Update on Sue

As some of you may have read, Sue was scheduled for double knee replacement on Thursday.
The update is....the surgery went off as planned and she now has two brand new knees!
She chose to have both replaced at the same time for several reasons.
Instead of two surgeries, two hospital stays, two periods off work...you get the idea. It just seemed like a good idea at the time and it still does.
She was in surgery for 2.5 hours and recovery for about another hour.
The fine folks at the hospital (Mayo here in town) wheeled her to her room where Dave, her physical therapist was waiting for her first treatment.

I must say, these Mayo folks are very organized...and good at what they do.
In no time at all, her team had her up and walking the halls.

She will be in the hospital until Sunday then sent home with a responsible adult. Gee, I am not sure if I can qualify to be that person!
While in the hospital, she has two group physical therapy sessions per day.
All the recipients of new knees shuffle down the hallway to the large PT room and do their exercises together under the watchful eyes of some really good physical therapists.
The group concept is really neat. The patients tend to cheer each other on and push each other to work even harder.
The patients are encouraged to have their "coaches" with them during these sessions. I really enjoy participating so I can see first hand the determination these people have to heal faster and get on the road to a better quality of life.
There is a group physical therapy session in the morning. A group lunch with patients, coaches and physical therapists at noon and another session for everyone at one PM. After that, everyone has had about enough for one day so once again they all go shuffling back off to their private rooms for some well deserved rest.
I must say the food is very good at the hospital.
Their menu is very complete and easy to order from. You just dial "FOOD" on the phone a half hour before you want to eat and a friendly person on the other end takes your order. A half hour later the food is delivered piping hot to the room.
Do you get the idea that I am impressed with these folks?
I will let you know how things go during the recovery process. Sue will be off work for about 8-12 weeks and plans on spending some time recuperating down at the lake in the camper. Perfect!

The Deer Are Curious Here at Coyote Ridge This Spring

The warmer temperatures and green plants have been bringing out the deer lately. I was able to get a few photos in the past few days.





We drove out to the lake today to do some more preseason work on the camper. Sue planted some hostas and I stacked up more firewood that we had hauled out in the truck. We also hung some more curtains that Sue made to keep more of the sunlight out with the sun coming up so early. They sure look nice and I am sure they will do the trick.
Sue will be having both knees replaced this Thursday so we are trying to get as many projects finished as possible.

Under the Knife....Oh My!

Sue has been having a rough time with her knees for many years and had several surgeries to repair them. The procedures seem to last for a while then not so much.
She had an appointment Thursday with a very good Orthopedic Surgeon who is very well known for his work.
He took x-rays and proclaimed that it was time for new knees. That is exactly what Sue wanted to hear.
So on April 28th. she goes in for knee replacement...both knees at the same time.
She should be in the hospital for three days and off work for twelve weeks. That is a heck of a way to get the summer off! No doubt, it will be worth the short term pain for the long term gain.
Of course, they are not my knees so it is easy for me to say that.
We spent part of yesterday and today cooking and baking in advance so meal preparation will be easier.
So far we have made up 36 servings of three types of homemade soup, two "hot dishes" and four loaves of bread...pumpkin and banana.
For the most part, the outdoor spring cleanup is done, so that is a big project out of the way.
Maybe next weekend we can get down to the camper and get it dewinterized for the season. I really don't want to turn on the water to the camper until the threat of freezing is gone. The ice is still on the lake, but that should clear off in a few weeks.
So there is my update for now. Stay tuned for more.

Oh Deer!

It sure has been a while since I sat down at the keyboard and updated my blog. With the severe threat of flooding and a crazy schedule...well, you know the rest.
Sunday afternoon I set up the trail camera out here at Coyote Ridge.
It took several pictures, the best being a picture of this nice deer who strolled past the camera.

Tune in again. Who knows what will show up in the camera's viewfinder?