How I Spent My Summer Vacation - The End

Actually, it wasn't my end at all....just my left side. After a lifetime of right sided maladies (appendix, broken elbow, broken arm, smashed humerus ball, stitches in ankle, brachial cleft cyst) I finally damaged the left, most likely in an attempt to even things up a little. Late in the summer, immediately before returning to work, I fell off my bike. Each day, I rode around the park and every time I went down this very steep hill I thought, "Damn this would this hurt if I crashed." I survived the hill but lost control of my bike while riding up the next hill. My right foot slipped off the peddle and the bike wobbled out of control. Coming down the hill towards me was a family and some kids on bikes and I could only think about how stupid I looked crashing into the road. I landed on my left side with the bike on top of me. This lovely young woman pushing a stroller stopped to help me. She kept repeating, "can I help you up?" or "can I call someone?" I finally asked her to take the bike off of me. And then I let her know her baby was heading down the hill in the carriage. With baby finally parked, she removed the bike and I tried to stand up.

I felt the impact keenly in my face of all places and my nose was sore and bleeding. My left arm and knee had that classic look of imbedded gravel...something I have not experienced in about 40 years. I struggled to stand and called Rob to pick me up in the park. Swollen nose, immovable arm and with difficulty breathing I showered and went in to work for a few hours.

The next morning was bad and Rob drove me to Urgent Care for x-rays of my nose, ribs and shoulder. I left with a prescription for an anti-inflammatory but no broken bones. The black eye was attractive (my 1st) and the scabs were quite gross but my ribs hurt like hell. It was weeks before I could laugh or sneeze without screaming. If this was pain for bruised ribs, I can't imagine how painful a broken rib would be. As the ribs became less tender I noticed my left shoulder was still painful and I was certainly babying it. Any sudden movements induced a sharp pain and it was just getting worse. Around Thanksgiving, I called an Orthopedic Doctor and made an appointment.

I had an appointment for early December and I had to get my x-rays from Urgent Care before the appointment. Of course, I had to open the envelope and read the reports and try to view the x-rays. Guess what? My nose was broken! "There is a small fleck of bone off the very distal tip of the nasal bone and I question a small nondisplaced fracture. There is also some fragmentation of the in the maxillary spine anteriorly. Soft tissues are unremarkable." Unremarkable? Obviously, Wilfred Carey III, MD does not have experience with the Hollister nose. I couldn't find my nose x-rays among the thousands of files on this disc but I found my chest and shoulder.

You will notice the extra white stuff in my right shoulder just above ball. That must be calcium or something from the smashed "ball in the socket accident" from 1997 and explains why my right shoulder hurts too.

After a trip to Dr. Newman and an MRI and another trip to Dr. Newman, I find out I have a complete tear of the rotator cuff. Luckily, his surgery scheduler was on vacation so I get to wait until next week for the date. The surgery didn't sound too bad but the 1st round of 8 weeks of physical therapy (3 x per week for 90 minutes) will be a nightmare. If I had that much time in my life I would go to the gym and work out or something.

Happy New Year Everyone.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part 6

Laughing

Rob had a booth at the Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival. This is one of my favorite shows because it is 5 minutes away from the house and it lasts for 3 days. With the 2 day shows we usually have to leave the house before sunrise, drive several hours, set up the tent and display and do everything again the next day in reverse order. With a 3 day show the middle day is a gift with no set up or tear down involved and I just hold court all day. It is kind of fun to just hang out in a lawn chair in the sun with a book and chat with all the people I know that come by. Of course, this is Syracuse and the sales sucked but I had fun.

I usually take quite a few pictures but this year I only took two. One day, Rob yelled (maybe yelled is too strong of a word...it is Rob after all), "You have to get a picture of this dog!" I grabbed my camera and tried to focus on the dog because....

I was laughing hysterically at the owner.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part 5

Meet Irene.

Irene began life like most robins...in a nest safe from predators. Only Irene's parents had the misfortune to build their nest in the backyard of 311 Wellesley Rd. where the in-ground swimming pool claims the lives of many a small creature.

I often wondered if this pair of robins were the same pair to build a nest over the floodlight, but above the back door, in May of 2010. While the light nest was safe from cats and squirrels, the eggs got very little warmth from the parents due to our constant comings and goings. The tree nest was easier for me to observe on a daily basis and the parents never minded our backyard activities. Of course, I did move the grill so I wasn't barbequing directly beneath the small family.

The eggs hatched and the babies grew with the constant feedings from the parents. As they got bigger and bigger, I kept closer watch on the nest. One day, the unthinkable happened. One baby was found dead under the tree and the other was hopping around the pool, much too small to leave the nest in my opinion.

I spent the entire day in the backyard ready to dive in and save the bird at a moments notice. I was in constant contact with my friend Kerry, vet technician and pediatric emergency care nurse since I was concerned about the small size of the fledgling and it's inability to fly or feed independently. She suggested I pop him back into the nest so minutes before we were to leave for a Chiefs' game I made Rob drag the ladder up from the cellar so I could re-nest the baby. When I put baby 1 into the nest, baby 2 jumped out and eventually both were reluctant to remain in the nest. Meanwhile, the parents are nowhere to be found and I needed guidance. Jumbo beers and peanuts were calling me.

We came home from the game and I went immediately into the backyard to check on the babies. I could only find baby 2 and he didn't look good. I built a nest in a small woven basket and hung it in the tree with the hopes that his parents would find him before the neighbors cat.

Alas, baby 2 did not survive the night but baby 1 was alive and well and hopping around the pool edge. I spent another day at the poolside watching over baby 1 and even feeding him worms. Actually, the mother would hop down and feed him periodically but I was ready to put in a call to CPS for neglect. I dug up worms, washed them off, cut them in half and popped them into his mouth. Rob thought I was going above and beyond with the washing off part but he accepted my robin vigil.

Early the next morning, Rob found the baby in the pool...floating around on his side. He scooped him out and placed him under a bush in the garden and came inside to wake me with coffee and the terrible news. I blamed myself for intervening in the first place and getting attached and moped around the house in a funk. Around 9 am I forced myself to go check on the baby and he was still lying on his side under the bush, mouth opening and closing in silence. I wrapped him in a towel and carried him around for several hours like a baby...eating my breakfast, reading the paper etc with this bird. When it was obvious there would be no improvement, I took him outside and placed him under the Black-Eyed Susans to die. I returned from a walk about an hour later to a very loud squawking robin begging to be fed. Day 3 of not leaving the pool but now we were in the grips of an impending hurricane, Irene. I cared for him during the day and went inside when the winds and rain took over. He was perched on a ladder behind the shed and I went out several times during the night to make sure he was safe.

He survived the night and was promptly named Irene. At this point I needed to get into work and prepare my classroom but I was reluctant to leave the yard during daylight hours. Also I was worried that Irene was never going to master flying so he could manage the 6ft fence surrounding my yard. Rob was not open to the idea of driving him south for the winter. I turned off the pool pump and went to work, confidant that at least he wouldn't be sucked into the filter if he hopped into the pool.

I returned home later in the day and he had mastered the big hop...showing off by hopping up onto the top of a bush or the cross piece of the fence. He enjoyed the Moon Plant and the ladder, hopping up and down with a little flutter of wing. At this point, I was ready for him to leave since the stress was too much.
The next morning I checked on him before leaving for work. He was doing his hop-flutter step to the top cross rung of the fence. I was proud but happy I would not have to teach him to fly. When I returned home in the evening he was gone. No note, no good-bye...nothing. I hope he is happy.

Did I mention that Ian left for school days before Irene left the nest? I think I need a dog.