RECOUPING FROM BACK SURGERY

Thursday, March 4 – Home from the hospital today. Marsha picked me up about 10:00 for our trip back to Livingston. It's good to be home. I feel pretty good. I enjoyed sitting outside in the beautiful sunny afternoon. Hopefully that will be the case for most days. Texas is warming up....It's Spring in Texas!

 
Friday, March 5 - Boy! Sleeping in this brace is going to take some getting use to! I feel like one of those circus clowns in the Bull Riding Contest wearing a barrel.

 

Just about impossible to lie in one position for more than a few minutes. Constant changing of position.....betcha' Marsha is lovin' all the moving around all night! I end up taking a bunch of short naps all night and then all day. Sitting in a chair reading is not bad at all

and even walking, although tiring at this point in the game, doesn’t give me any pain.

Hopefully sleeping will come after a few days!

Eric and Karla, a couple we met in the desert of Quartzsite this winter, arrived at the park today. Eric was one of my morning walking companions. They've been in southern Texas at Port Aransas. They weren't too pleased with this year's weather down there......a constant wind. We've heard this about south Texas. We considered going there for a winter, but if it's always windy, we may have to re-consider the idea.

Eric & Karla are on their way to Eunice, LA to experience the Cajun lifestyle and stopped to visit for a couple of days. They are originally from Michigan. We plan on traveling around Louisiana on our way East, so we’ll have to follow their travels for some ideas.

Saturday, March 6 - It is Texas rodeo time in Houston. This is a big event. It runs all through March.  They even have a group of trail riders that rode in from other parts of Texas on horses and wagons.  Every night on the news they have a Rodeo report. It is held at Reliant Stadium. They have all the typical rodeo events like bull riding, and bronco riding and then of course concerts by many popular country singers. We had plans on attending some events but may have to wait until next year due to my back.

Marsha, Eric, Karla, and Lee went out to eat at Florida's Kitchen. It is located on 796 FM 350 S, in Livingston. I wasn't feeling well and stayed home. The group had a good meal and a good time talking. Marsha did bring me home a carry out and it was great.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but boy is the food good inside.

Inside Florida’s. It is huge.

Part of the kitchen.

From left front around the table are…Lee (IYU), Me, Karla, Eric

Some one was hungry…LOL

Sunday, March 7 – Pretty quiet day. We did some BBQ chicken on the grill. Excellent! Attended the Ice Cream Social. We sat with Eric and Karla. Eric and Karla are leaving tomorrow. We really enjoy taking with them. Well, another week bits the dust.

Thanks for stopping by. See y’all soon.

HOUSEKEEPING CHORES AND SURGERY

Monday, February 22 – Well, found out that my back surgery is scheduled for March 1. I am glad I've been put on the schedule and I can quit wondering and get things ready. I have a few thing to get ready so Marsha won't have to worry about them....things like getting the propane tank filled, exercising the genset and giving the motor home a bath. I also would like to get our taxes filed...ukk!

Just heard on the TV we have a winter weather advisory for Livingston, TX for tomorrow.....what's with that?????? I promised Marsha no more snow when we began full-timing....huh oh!

Tuesday, February 23 – Thank goodness the snow was only in the air....little/no snow stayed on the ground. As a matter of fact, by noon the temperature was in the 50's, although the breeze was cold, and the sun was shinning brightly.

Spring is coming Ohio. Marsha ran to the store, and they are selling flowers everywhere. Marsha went crazy!

Thursday, February 25 – We did some Motorhome preparations prior to my surgery next week. Since we will be sitting for 6 weeks, we filled the propane tank, checked the oil levels and made sure the tires were at properly inflated. We then took the motor home for a ride and ran the generator. When we returned to our campsite, we washed the motor home from stem to stern. That just about killed me.....my back is definitely ready for surgery!

We had breakfast, French toast and bacon, for supper. We saw a guest chef cook French toast on the Today Show the other day, and decided on it for dinner.

