Moving on....again

I had hoped to get another photo for my most recent mode of transport but, alas, I'm not moving too quickly these days and the opportunity passed. In four weeks I have gone from bike to helicopter to ambulence and, most recently, to a new Saturn SUV. My brother Dick came down from Michigan - two Michigan people in the heart of Buckeye country, there is safety in numbers - with his new Saturn and "sprung" me from the Westminster-Thurber rehab hospital. I did feel liberated but I must also say that finding that particular facility was one of the true lucky breaks of this past several weeks. The entire staff, the doctor, the nurses, the physical therapists, a wonderful social worker - they are all the most wonderful caring, compassionate group of people I have seen in a hospital setting. They got me through a few very tough days and then continued to encourage and teach me how to get back into the real world....I did have one final little setback in that I developed a clot in the bad leg while in the hospital. Initially that was more than a little scary but they are treating it with blood thinners and I hope to get that cleared up in the next three months or so. So Dick and the nurse kind of slid me into the back seat on Tuesday morning and we were off finally headed back to New Jersey. Susan had made the same trip a couple of weeks ago in one day but because I needed to make frequent stops to move both the leg and the body it took us two days. We arrived home on a beautiful late morning Wednesday to a huge bouquet of welcome home baloons and I almost burst into tears at the sight of it all. Susan came out for a hug and kiss and I realized very quickly how close to the surface are my emotions. Thursday we spent with medical people: the nurse who will draw blood and the doctor who will monitor my clot and blood level. And finally, the physical therapist who taught me how to go up and down the stairs on one leg and one crutch - a bit of a challenge but after four weeks in a hospital bed I wanted to lay on my own mattress. Today is another beautiful day and much of it has been spent on the back porch reading, listening to the birds, and just kind of reflecting on how good it is to be alive. It's easy to start feeling sorry for yourself when you are "stuck" like this (and I must confess to a couple of those moments) but the fact is I am healing, I'm lucky to have my wife looking out for me, and I know that in time I will be back up and moving, walking, and even riding. Today is the start of the Anchor House ride with all the riders riding the buses to upper New York state, I woke up this morning thinking about them - it's the first time in six years I have not been part of that ride - and will be looking forward to following the ride in the papers. And I watched the Tour de France this morning. They are in the mountains now and watching them attack the hills - and the descents as well - brought back flashes of our a few weeks ago. I'm not so naive as to compare myself to the TdF riders but we do have things in common: the love of the bike and the wonderful sensation of rolling under your own power over the roads, the great feeling of reaching the top after a long climb, and the equally great feeling of taking the descent that is the climb's reward. So I have not given up my thoughts of the bike...I look forward to a bit of mobility so that I can check out the bike shop and this year's version of the Cannondale 6/13. Stay tuned.....