I have amazing friends and they sent me a beautiful flower arrangement. Family sent me an Edible Arrangement that was delicious!
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Since I can’t put any weight on my ankle for at least 6 weeks we must live at Duf’s mother’s house. Not our ideal situation but we are so fortunate to have her here or I am not sure where we’d live. I have a DR visit on Thursday so we will see what he has to say. I was released with a walker but it is apparent that ,since my foot can’t touch the ground, I am not going to be able to balance and navigate her house with the walker. Her carpet is thick and the walker sinks in and is hard to move and stay balanced. Duf and Natalie are sure in very little time I will get caught in the carpet and fall. There is a SunShine club close by that acts like a library for checking out medical equipment and from there they got a wheelchair. They went to Walgreens and got a potty chair and bath seat. For being a retirement area we are all shocked at how low her stool is and how thin the door openings are. I can only get the chair through the doors if I am lined up exactly and the hall is not wide enough to turn around. These are things I would think should be standard for a retirement community. Plus her shower is high up on a platform and dangerous for a stable person. It was difficult to get the shower chair into the shower! We did and I showered!
Careful did not work!
January 22, 2018
We decided today we would drive into the mountains to TipTop Mine and explore the mine and Indian ruins. We ended three and a half hours off Table Mesa Road between New River and Black Canyon City. The road started out being just a dirt road, then a sand road, and then a thin rocky road. Natalie and I had markers and we left messages on some of the rocks along the way.
We climbed up to the Indian ruins on top of a rock formation. The Indians positioned themselves so they could see around the corner if anyone was coming up the river or over the land. There were many hidden escape routes for the Indians.
While we were here we met a tour that we had researched and then were glad we were not on. They charged over $1000. to bring people to these ruins that were very easy to reach.
We drove a bit more toward the mine and found a beautiful place to stop for lunch. We overlooked a canyon and river and it was quite peaceful. After lunch and a short hike we continued on the Jeep trail. At one point Natalie noticed a skeleton of a horse at the foot of a ravine so we stopped and looked down at it. While we looked we made up stories about what that horses life had been like. Our stories were mostly about a wild horses life in this beautiful but then Duf noticed this horse was wearing horse shoes so he was not a wild horse. Natalie said I put bad words in the universe when I speculated the rider was hurt, maybe a broken leg, and had to painfully ride out with friends.
We continued on another 30 minutes ending at the mine site. It appeared that the mine was working and a town was beginning to form but then something must have happened because the area was abandon. There were all sorts of places to climb to and explore. I was being careful so I decided to stay near the Jeep, take some pictures, and watch Duffey and Natalie climb. After a short time I decided to return to the Jeep and wait for them to finish climbing because we saw animal tracks and I was a bit worried. As I walked down a 4 foot gravel hill my feet slid but I felt steady until one foot went behind a rock and stopped dead still. I tried to steady myself but I was moving a bit to fast and then I heard my ankle break, a horrible sound! I went down trying to save my knee and hip, which I was able to do, thank goodness! I screamed so loud they heard me and their first thought was that I was being attacked by a wild animal of some sort. As they ran down the hill toward me they discussed how they would fend off the killer beast. They were both relieved when they saw me on the ground and no wild beast. My foot was completely turned to the side which made them sick to look at.
As they were calming me down a guy appeared on an ATV. He had been exploring a higher part of the mine and heard my screams. He thought I had stumbled into a cacti and was full of spines but when he saw my foot he paled a bit.
Duf got the Jeep up the hill very close to me. After much discussion he and ATV man stood me up and I was able to get into the Jeep for the long, bumpy, dusty, ride out. Natalie packed about everything we had in the Jeep around my leg and foot to stabilize it as much as possible and the ride began with ATV man leading the way. Before he closed the door ATV man tried to brush some of the dust off my pants and now I feel a bit bad about the fact that I gave him a look that made him stop and say Sorry. Natalie closed the door and we began the long, slow, bumpy, dusty ride out. We saw other ATV’s on our way out and they were all sickened when they heard what happened.
When we were finally on the dirt road portion Natalie was able to get on her phone and locate Arrowhead ER 10 miles away. We arrived and were their only patients at that time. I got right in and they took x-rays and made me tell over and over what had happened. The Dr explained I had badly broken both ankle bones and also dislocated them. Displaced Bimalleolar Ankle Fracture treated with ORIF. He would be able to realign the ankle and stabilize things, but I would need to be moved to Arrowhead hospital immediately. In the outlying areas there are ER facilities with DR and nurses but patients were transported on to the hospital when needed. There are no rooms for spending the night here.
