Great News: No Surgery!
Last week, I had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. He showed me images of the results of the recent MRI of my knee, and explained the procedures of an arthroscopic surgery. That was much less invasive than I was mentally prepared for. It sounded so good, actually, that I almost said, ‘ok, let’s go for it.’ But then he gave me the choice: because I have no arthritis in my knee, 6 weeks of physical therapy would probably be sufficient to get me well again. So I chose for no surgery! It was such a relief that we went to Trader Joe’s to get flowers to celebrate.
A Treasured Family Visit
Ten wonderful days of family visits flew by. Our daughter with her two kids visited from Canada. They had rented an Air B&B and came over daily for games, cooking delicious treats and dinners, weeding the patio borders, taking Lani out for brief walks, shopping, visits to the neighborhood pool, and much more. I went with them to the pool, and sat on the steps, under water to my shoulders, moving my leg back and forth. Wonderfully cool! On Sunday, they flew back and landed safely back home.
Physical Therapy
I found a great therapist, four minutes from home and had my first session yesterday. He predicted I would be able to get rid of my walker soon. The blue walker I got on Amazon is great. Lightweight, with four wheels, a sturdy seat that covers a basket to carry things in, and easily foldable to put in the car. When I don’t need it anymore, I will store it in our big garage; because you never know if and when I will need it again :-).
Blessings
After therapy yesterday, I needed to drop off an Amazon package at the UPS store nearby. When I got there, I decided it would be too much of a hassle to get the walker out or the car and put it back in for the short distance to the door, so I took the package in one hand, my cell phone with the QR code in the other, gingerly got out of the car and closed the door. Very slowly, step by step, I walked to the entrance of the UPS store. An employee in an UPS uniform put out her cigarette in a large planter and walked to the door from the other side. When she saw me, she asked if I had a return. She then took the package and my cell phone, opened the door for me, bypassed the line of other customers in the store, got around the counter, processed my return and handed me back my phone with a receipt. Then she walked around again and opened the door to let me out. I am still emotional when I think back to it, both because somebody went out of her way to help me when she saw my need, and because I had never needed help like that before.
Books
Because I will continue to be very careful not to burden my left leg, and will sit down with my feet up as much as possible, I had time to read! I have read two books on my Kindle. The next one I will be reading is an actual paper copy of a book that was printed in 1929. It was a gift from an unknown giver, who left a sticky note with the words that he saw me once at Bucky’s Casino, hoped I had hit the jackpot, and that Angelina Jolie would produce a movie of my book. He signed with “a friend”. I have not read it yet, but it is on the table. The introduction is by Hendrik Willem van Loon, my father’s favorite author. The friend must be from Prescott, in his nineties, and must have known I studied at Leiden University. One of the first chapters is about Leiden University.
I have one friend that could have given me this precious book, who wrote two newspaper columns about me, and will ask him again if he did. He denied it earlier. As I am writing this I have another idea. Perhaps the giver is the daughter of a WWII veteran I met in Prescott: a book from her father’s library. Fess up friend! I want to thank you!
And that’s a wrap! Sooner than I expected!
Until next time,
Ronny