Wednesday, June 18, 2008

~one step forward~



well, the surgery has been done. now the waiting begins. we arose before the crack of dawn on monday and arrived at the prescribed hour of 6 a.m. jim drove in and per my request parked the car in end spot so leaving would beeasier for me {driving one handed}. wouldn't you know that when i went out to leave the parking garage, someone had parked their suv, illegally, next to my car. fortunately, i could back out with no real problem, but that really ticks me off.

we were extremely impressed with the surgical staff at the university of rochester medical center. everyone was upbeat and helpful. every precaution was taken to make certain there were no mistakes in identity or procedure. we were already very taken with the neurosurgeon who we had seen in his office last week. he has quite a personal story which i plan to write about when i have two good hands to type with.

the surgery, itself, didn't take too long. we were back home before noon. dr.huang said there was a lot of scar tissue. he said it will take time but he thinks jim has "a reasonable expectation of success." he {jim} will have to undergo therapy with a hand specialist. he said for this summer jim would have to enjoy golf by watching tiger woods. poor jim, even that pleasure will be denied him. tiger has just announced that he will be out for the rest of the 2008 season for knee surgery.

speaking of tiger, did any of you watch the us open this past weekend? we were so nervous, we couldn't watch. we kept changing the channel back and forth. it was wonderful.

well, back to the invalid(s). we are managing quite well (if a little awkwardly). isn't this some contraption he has to keep his hand above his heart? he even sleeps with it. wonder how much our insurance will be billed for that.

when we are out in public we get a lot of double takes. i think we must have been quite a sight doing a self checkout at wal-mart today. we are determined to go into the rochester/wegman's lpga tournament tomorrow. friday night is the faculty retirement party. jim's worried about who will tie his shoes and cut his steak for him. i'll try to snap some pictures - tune in later for new developments in the continuing saga of "the old and the feeble".

hippo hugs.

11 comments:

Mississippi Songbird said...

Bless your hearts..lol.. My kids won't let me use the self checkout. They think I'm too slow..lol
I am determined to conquor it one day!.. I haven't been on line much. Too much stuff going on but I will visit when I can. God Bless you both and have fun at the retirement dinner..Steak sounds so good!

Diane said...

I'm sure when Jim's done with that contraption, you can find a crafty way to use it. LOL

Oh...the things we take for granted. I have no doubt that you will sail through and as fast as time flies, it will be behind you. Many prayers for speedy recoveries!

Nancy said...

At least Jim's got that surgery behind him now. He can look forward from here on in! That is quite a contraption he's got there!

You seem to be in good spirits in spite of it all. Before you know it, this will all be behind you both. You've got a lot of people praying for you, too, and with God on your side, you can't lose!

I am thinking about you both! My prayers are still going out for you guys!

Love and (((HUGS)))

camport said...

the old and the feeble, you crack me up! Hoping you both heal quickly! Can't wait to see those pictures of you two invalid[s]...LOL over that one, too!

:)

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm so glad everything went well. Now, here's a speedy recovery -- though, I am enjoying your stories (is that bad? Heh-heh).

Take care you two!

Renie Burghardt said...

I'm so glad the surgery went well! Have a good weekend, and God bless!


Renie

Midlife Mom said...

You sound like me and Hubby. He has a bum knee and I have foot troubles and tendonitis so we call each other the old and the feeble! I'm glad the surgery is over and now the mending can begin. That sure is an interesting contraption! Your insurance company will love that! Hope you have a good time at the retirement party and get you shoes tied!

Carole Burant said...

Hi Pam:-)

Thank you so much for coming by my blog and leaving a comment, I love meeting new people!! Oh dear, I've just read your last few posts and see that both you and your hubby are one handed these days...gotta love your team effort at opening a can though! lol Love it! I do hope you both heal quickly. Please do come by and visit me again:-) xox

Nancy said...

Hi Pam!

How are you guys doing??? Been watching for a new post with an update!

In response to your comment on my blog...No, Tammy won't be moving. She loves where she's at and loves her home (and it's paid for), so she won't mind the 25-mile drive at all. Plus, her dad and I are closeby here to look after her cats when she has to work late. Today, I have to take her "Buster" in to the vet at 4pm....he's failing and losing weight just the past couple of weeks. He's a brother to Cleo and Daphy, my 2 diabetic ones, so we think he could also be diabetic....he was sooo fat but now has lost probably 4-5 pounds! Just like his sisters did. So we are kind of uptight about him today. Be glad to get some bloodwork run on him and get some answers! He's such a sweet ole guy! He just idolizes Tammy and vice versa!

Catch you later via email!

(((HUGS))) to you both!!!!

Cheryl Wray said...

I bet you guys do make quite a scene when you're out together. LOL But you have a GREAT attitude and I know you guys will do just fine. I will definitely be praying for Jim's continued recovery!!

The US Open was very exciting!! (And I'm not even a big golf fan!)

Lynilu said...

Glad to hear the surgery is done. Just one thing less to deal with. I hope the healing and therapy are smooth and quick! I love hearing about how the two of you cope with the day to day challenges, and the fact that it seems you have both held on to your sense of humor! Life is easier when you do!