Long day. Out of the house by 9 a.m. and not home till 4 p.m. , followed by the obligatory evening walk. Visiting sister Vicky is neither for the out-of-shape nor faint of heart. Having logged six miles on the two walks alone, an impressive 18,200 steps show on my wrist pedometer. Darn you, Dr. L, for telling Vicky she could walk as much as she wanted to.
But he also told her good things, so I can forgive him I suppose. He said she is healing well. Things looked good and she only wanted to hurt him, 'kick him' I believe the threat was, when he pushed on the location of her three blood clots. She puffed a bit when he touched the still raw incision sites, but it was a mercifully brief exam. Quite unlike the proctological exam I expect him to give to the nurses and staff at the hospital. Reading his notes and hearing our accounts of what did and did not happen, we found that the standard pre-op blood thinner shot was not given, the post-op blood thinner shot was not given, and the post-op compression socks were never connected or inflated. All were in his standing orders and all are specifically there to prevent blood clots. She got blood clots. You do the math. Anyhow, despite saying that the tubes would not be out for a few more days, sad news from Vicky's point of view, it was a great report.
We followed the appointment with a walk along the stunning greenway creek path. It winds along beautifully wild landscape, full of geese and other birds, and possibly snakes, we were warned. We did in fact see a snake with a white head swimming along the shore. A Canada goose pair had just entered the water with their four juveniles in a line behind them. We watched in curious absorption as two juveniles ventured close to the snake's location. Sincerely fearing a Jacques Cousteau moment ("and now watch as zee sea monster eats my son, Philippe."), we squinched our eyes closed as the snake coiled in the water and made an aggressive move. Babies and parents scuttled away, flapping and splashing and the snake went on his way too. Whew.
We saw metal orb art, statues of heroes we didn't know but still felt the need to pose with, and learned the joy of eating wild mulberries straight from the trees!
Four miles later we were done. The weather was iffy but the Breast Friends charity house, instituted to help cancer patients, was close by, so we wandered there, stopping both literally and metaphorically to smell the flowers. Mmmmmagnolia!
The Pink House is as lovely as the people who staff her, and Vicky scored some needed clothing items. We left there to head to lunch, and here's where you readers in and from the Binghamton area shall understand our joy. We went to a restaurant that serves Speidies! Frabulous day, callilou, callilay!
More errands, home by 4, and a top-off walk to be sure that Vicky has sufficiently abused my good humor. Two miles later, a glass of wine.
I'm looking for a clever way to tie in the biblical message, as Vicky always does. My takeaway from our busy day is this: Do whatever you do in the company of those who bring you joy. We never stopped talking, laughing, making irreverent jokes, and praying for one on our prayer list who is in deep need right now every hour. We made sure we followed our prayer promise, by setting an hourly alarm to pray. Joy, I suppose, is the message. I wish you all the joy I have been having!
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James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing
Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Well done, Amy! Be sure to set up your blog so we can continue to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteFrabulous!
ReplyDeleteWell done, indeed, Amy! So thankful you and Vicky have these days together!!
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