One nurse asked where we were from and I told her Northern Illinois was home. She said she loved when people she knew traveled to our area because they could stop and bring her Kringles. Her brother had been in WI for business and brought back 17 Kringles for her Christmas party. A friend at the party had never tasted a Kringle and when she did she loved it so much she got a deal to have the local Trader Joes carry Kringles around Christmas so people in this area are able to enjoy them. Seems wherever you travel someone knows something about where you live or people you know.
My Veins are always hard to get an IV in and I explained this to the nurse. She felt she could get one because Natalie had me drink 2 bottles of water as we drove out of the trails and that should make my veins workable. She tried twice and failed and called in the expert. I asked if they had a vein computer to help with this and they did but he did not seem to want to use it. He stuck the needle in and then sneezed three times while he was moving the needle around. It was unexpected sneezes but I felt wetness hit my arm where the needle was. They just looked at each other, he said sorry, and continued working. He got the needle in so they focused on that instead of how he had contaminated my arm. I wanted to say something but I knew he was in charge of sedating me and didn’t want to upset him. In my head I saw my arm falling off from a rare disease!
They knocked me out for about 15 minutes so the Dr could deal with my ankle and when I awoke the ankle was straight and stable. Soon after an ambulance arrived to transport me another half 45 minutes to the hospital. Natalie got to ride in the ambulance with me and Duf followed in the Jeep. I was already checked in when we arrived so they took me directly to my room. It was about 7 PM and they said I would have surgery sometime the following day.
My nurse, Raja, informed us she was about to sedate me and that I would be asleep for the night so Duf and Natalie decided they would leave and return the next morning when I was awake. She said I got lucky because Dr. Wong took my case but she was unsure when he might speak to me. She gave me a few things in my IV and said I need to eat some pudding and then I would sleep.
I had a private room when I fell asleep but when I woke up I had a roommate. Somewhere in my foggy memory I recall being awoken and told the hospital was full and this young lady would have to sleep in the hall or I could share my room. She was there so I guess I agreed to share. I spoke with her husband and they had moved to the Phoenix area 3 years ago from Poplar Grove, IL! They both were graduates of N. Boone HS! Small world because that is about 20 minutes from our house! She left for an appendectomy around 7 AM and never returned.
Today is the reason Natalie is here with us, her Birthday! We had reservations for a moon light horseback ride in the mountains to celebrate. Instead I was in the hospital and drugged. I tried to call in my breakfast order of: angle food cake, ice cream, sherbet, pudding, and 5 cookies just as Duf n Natalie arrived in my room. The kitchen spoke with Natalie and explained they could not allow me to have all that in one day let alone one meal! She explained it was her Birthday and I wanted her to have something! They agreed to two cookies—-Bummer! I had oatmeal and fruit.
We talked and then Duf was going to call and cancel the ride BUT I did not want them to cancel. They could be with me all day and I was drugged and mostly slept so they could go ride and stop to see me on the way back. They were just watching me sleep and I was being taken care of, heck they even regulated what I could eat!! So even though Natalie protested taking the ride they did leave and I slept the entire time they were gone.
They got back to my room around 7 and stayed until 8 and then headed home for showers to get rid of the horse smell. Natalie still was not sure when surgery would take place, but she thought the next day around 8 PM. Natalie was also the name of my delightful night nurse. She got me all ready to go to sleep and then about 8:30 the door opened and Natalie was on full alert because she was with the good-looking Dr Justin Wong. He was in his 40’s I’d guess and very business like. Natalie introduced Dr Wong and he shook my hand, explained the surgery, and said surgery would be at 8 AM and Natalie would get me to sign some papers. Then he pulled up a chair and said,”You really messed yourself up. This is the worst I have seen. Explain to me how you did this. I took this case because it is so bad and have consulted with other surgeons on what I will do.” I told him that he had just made me feel good and bad! I hoped good won!!
I noticed Natalie was a bit nervous cause she wasn’t sure if she should stay or get on with her work. He saw me look at her and said,”Natalie, pull up a chair!” I explained what we were doing and how it happened and he asked numerous questions. He said he goes out there and explores all the time. I told him about the rocks we had written on and he said he would look for them. He knew exactly where we were when we ate our lunch. It was after 9 when he left. He said, “Debbie, I’d love to stay longer but I am fairly sure you will ruin my reputation by falling sleeping while I’m talking and Natalie will tell everyone I am a bore!” We laughed, he left and I slept.
