane, so I was at the head of the class.  I told him waiting six weeks was not on my agenda. 

He then answered any questions I had about restrictions, and wrote me a note to return to four days a week of volunteering after two weeks of half days.  I’ll see him one more time in two months, and then I’m free to move on.  Yippee!  I do have some bending restrictions until July, but I can live with those.  I’m so pleased to be walking without all of that pain.  Things continue to noticeably improve each day.

In celebration, Emma and I took Swamp Island Drive this afternoon to see what we could see.  Not much was out and about at that time of the day, and the skies had become overcast.

I was surprised to find even one ‘gator near the side of the road.  Most of them were in hiding because of the cool temperatures.  I stopped at the VC to make a copy of a medical record, and ran into Gracie, the volunteer coordinator.  As we chatted, she told me to remind her a week before Robyn and family comes to visit so she can arrange a swamp boat trip for us. 

That means we’ll all get an extraordinary trip into the swamp similar to the two trips I’ve made for the Christmas Bird Count and the trail maintenance trip.  I’m excited about that for all of us.   By March, there should be plenty of alligators for the grandgirls to see!

                                                                           Near ‘THE END’!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Moved back home today

The physical therapist was knocking on my door at 8:30 this morning.  This past week, she’s added a weight to my leg for the exercises and upped the number of repetitions for each challenge.  Some are a little uncomfortable, but I muscled my way through all of them.  Of course, my legs feel like wet noodles by the time she leaves. 

There was no time to relax for a while as today was the day I was to move back to the Okefenokee NWR.  Barry and Dick, fellow volunteers, arrived to help me out with the outside packing chores, and we headed out of Okefenokee Pastimes Campground before noon.  By 1:30, everything including the DISH and internet antenna were all set up.  I know I couldn’t have done it without their help.  It was quite a treat for me to have the outside unhooking and hooking up chores only requiring my supervision.  I felt spoiled…

I think I had more exercise with the move and the PT stuff this morning than I’ve had in a long time.  I’m pooped!  It’s great to have 50 amps again, and enough water pressure to actually be able to take a shower.  If there is one complaint I have about Okefenokee Pastimes, it would be the lack of water pressure.  I’ll be taking my first shower in almost a month tomorrow.  I just don’t have the oomph to do it tonight. 

The lack of water pressure while I was there brought me memories of my early childhood.  A tub bath was limited to Saturday nights where I shared the tub water with my brother Kurt.  I always felt lucky when I got to use the water first.  I never experienced a shower until I went away for college.  It’s been a month kind of like some boot camps where you bathe out of your helmet. 

I’m happy to be home.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

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