The rest of the day was for naps and watching the Olympics.

Friday, February 26 - Paid our monthly rent at Escapees Park. We've been here two weeks and our rent, which includes electricity and water, was $ 14.19 per day. Not bad. Our only other utility was propane which was $23.10 which averages out to $1.65 per day. So our daily cost here at Escapee's Park is a whooping $15.84.

The doctor’s office called telling me to be at the hospital by 11:45, which means my surgery won’t be until about 1:00 p.m. Going to be a long day.

Did you see the moon tonight. WOW….how big and beautiful.

Sunday, February 28 – We were heading down to Humble, on the outskirts of Houston, to have lunch with Carrie, our youngest daughter, but she got lost and ended up somewhere off of I-45. We were off I-59. Needless to say, we didn’t eat lunch with her. We also did some shopping at Best Buy. There aren't many shopping opportunities here in Livingston, TX. There is a medium size Walmart but that's about it for the “big box” type stores. We replaced our DVD player which is on the fritz.

Monday, March 1 – I had Paul at the hospital by 11:00 CT. They took him back and began pre-op right away. Dr. Wimberly finished his surgery prior to Paul early so he was ready whenever they were finished with Paul.

Before surgery

He went to surgery at 12:45. I received a call in the waiting room about 3:45 telling me all was going fine. Surgery was over at 4:45. Dr. Wimberly talked with me in a private room. He showed me the x-ray of the hardware in Paul’s back. He said he was able to get his spine aligned 90%. Really good. All nerves were released so he shouldn’t have that pain any more. All-in-all, a very successful surgery. Paul got to his room around 6:00. He is all hooked up. The nurses are wonderful.

After surgery

His room is gorgeous! It is like being in a very expensive hotel room. It is the biggest hospital room i have ever been in. The TV is in a beautiful cabinet. There is a refrigerator and the bathroom is HUGE!

Writing desk

Huge room

TV cabinet and refrigerator

The nurse showed me the Nourishment room. It is a room that family members can go and get just about any type of liquid to drink, Jell-O, pudding, and other snacks. She said to help myself whenever I am up and get Paul anything he wants. Never heard of such a thing. They told me I could stay all night in the room if I want. They had a blanket and pillow ready for me.

Tuesday, March 2 – I stayed at Carrie’s last night. Got up early and went to see Paul. He was sitting up in a chair. They had got him up and walking. They tried to walk him last night but his blood pressure was too low. Dr. Wimberly had already been in to see him. Said all looked good. Paul isn’t in much pain. He does have a line directly in the spine that released morphine to the fused area. He is only allowed to have Jell-O until they can hear his stomach starting to rumble. That will be the juices are flowing and he can have solid food.

I talked to him around 8:30. Carrie went up to visit him and Kelly had called. He said he still felt good with very little pain. He was walking the halls a few times since this morning. All sounds positive.

Wednesday, March 3 – He finally got a real breakfast. Said it tasted great. Dr. Wimberly was in and said he plans to send him home tomorrow. Great news!!! They finally took the Cather out around 5 and the pain medication stopped early in the afternoon. We talked on the phone about 6:00. Things aren’t going as well today. He walked several times but has a very bad upset stomach. He could not eat lunch or dinner. Hopefully, once he can go to the bathroom this will all pass. He does have more pain today. They can give him some oral pain medication. The doctor said to expect pain for the next week. He will have a prescription for pain once he is released. Let’s hope tonight goes better than today.

Thanks again for visiting. Sorry for such a long delay in posting. Please stop back.

GETTING READY FOR SPRING

Saturday, February 13 – Woke to birds chirping in the near by trees....been awhile since I heard chirping birds. We'll have to put the bird feeders out...it's spring in east Texas.
Got quite a few jobs done before the ole' back told me to quit. Put 2 bird feeders out, the patio mat, chairs, and end tables out and set up the grill.....steaks for Sunday. I did some adjusting of the wiper blade on the motor home and re-routed the brake warning light on the jeep for when it's being towed. Now all I have to do is wash it! That will have to wait.