Luckily Duf and Natalie got there early the next morning so they could accompany me to surgery that they didn’t know was happening at that time. Duf said I should have called but I was drugged and sleeping! Duf and Natalie would have liked to meet Dr. Wong. Natalie came in and told them all about the Dr. Wong visit that shocked her because he doesn’t usually visit or talk much to patients. I told her the patients don’t know how to screw themselves up enough to be interesting! She was happy I slept all night so she could keep up with her other patients.
Dr. Justin Wong and the anesthesiologist visited us before surgery. I was taken to the surgery room, transferred to a surgery bed, my arms were strapped down and I slept. When I woke I was back in my room with Duf and Natalie there. I slept most of the day and around 3 they left for their moonlight horse ride. They had an amazing ride and returned to the hospital just as I was waking up! I was so glad they went so Natalie could have fun on her birthday after the drama day of the injury. We talked awhile and then they went home to shower away the horse smell.
About 20 minutes after they left for home my eyes started to burn and it escalated rapidly. My eyes closed and refused to open and burned so bad I started screaming for a nurse and finally Natalie, the nurse must have heard me and came in. She was shocked and ran to call the Dr. When she returned a nurse was telling me I was going to have another roommate, Penelope. I wonder how they will charge my insurance: private or double room. I’m sure the nurse and Penelope thought I was crazy cause I was in intense pain. Natalie finally returned with liquid to wash my eyes and that was another extremely painful event and I might have screamed a bit.
Natalie continued the painful washes every 10 minutes for about 2 hours and then the pain lessened but I still could not see.
Penelope had company and I could hear them talking but I couldn’t see them. When they left Penelope and I talked a bit about why I could not see and was in so much pain. As we were talking someone walked into the room and bumped into my sore foot with a clipboard. I screamed and I heard ‘OOPS”. Then I heard Penelope shouting,” You dumb F++++ Cholo did you touch her foot?” He did not seem concerned and was a bit loud and rude to her. He was her Nursing Assistant. My nursing assistant was Pablo and he came running in and asked why I screamed so loud, were my eyes hurting, he was such a nice guy. I told him someone had hit my foot and he went over to calm Penelope and her NA and found out it was him. Pablo began yelling at the NA and kicked him out of the room. The nurses came and they asked Penelope what happened and she told them in a very heated way.
Penelope and I talked more and she was very upset and then the NA came in and said, “Look Debbie I guess I’m sorry.” When he left Penelope was irate and called her husband, brother and friend to be in our room at 6 AM so the NA would still be working.
At 6 AM I was awaken by loud male voices. I heard,”Look you M—F——
Cholo you disrespected our girl and her lady and we are going to teach you respect.” Then I heard Pablo’s voice telling them to keep their voices down and he would escort the cholo to them. Penelope had a few choice words and then the meeting ended. Penelope and Pablo asked if I was awake and heard what they said and I said I did and they told me to forget it and I said Forget What and they laughed. Finally after another eye treatment my eyes opened and I could see shapes. Natalie said it will be two weeks before my eyes are back to normal.
Penelope left for surgery around 8 and returned in excruciating pain around 10. Her surgery did not fix everything causing her to need more surgery tomorrow. I was working with a therapist when she returned and since I could use a walker to get to the RR they decided to release me. I said Good Bye to Penelope. She sent her brother to thank me for sharing my room and said I should forget what I heard but they would not.
Saturday, 27 January 2018
SALT 1/21/2018
Today we ate lunch at Salt in Glendale, AZ which is a Mexican Restaurant located in the Westgate Entertainment District near the Gila River Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes and the University of Phoenix Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals.The food was outstanding and the drink list was full of Tequila concoctions.
Natalie enjoyed the Skull decorations!
We actually thought girls were going to dance in the water but what really happened is that the water shot out of holes and gave us a show. We were on the outdoor patio so we got some spray from the show!The Desert Bar
Tom and Judy took us to The Desert Bar for lunch!
The only way to The Desert Bar is by traveling 5 miles out in the desert of the Buckskin Mountains on a winding, dusty, rocky, dirt road. This is a lane and a half road with zero shoulder so drivers must pay attention to what is ahead and practice the rule of the vehicle that is the highest up in the mountain has the right of way. The area began as a mine and after the mine closed it became this bar and restaurant. It is powered by solar energy with a well for water.The history of the area is quite interesting and easy to find on the net.
