THANK GOD FOR LITTLE GIRLS

Judy, my mom, and I visited the girls today and found them all (including their mother Tia) adorable! Tia seemed to enjoy the little break in the action and watched her girls proudly as we made grandparent fools of ourselves!

Kinsley cuddled, grinned, occasionally flashed her dark eyes, and slowly moved her arms and legs while laying on my shoulder…it was wonderful to finally get to hold her. The best part of having the new baby may be that Lily is just jealous enough to want to be held and loved on more often! I took full advantage of it all and had the best time!

Mom enjoyed holding her newest great-granddaughter and watching Lily play. Lily has never been as animated as she is now with Kinsley around. She often came to me to hold her as she pretended to be hurt and crying like a little baby. This is only natural and won’t last long, but I plan on drinking in all the extra loving I’m now getting from her while it last! I also had to read several books to her, and she loved my pirate voice and my fire truck sounds!

Lucky for me, most of my soreness is gone, because Lily gave me a good workout!

Can’t wait until the next visit!

Yes, the soreness is almost gone, and today was the 26^th day since my blunder upon Buzzard’s Bluff!

I’m also celebrating the fact that I slept in my bed last night for the first time since then. I wasn’t actually flat-out, but I was in the bed propped firmly upon several pillows. It will probably be another week before I can resume sleeping on my right and left sides. If I try that now, I wake up in short order in lots of pain. However, for now, I’ll take sleeping in a “reclining” position in my bed instead of in the living room recliner.

See ya soon!

THIRD ANNIVERSAY OF MY NOSE DIVE!

Well, today is the third anniversary of my fall and it’s been 15 straight days in the recliner!

I can’t believe how fatigued I get trying to do the least thing, and after a shower and a shave I’m totally wiped out! It takes me a good 15 minutes of sitting down to get my heart rate back down and to rid myself of that spent feeling.

I did try the bed a couple of nights ago, thinking that if I laid flat of my back I could be just as comfortable as in my recliner – wrong! Somehow the recliner distributes my weight differently and actually rests my back. The bed seems to put undue pressure on my back and I wake up about an hour later in pain.

Oh well, I got used to the recliner during my shoulder surgeries, so I’m content to ride it out there.

What upsets me now is that I’ll probably have to call off my April driving trip out west off, and miss spring wildflower season in the woods here.

I still haven’t gotten to see my new granddaughter, but here is one of her first photos. She is Lily sister and they named here Kinsley Hope. Love my girls!

UPDATE ON FALL

Haven't slept in a horizontal position since the fall...some 9 days now!

I sleep in the living room in one of my 5 La-Z-Boy recliners (2 on one couch, 2 on a love-seat, and one real recliner), just to mix it up a little, with either my Guinness or Coors lounge pants on, an old sweat-shirt, and a pair of wool hiking socks to keep me warm.

Baylee has assumed the run of the house, alternating between the laundry, computer room, and the foyer rug. She seems to change positions only when I grunt and struggle to my feet in the dark, trying to make it to the bathroom. Since she is solid black, all I hear is the “tick-tack” her claws make on the floor as she passes. I put both eyes on the cable box and finally focus in on the time, and calculate how long between snatches of sleep, and how much longer I have to catch up on what I’ve missed.

Monday evening I registered at the hospital and got several x-rays made of my chest. I was then told to come back Tuesday morning for an MIR on my head. Seems I forgot about hitting my head until Judy and I discussed the details. So, the doctor figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out too.

Turns out, it did hurt (or at least would) to check it out and it would have hurt so much that I “passed” on the experience. First, the guy at the x-ray office pissed me off by telling me I needed to re-register, and I flat refused and turned and walked away, telling Judy I would be at the car! She stayed and discussed the procedure with him and the guy said I would be required to lie on my back, perfectly still, for 30 to 45 minutes! Since we knew that wasn’t possible, she joined me at the car and we had a good breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.

Later, at home, I woke from my nap to hear that the doctor had called to say I had 4 broken ribs! “Oh, it’s quite evident they’re broken alright,” nurse Judith told Judy. "They're not displaced, but clearly broken!"

Prognosis…6 to 8 weeks of pain!

FALLING HARD AT BUZZARD'S BLUFF

I’m out of commission for a few weeks…either broke or cracked some ribs on my right side. I was with a locally known videographer who wanted some footage from atop “Buzzard’s Bluff” in Harriman, Tennessee. As I was taking a panorama series of shots, my right foot rolled to the right shifting my 250 pounds downhill! I followed, landing some 2 to 3 feet on the next ledge of rock. I do not remember exactly how I hit, but I do know the right side of my face hit hard, and then I felt a sharp tearing pain in my ribs beneath my armpit. My right arm was folded up and against my rib cage, and my legs were still up on top of the ledge from which I fell. This position indicates that I did not break my fall in any way. I hit, and Doug Mills (the photographer) said I bounced! I pulled my legs from off the rocks above me, and lay very still, assessing my situation. At first I could not take a breath and the pain was tearing at my chest. (See photo with yellow arrow!)

I heard Doug and a couple of guys, who had been there shooting clay pigeons, running in my direction. The man, whose name I’m sorry I didn’t get, told me not to move, a suggestion I easily complied with, and pulled up my shirt to see if “anything was sticking out!” I think that was the first thought of fear that struck me, but he said “there’s no blood”.

His bluntness was actually welcomed, and I muttered, after taking my first real breath, “How embarrassing!”

In a few minutes he pulled me up to a sitting position using my left arm. I again assessed my health, and stood up. It was excruciating for the first 5 minutes, but then I seemed to walk it off, and even drove us back off the mountain, using my left arm.

I should have gone straight to the hospital, but a little part of me was too scared to want to know how close I came. However, I sustained a serious injury that will be confirmed tomorrow at my doctor’s office. I’m sure I’m in for a scolding, but for a fellow who has never spent a night in a hospital, having been born at home, hospitals are terrifying!

So, I’ll eventually be back, but in the mean time I’m breathing slow calculated breaths, grimacing from the pain as I move! Believe it or not, the worse part is a hiccup! Killer!