Wed. Feb 24

Hi everyone,

Lots of news today - IV times changed to 8:30 am and pm. Insurance wants me out of here by Mar. 8th and down to one drip/day - dr. won't approve the drip/day, but met with him today and staples still in until next Wed. However, we have started the procedure for contacting the next surgeon - starting with dr. in Hershey and if not happy then to dr. in lancaster who used to be in Hershey and now has private practice and only deals with difficult situations.

Lots of company today - am almost ready to do self transfers especially after waiting for 50 min. tonight to be watched doing the transfer from bed to wheelchair - will come home with walker and wheelchair and home health care once/day. Will have MRI on Friday to check soft tissue and healing in the joint.

Feeling pretty good - nepehew David sitting here with me this evening helping me to remain calm while waiting for nurse.

Hope all are well!
Carole

Tuesday, Feb. 23

Hi everyone,
Today went fairly well - am still having some minor leaking issues with my incision, but went to therapy and had some visitors again. Tomorrow I go to ortho and hopefully start on the next part of this adventure by having staples removed and then beginning search for next surgeon. We have several in mind and will be researching after my surgeon gives his suggestions. Hopefully will be in Hershey, but we will see. I was able to "hop" again today with my walker in therapy. Am eating well and trying to keep upbeat!!
Thanks for all of the kind words and calls, cards, etc.

Carole

Monday, Feb 21

Hello to all,

I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I have had a fairly rocky road and it is now starting to smooth out. Feb. 11, I had two sugeries resulting in the removal of the hip joint and now the need for rest and recovery in preparation for the next sugery. I am currently in the Gettysburg Lutheran Nursing Home, 1075 Old Harrisburg Rd., Gettysburg, Pa. 17325. I am receiving therapy all morning and have started walking with my walker (hopping) and doing upper body strength activities. I should be here for 5 more weeks receiving IV antibiotics twice a day. This has relieved the pressures on my family and actually I am fairly relaxed here - cafeteria food and all - certainly not where I want to be any longer than I have to, but at least I am getting the care I need. We are in the process of doing research for the next surgeon who will most likely be in Hershey, Lancaster, or Baltimore. I have received several recommendations and am considering options.
I had a little hiccup again this weekend with another leak from the incision and thought I was going back to ER - however, they were able to stop it and keep me here - they keep telling me better in than out and that this should subside. It was a strain on me emotionally, but I am feeling well today.

I have had lots of cards, phone calls, and visitors - very busy weekend with Coach Bob and wife coming up from DC and all kinds of family including puppy dog "Mugzy". I want to thank all who have sent cards - have not had time to respond, but each have a place in my room - I am going to try to post here frequently so all can check my progress. We are still working on getting Internet for my laptop in my room - they don't even have phones in the rooms here - guess "oldsters" don't need them, but several family members have spent many hours trying toget me hooked up.

I'll try to add more tomorrow - so you can tell people to check my blog from ride this summer for updates.

Thanks again, Carole

Surgeries

Hi everyone,

I was trying to do e-mails with little luck, so will give brief update here and continue for a while.
I had hip replacement surgery on Jan. 21 and was doing well at home until Feb. 11 when it dislocated and I had two more surgeries on that day - currently I am in a nursing home and have no hip bones at all. They are doing IV antibiotics and will be for 6 weeks and then one and maybe two more reconstructive surgeries. All is a bit more than I bargained for, but am told that I still should be able to ride but in a year now instead of several months. I am trying to stay upbeat and was able to go 30 ft hopping on my walker today for the first. I'm very tired and will add more soon.
Thanks for all of your thought and prayers!!
CArole

Happy Holidays everyone,
I hope you have all had a productive and eventful year. As many of you know, most of my year was devoted to training and then riding my first Cross Country Challenge on my bike. I put many miles on my bike between January and June with several close friends and three that I considered my coaches. One of our training rides took place from Frostburg to Cumberland, Md. where we spent the night at Wisp Mountain – it was a fantastic ride and Deep Creek Lake was beautiful.
I rode with an organization called America by Bicycle who provided the best support with an emphasis on safety. Twenty-three riders and five staff set out on June 7th on a journey that would take 52 days and 3841 miles from San Francisco, Ca, to Portsmouth, NH. – two more riders joined us in Erie to finish their challenge also. At the beginning we were all just beaming – full of energy, anticipation and excitement and some apprehension at what we had committed ourselves to do for two months. None of us knew each other at the onset which provided another perspective on our adventure. It didn’t take long for each of us to come to the conclusion that we were one cohesive group who were all passionate about cycling. We had come from many different places – Switzerland, England, many states in the USA – 19 male riders and 4 female with 3 male and 2 female staff.
Three miles into the first day, we were challenged with a 2.8 mile 16% grade climb that reinforced that we were setting out on a Cross Country Challenge and not a Cross Country Easy – but, all took the challenge and trekked onward! Fifty-two days and many challenges later we completed our journey.
Some of my favorite parts were; riding every day, no matter what the weather or terrain; getting to know all of the riders and watching how they supported each other by watching for wrong turns or problems with bikes; watching the scenery change with each state ; eating all of that food; getting to know our staff; being outside in nature everyday; meeting the people in our country and watching them express amazement and appreciation for what we were doing; and knowing through all of it we had supportive staff watching over us.
The riders came from all walks of life and each had their own special strengths. I really enjoyed getting to know each – some on the road, some at meals and meetings , some on rest days, and some through lobby blogging times. We observed the changes in our country’s beauty as we moved from state to state – mountains with no vegetation in California and Nevada – slowly greenery started to appear until Colorado where they were covered with fir trees.
People in our country are great – many wanted to hear all about what we were doing – one man who met me in a convenience store at the end of a riding day was very interested and then asked if he could shake my hand – the lady at the ice cream stand who had many questions and at the end looked at me and said, “how old are you?” – upon hearing, she gave me a hug and told me she would pray for me – many times we just needed directions from people and they were all very helpful. I did not encounter one person who wasn’t willing to help.
This was a tremendous experience for me and it will be tough to top this accomplishment. Since I have been home, I have often found my mind wondering back to the many happy days. Some of my friends are probably tired of hearing me talk about the trip.
Across the many miles, my body held up well, however, I will be having a total hip replacement in January. No, this is not a result of my ride, in fact it was ready to be done a year ago and the ride actually helped me buy some more time before surgery. I had no trouble with it over the summer, so I think I should just ride my bike 70-80 miles a day and all would be well. But, weather doesn’t seem to be cooperating!! If you didn’t follow my blog and are interested, check it out at www.caroletrekseast.blogspot.com
I am still teaching and probably will be for a couple more years depending how my recuperation goes. How else will I be able to afford my next trip??? My family are all doing well and continue to grow – the number of nieces and nephews have stopped growing, but the great nieces and nephews continue to bless the family.
Happy New Year!!
.