In the restroom the toilets are up against a ragged side of the mountain and enclosed by heavy metal taken from the mine and the equipment left in the area. Once out of the small individual stool enclosures the sinks are in an open area overlooking the side of the mountain. Fun Fact: the ladies restroom was higher than the mens and when we were washing our hands we could look down and see the rear of the men as they used the urinal! The restroom, in fact, the entire area has very few walls, it is open air and only open in the winter when the AZ weather is not so hot.
The Nellie E Saloon has an outdoor restaurant where we stood in line for over an hour to order and then another 20 minutes before we got our food. I had a BBQ pork sandwich that was delicious and others had TriTip with peppers and onions that was quite tasty. We drank water because the line in the bar for any other type of drink was longer than the food line!
People arrived here in mostly Jeeps, trucks or ATV’s. On the drive out we passed an area with open gun shooting and there were many people shooting at bottles they sat out on a rock or pile of sand.
On the 90 minute drive home we experienced a rare AZ rain. The rain quickly evaporates so not much water reaches the ground. All of the moisture in the air did make for three spectacular rainbows. One rainbow was a complete half circle!
This entire experience is not something you could find in IL!
The RestRoom!
Journey to Quartsite
I have always wanted to experience Quartsite in January. Years ago I saw a program on TV about the thousands of RV’s and tents and anything people make congregating in the desert outside Quartsite for camping, music, flea market and the naked man bookstore.
We decided to meet our friends Tom and Judy outside of Quartsite. They were with a group of friends that all have Alpine RV’s and had been there for a week. There is no charge for dry camping out in the desert and they were having a great time. The desert area is enormous so it was hard to guess the number of people camping there.
Just before reaching Quartsite we decided to find a Jeep trail out in the desert. We found a trail and it was quite interesting because at times we were on a rock road, it would then turn into a red dirt road, and then it would become a deep sand road. At one point we sunk into the sand but Duf was able to rock the Jeep and get us going again. There were hills to climb that felt like we were going straight up and then straight down! At one point Natalie drove and she turned a donut in the sand. She found it more nerve wracking than she thought driving would be so her stint of driving lasted until we hit deep sand again. She said it was like learning to drive all over again because of the rocks and lack of marked roads!
Along the way we found a abandoned mine that was deep pits right next to the driving area. We saw many cacti but no animals. When we were about 5 miles out into the desert we saw two Jeeps and a tent, people were brave to camp alone in a tent in the middle of the desert!
Natalie plays BINGO
Natalie arrived and it’s Friday night so we are taking her for a rousing night of BINGO and we could be out until 10:00! We have tried to explain how it is played, but I am sure we are making her nervous.
We are at BINGO and she is amazed about the number of people ready to play. Now she is amazed at how serious the people are about this game. The caller has a limited amount of time to call each number and the crowd goes crazy when he is a second late. The minimum limit of cards for each game is 6 and I’m sure we are the only people playing only six cards! The lady next to Natalie is playing 18 cards and also watching Natalie to make sure she doesn’t make a mistake.
It is 10:10 and we are home. We had ice cream at intermission so we have already had our treat.
Sunday, 7 January 2018
BINGO
It’s Friday night and we have a choice of watching TV or playing Bingo and we decided on Bingo. This is a 55+ community and over 200 people turned out for Bingo!
We get the minimum of six cards per game for the 10 games. Each game is different, such as: one game is called 13 and to win the card must be filled in to look like 13. One game was airplane and that meant the squares would be filled in to look like an airplane. Another game was blackout or all squares must be filled and there was also X. Two difficult games were Postage Stamp anywhere or a six square square and floating nine.
After five games there is an ice cream break and a drawing. Duffey won the $5.00 drawing! Our big family winnings! Our neighbor, Wanda, won the blackout game and $198.00!
It’s a fun night and we met some new people. In Sanibel we are usually home alone by 8 but here in Surprise we played Bingo and didn’t get home till 10! Wild Times!!!!
Monday, 1 January 2018
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018
We have spent many New Years Eves in IL and IN where it is cold! In these frigidly cold states our celebrations were mainly inside.
The last five years we spent New Years Eve on Sanibel Island in FL. There it was warm and we sat on the beach and watched fireworks across the Gulf in Ft. Myers Beach, Ft. Myers, and other towns along the coast. The beautiful fireworks were visible in the air and reflecting off the water.
This year we are in Surprise, AZ for the New Year and there are fireworks all around. There is not an organized fireworks display, but fireworks are sold all around town and individuals are setting them off in their yards. CA has fires destroying vast areas and although it is hot and dry here there aren’t any forests to catch fire.
What is your NY resolution?
Mine is that we have a healthy New Year and beyond! Without health and love nothing else matters!!!
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