Slowly Healing

 I thought I would be writing another entry weeks ago, but the fact is I haven’t had the emotional band width to do so until today.  Literally all my physical and emotional energy has been spent healing from surgical procedures and doctor visits. At my first appointment I met my plastic surgeon whose specialty is reconstructive surgery of the hand. (Like he was waiting for me!) After x-rays and an exam he determined I needed a pin in my ring finger where it joins the hand to expedite healing that fracture and to splint the rest of that finger to allow it to heal on it’s own. I might always have a slightly crooked finger, but the good news is that it will heal and I have the finger…

The second piece of the surgery was to re-attach the tendon to the remaining bottom third of my pinkie finger so I would be able to move it and enable a better fit for a prosthesis down the road. I had both of these procedures 2 weeks ago in Gainesville as an outpatient with a shoulder block instead of general anesthesia. I have to say I was surprised by the level of post-op pain, but probably to be expected given all the nerve endings in fingers and hands. I am still in a rigid cast up to my elbow, so every task of daily living is an adventure - thank goodness for a helpful husband.

We have continued to keep a rental car so we can take some day trips to keep our sanity.  We have gone to St Augustine, Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral to name a few,  If we can’t explore Florida by boat, we’ll do it by car! In addition, Mark and Kerry have been great tour guides around the Orlando area. We have explored Winter Garden, Mt Dora, Weikiva River recreation area and the Apopka Lake nature drive (where I saw my first 2 alligators!).

We drove over to the boat to check on it, picked up Tom’s electric bike in Tampa and spent the afternoon on Friday with my nephew, James and his fiancée, Olivia. Saw my first manatee in Tampa Bay! We also connected with Jim Williams, fellow looper, on Friday to look at the marina in St Petersburg where we will have the boat for a month and make tentative plans for him to join us on Orion to get the boat moved down the coast to it, Never underestimate the looper community for physical or emotional support when you need it - I an blown away by the care and concern of these wonderful people I didn’t even know a year ago!

Living here with Mark and Kerry continues to be a blessing and a gift. We have had fun exploring, bonding with their 3 dogs, cooking together and doing handyman projects around the house. We have watched their pool get completed and filled with water too, which has been fascinating.

I have another doctor appointment this Tuesday, March 1st, so should know more about recovery time frames after that. Another day closer to resuming my life… Enjoy the pictures that are a sample of our past few weeks!










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