I think this is a perfect day for looking back. Usually we go to an eve, eve party where we always share about our events of the year. Since it was cancelled this year, I'll share our major happenings of 2011 here. Major Happenings of 2011: 1. My husband, Bob, and I traveled to Amador County and Sutter Creek, CA with Manhattan Beach friends to taste some native zinfandel wines in January. On our first night there Bob fell and broke the three metatarsal bones in his right foot. Bob had foot surgery to repair and pin his broken bones together in February and had to be off his foot for eight weeks. He got around on a knee scooter (Rolleraid) or crutches. I was his driver. Bob on his knee scooter (Rolleraid) 2. On May 8 (Mother's Day) my memoir Leaving the Hall Light On was released by Lucky Press. My successful book launch reading and signing at our local independent bookstore, Pages, was held on May 12. A couple of weeks later we celebrated my birthday in Lake … [Read more...]
Broken foot update
Today is five months and one day since Bob fell down a dark stairway in a Sutter Creek, California bed and breakfast and broke his foot. Those of you who follow my blog know the story surgery two weeks later to pin the three broken metatarsal bones together because of all the ligament damage, months of his riding around on a scooter-like vehicle called a RollerAid, walking for weeks after that wearing the Boot, and months of physical therapy. Plus until he could get rid of the boot I was his chauffeur. Believe me, none of it was a pleasant experience. So here's an update. He is walking very well wearing New Balance extra wide shoes though his foot is still red and swollen. He does foot exercises and soaks his foot in ice water twice a day, he works out at the gym twice a week with a personal trainer and once on his own, and he has begun to walk for about thirty minutes each day. I wish I could say that his exercise program is pain free, but that is not so yet. He's thinking … [Read more...]
He’s given the boot the boot
The Boot - discarded along with all the rest of the broken foot accessories I'm very happy to say the last piece of my husband's broken foot equipment is now ready to give away to Good Will. He discarded the huge, cumbersome boot just about two weeks ago, and he now wears his new wide (to accommodate some residual swelling) New Balance shoes full-time. The next thing he needs to do is get back to driving. I'm hoping that will happen next week. It's been a long three plus months, but in the end it was worth the discipline and rigor of his recovery program. He's walking now like nothing ever happened. … [Read more...]
What a difference a week makes
Actually since my husband Bob started walking just less than a week ago our lives have changed considerably for the better. The scooter has been picked up (its real name is RollerAid by Footsteps), the crutches that were always at the ready on the bottom and top floor landings and the walker that he used for help in hopping in and out of the shower are now in the garage. The only implement still in use is the boot though at his physical therapist's advice he's even wearing that less and less at home. Walking with the boot causes another malady an aching back, so the sooner he can walk with a regular pair of shoes the better. He's also been staying at work longer, he's not reluctant to go out to dinner, and we even went to the movies and opera this past weekend. So, all in all things are definitely looking up especially since I don't have to bring him his orange juice and paper in the morning. He actually went out the last two mornings and brought the paper in to me. (My only … [Read more...]
Foot injury update
Well the "step down" day arrived and it went as we had hoped. Though Bob felt a lot of apprehension last night that he still wouldn't be allowed to walk on his foot, today's x-ray showed healing has progressed as expected six weeks post surgery. And, the redness and swelling have subsided considerably. So as of noon today, Bob took his first steps. And though he must still walk with his boot, he can take it off at night. He can also go back to taking showers rather than tub baths that have been easier for him during this recovery time. The next thing he wants to do is start weaning himself off the scooter. He's asked me to bring him one crutch for getting around at the gym with his personal trainer this afternoon. And, I must say I won't miss lugging that thing in and out of the trunk of the car and up and down our stairs. He can't be weaned off of it fast enough for me. I know he is anxious to be walking again, and I'm anxious to have him walking, but I hope he doesn't go too … [Read more...]
One month already
At a formal wedding last Sunday (with scooter) My husband fell and broke his foot one month ago today. And two weeks ago he had surgery to fuse his bones together with ten stainless steel pins. Now two weeks post op he's feeling healthy again -- his appetite is back, he's free of infection, and his spirits are up. All he needs to do is stay off his foot for another four weeks - for a total of eight weeks. It's a tall order for the patient and his prime caregiver (moi), but we're committed to his complete recovery - so that's what it will take. I wrote a poem early on about the fall. So in honor of this month anniversary, here it is: Even A Broken Foot Accidents are just that Accidents Yet some can be avoided like my husband's the other night. He walked willy-nilly toward a dark room that the hotel should have had well lit. And while groping in the dark for a light switch he fell down a short flight of stairs and was rewarded with immediate pain in his foot and … [Read more...]
There’s no whining about a broken foot
I've had a lot on my plate for the last week and a half. I haven't been neglecting my blog, I've just had too much going on. First and foremost, my husband Bob fell down a short flight of stairs last week while we were on vacation in California's Gold Country. We were there to take in a little history and sip some of the fine zinfandels that flourish in Amador Country. Then we were to go to a zinfandel and food tasting in San Francisco and spend our last two days touring the city a place we've always loved to visit. Unfortunately his fall and the broken foot that resulted cramped our style. We still tasted some fine zins, but the only touring we got in, in San Francisco was a movie theater where we saw the wonderful Biutiful with Javier Bardem. I highly recommend the movie but you don't have to have a broken foot to enjoy it. We also had a couple of great meals one with a dear friend whom I met years ago at Esalen. I had intended to start work immediately upon our return on … [Read more...]
