Cruising Past Seventy: The Inner Journeys: OLA: Taking Much Needed Breaks!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

OLA: Taking Much Needed Breaks!


Bill, waiting to be moved to the Operating Room
My children say I am wearing Bill out and think we need to take a break from all this travelling!  Sure enough, even the RV needed a break!  M’A ‘turn had been having problems with its front A/C system since we took it out of storage upon our arrival from Asia and begin this trek southeast.   During this sizzling summer even at our northern locations, the heat sometimes became unbearable and we have definitely needed a tip-top cooling system in place!

there's a leak!
It was Camping World in Council Bluffs, Iowa that first looked at the RV problem.    Our contention was that the roofing system they put in in the Fife, Washington branch before we left for Asia messed up the circuit board. They finally replaced the circuit board but the problem persisted.  The branch in Island Lake, Illinois eventually installed a new system. But while camping in the White Oaks Resort at Monticello, Indiana, days of rain and constantly running the A/C revealed leaks around the unit! We brought her to the Greenwood, Indiana Camping World.  They easily fixed that problem.

The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio
But my kids are right…it is Bill that needed the real break! We went to The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio just 2 hours away to have Bill’s right knee checked out by Dr. Marc Schneider.   It had been bothering him well before we went to the Philippines and his family doctor in Washington recommended that he see an orthopedic surgeon.   They provided the test results and indeed Bill was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery in 3 days!   We quickly checked in at the Indian Lakes Resort in Batesville, Indiana, 45 minutes away from the hospital! 

Dr. Schneider making preliminary checks
We scheduled ourselves to stay in Indian Lakes for 3 weeks (the maximum stay given our platinum membership at the Thousand Trails network of campgrounds) and then for another 3 weeks at the Wilmington Resort in Wilmington, Ohio, also 45 minutes away from the hospital.   We had considered having the procedure done in Florida where we will be staying for 3 months this winter but this is something that was long overdue!

I had barely sat down in the Waiting Area, fiddling with my computer when they called out…’Colborn family’!   My heart jumped, ‘Did they need me for some decision?’ It turned out that the procedure was done, also in a jiffy! The doctor talked to me
already at work in the recovery room
that all went well and soon I was at Bill’s bedside in the Recovery Room. That afternoon Bill was walking about and didn’t much need the crutches we had bought.   The biggest problem we had was actually of a very different nature!

I have been deathly afraid of American roads (except inside campgrounds) since the day I got here in March of 2004!  Actually I bought a Honda Civic in 2007, got a drivers’ license (without taking a road test, just a written one), and got involved in 3 separate crashes within 3 months…all in the garage area: destroying my son-in-law’s garage, denting my daughter’s car, and bumping into the landscaper’s truck!   Bill finally decided…there would beabsolutely be no more driving for me.

ready to go home
In the Philippines the roads are narrow, traffic slow (mostly unmoving), and I almost always had a driver. But now, I had to drive from the hospital to Indian Lakes after the surgery.   Bill and I spent looooong hours studying our Road Atlas to look for back roads I can use.   The day before the surgery we practiced a route that took me 2 ½ hours to navigate and gave me oodles of stress!   One time I almost drifted totally to the fields on the right when Bill was trying to discuss something with me.

While Bill was recovering, I took another look -- this time at Google Maps -- to find a shorter, easier route.   Eureka, I found one!   With only 2 stops to ask for directions (since I did not have the benefit of practice time), it took me 1 ½ hours and the fastest I had to drive was 50 mph!  Bill is now in Dreamland:   his knee is getting healed, he will be able to do more of his fave strenuous activities, and he will have much needed breaks from driving…for that day…driver Carol was born! 

the new me!
Next Stop: Standing at the Crossroads of America: Indiana

14 comments:

  1. Wishing a speedy and full recovery for Bill. You had an eventful time of it, that's for sure.

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  2. Thank you so much for your concern, Emma. You have truly become a dear friend. Wish we could meet someday!
    Carol

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  3. It doesn't look like he was worried much by the surgery. How is he doing now. Do you plan to drive the rv next?

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  4. bill is really doing well! and there is no way i can drive an rv...just this little saturn gives me so much stress already!

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  5. Hi Carol,
    Glad to hear about Bill's speedy recovery. Your story about your being born a driver now is amusing. You had 3 crashes in 3 months....that's really something ....that justified you're not driving anymore. However, here you are to drive again in lieu of Bill's surgery. RV driving is definitely different and myself I would not do that too even if I have been driving State to State on freeways and in city roads for more than 10 years now here in the USA.I guess only an expert driver can do that. I know I am not an expert driver ....and with your crashed records to boot, you are also not an expert driver.ha ha ha .
    You probably need a good GPS to help you out on your driving here & there while Bill is not able to drive yet.
    I seem to agree to your children's comment about Bill. As a matter of fact when I was discussing with Wendell the meniscus tear of Bill, why he had to be on surgery, Wendell without hesitation uttered "must be a wearing out due to too much driving a big RV".ha ha ha.Now I can see you driving not just your small car but an RV...he he he

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  6. Looks like Bill is behaving himself. Take care both of you. Enjoy some time to just relax, you will be back on the road soon enough! Rosemary & Jack

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  7. Oh no...I cannot and will not drive the RV! We are here for 6 weeks to allow for his post-op recuperation. I just drive the little Saturn ...and it's stressful! Bill says his tear is not caused by driving the RV. That leg was operated on when he was 22 after a bad car accident and has not been the same. After that he has engaged in scuba diving, skiing, flying a plane, and other strenuous sports. Now he's more mellow. Hehehe.

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  8. Thanks Rosemary and Jack...we will continue the travels in mid-September. We are both just vegging...

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  9. Carol's daughters say that she wears me out. They may have a point, but overall, I would wear her out with more hiking, trekking, playing table tennis, or any other activity. However, keeping up with her mentally is indeed a challenge! She is remarkable in terms of mental energy.

    Bill

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  10. Thanks for the compliment, dear hubby! Actually, I should say...hooray! We complement each other!!

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  11. hello? how are you today?

    just visiting your blog today (^_^) I hope you can visit mine too . . .

    anyway, can we exchange links? just update me if you want and I will add you then (^_^)

    http://www.bobbyjohnsabasaje.com/

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  12. we're fine! jut joined to follow your blog!

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  13. hi Carol...needed a break from working and read your blog. glad I did..it was mind-refreshing & quite entertaining. I know you're good in a lot of things....but not driving. ;-)) hope Bill is up & about now.

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  14. Thanks, Cris...yes, he's been given a clean Bill of knee health!

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