Sunday, February 14 – HAPPY VALENTINES DAY  We attended First United Methodist Church here in Livingston. Our sermon was “Christianity for Dummies.” Hit home. Just hung around the MH today. Got out the grill and how some delicious steaks for dinner. We went to the Ice Cream Social and met some more nice people.

During Marsha’s walk today, she couldn’t help but take some picture of Spring. Yes, all you Ohioans. Spring is here and is on its way. Just hang in there for a few more months.

Sure sign of spring

They grow in bunches down here too.

Now we’re talking!!!

Wednesday, February 17 – I've taken the opportunity of being stuck in one place for a week to get many maintenance chores completed. I've prepared a spreadsheet of all the maintenance jobs that need to be done to the motor home on a daily, monthly, 3 or 6 month, and annually basis. I'm catching up on some of these items like oiling the basement (storage area) doors, greasing receiver inserts, checking battery water, and changing water filters. I also need to get these done before going to the doctor.....just in case he tells me I can't do these things for a while....ha ha ha!

Been doing some sitting in the sun and relaxing too. It's sure makes things wonderful when the sun is shining and warm!

We tried to connect with the people we played Mexican Train with when we were last here. They haven't been playing much this winter, so we'll have to wait until additional people arrive here in Livingston.


Thursday, February 18 – Found out I'm going to need back surgery. Called a Posterior Lumbar (L4-L5) Spondylolis Thesis Reduction and Transformation Lumbar Interbody Fusion to correct Lumbar instability stenosis in the L4-L5 vertebrae. Say that ten times...ha ha! The date hasn't been scheduled yet. I'll only be in the hospital – Texas Orthopedic Hospital – about 3 days, and then have about a 6 week rehabilitation. I went in for all the pre-opt tests today and was given a clean bill of health – so that's a GO! Also, was slapped up with plaster to make a model for a back brace that I will be required to wear for 6 weeks. Very interesting!  I should be good as new soon!

It is great to know I am having surgery at one of Top 50 Hospitals in U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Hospitals.” Out of 1,600 hospitals nationwide, Texas Orthopedic Hospital was recognized as one of only two hospitals in the state to make the Top 50 list for orthopedic procedures. I was told by several former patients, “That if you need surgery, your in the right place.” Good to know I'm in good hands!
We will have to hang around the Houston area for several months, probably at least three months, maybe as many as six....that means Texas HEAT.......Yowze! That puts a damper on our planned travels, but we'll make up for it in the future. Have to explain full-timing to the surgeon. He wants x-rays at 3, 6, and 12 months. Have to see if I can have those taken in other locations and sent to him......hmmmm? I sure hope that's possible!

 Friday, February 19 – Did additional household (motor home) chores this morning. My first item on the list was draining the hot water tank. This should be done periodically to blow sediment out of the tank. HOLY MOWLY....look at the stuff blowing out of the tank.







These tanks also have anode rods that decompose rather than having the hot water tank itself be eaten away. Look at what's left of the rod I removed......My Goodness....I doubt the previous owner ever drained the tank. On the left is the old….the right the new.What a difference!!!



I inserted a new rod, so we should be in good shape for awhile. I also removed the bike rack from the Jeep so Marsha could wash the grit off, sprayed the bikes with degreaser and cleaned and oiled them, and finally checked the batteries for proper water levels. That was all the back could handle......still need to wash the road grime off the motor home.

Went to HAPPY HOUR hosted by Joe & Kay Petersen, founders of the Escapees Club.



WOW! Are they a hoot! They have a real “road show” of entertainment. They told stories and jokes about RV life and related subjects. A very entertaining hour! They are both in their 80's and are quite healthy and active.

Since we are going to be in Livingston for a while, we will probably only update once a week. Thanks for stopping by and hope you visit again.