Tuesday, April 20/2010

Up early and excited to be heading home!!! John did not sleep well last night (may be a bit worried about the trip home). He finally asked me at about 3:00am if I had something to help him get to sleep so I gave him a Gravol tablet and that did the trick. He is still sleeping now and that is good. Hogan slept all night with Jace and I am now hearing comments about how he tends to make himself quite comfortable and tends to take more than his share of the bed!!

Coffee is made and so will go outside and gather the few remaining things that need to be put away and we will be on our way home soon. WHOOPEE!!

We were out of Wickenburg by 10:30 (drugs in hand) and down the road we go. The travel was uneventful and Jace seemed more than capable of piloting this unit home although John was sitting in the co-pilot's seat offering advise from time to time. It is a good thing that Jace is such an easy going guy!! We ended up just on the border of Nevada and Utah and are hopefully going to be in Montana by the end of the day tomorrow.

Once parked for the night we sat outside for about an hour and watched the bats fly around our heads catching insects. Hogan spent some time chasing the ball and actually tried to catch a bat at one point. He was as successful as he was with the doves and the quail in Arizona!! He handles defeat well!!

Monday April 19/2010

I actually slept in this morning. Wow 8:am - it's been a long time since I have done that! Now wouldn't it be even better if I was waking up in Canada!! Soon Marie soon.

Today is finish with the trailer, load the tracker, take the motorhome into town and do the propane, diesel, water thing and dump the tanks and be ready to head home tomorrow morning. I must pick up the remaining medications (blood thinner needles) for John today as the pharmacy only had 2 doses on hand and John needed 22 doses - which would be enough to get us home. I must email Jan (sister) and have her make an appointment for John at the doctor's office so that we can get the ball rolling on that end now. This is going to seem like a never ending roller coaster.

I took Jace for a little ride out into the desert, showed him a few abandoned mines and lots of Saguaro cactus. He didn't get to see any rattlesnakes but he saw plenty of lizards and was amazed at how fast they move. One minute you see them and the next minute they are long gone. We saw Trueman's working gold mine and lots of flowers. I also showed him the old homestead out in the desert and Trueman shared some stories about the place later in the day.

Jace busy getting the rest of the "outside" packed up and I am busy getting the bus "road ready," ensuring that all is batten down and nothing will be flying around when the rig moves. We were just about to leave (motor running) when we got company. More friends (Bill and Dena) have come to check on John and say goodbye. Had a nice chat with them and then we're off to the tire shop and the dump station about an hour later.

Home again and we meet Trueman on the road so he comes for a visit also. I guess we are not fininshing off the rest of the packing tonight!! Oh well, there really isn't that much left to do anyway.

PS: John's drugs never did come in today so were reordered and hopefully I will be able to pick them up tomorrow.

Sunday, April 18/2010

Awake early - not a surprise since this seems to be the norm. John slept fairly well I think, I did get him a couple of painkillers around midnight then never heard another thing from him. So, I hope he had a decent night. Jace slept on the air mattress on the kitchen floor and I think he slept good as well. The dog slept in his chair and not with Jace for whatever reason. I guess he too is used to his own bed.

The sun is shining and I think it is probably 70 degrees already. It is supposed to reach 91 degrees today so I am thrilled that Jace gets to experience some nice weather while here saving our butts. The motorhome door is open and I can feel the heat outside. NICE. Jace for sure, will be able to get his flip flop tan on his feet today. Better get out the sun screen too.

Busy day today getting everything back where it belongs and tied down for the trip home. John managed to get outside and parked in a lawnchair and from there directed Jace as to where everything goes. Mike stopped by to check on John and Truman stopped by to turn the trailer around and get it ready to hook up to the motorhome. John was outside for at least 6 hours today and although I asked him several times if he wanted to lie down, he refused. When he finally did decide to lie down, he was asleep within five minutes.

PS: Jace has a sun burn - He didn't need any suntan lotion!!

Saturday, April 17/2010

Jace and I are up early (and I mean early, 5:00am) getting ready to head back into Phoenix and pick John up. We have decided to take the tracker and some how stuff him and his leg into it. We had a couple of offers for bigger trucks but I think the tracker will be fine.

Off we go.........wish us luck!! I looked at my watch before I jump into the tracker and I see that it is only 5:00 am - WHAT, I say to my self!!!! Jace had set his alarm on his phone and I forgot that Saskatoon time was an hour ahead of us and the stupid alarm had gone off at 4:00am (Arizona time aka 5:00am Saskatoon time) instead of 5:00am!!! Oh well, we won't be late!!

We arrived at the hospital, got all the final papers and instruction, proceeded back to the waiting tracker, fashioned a cushiony "bed" and managed to get John safely inside without too much difficulty. The ride home took and hour and a half and actually went well.

Once at home, it was a relatively easy task to get him into the bus and sitting in his chair with his leg supported by the foot stool (the same one that I had cursed several times for being too big!!) John sat for a bit but I could tell he was exhausted - this was the most he had done in a week so he headed to the bed to lay down and Jace and I headed into town to pick up John's prescriptions and of course there is always "shopping" to be done!!

Jace and I arrived back at the bus just in time to get the groceries away and Erika, Lee, and Justin arrived to check on John and say goodbye before we leave for Canada. Behind them came JR and Mario - who drove in from San Diego to see John and say goodbye as well. What a nice surprise. I think our son Jace was quite shocked that we had made these kinds of friendships in the short time that we had been here. I, myself couldn't believe that JR and Mario had driven from California to see John (6 hour drive). Jana, JR's girlfriend was equally surprised that they had arrived - she had no idea that they were coming either. She didn't come today to see John because she had to work.

Everyone crowded into the bus to chat with John and eventually we all moved outside (even John) and sat in the shade as it was 85 degrees (maybe higher) out. Jace was sitting in the sun hoping to get a quick tan before heading back. He wanted tan marks on his feet from his flip flops so he could make his girlfriend jealous!!

Anyway, it was a good day - but LONG and John is back where he is supposed to be.

Friday, April 16/2010

Up early for the trek into town. This journey will be a pleasure as Jace is scheduled to arrive at 1:00pm and it is going to be a surprise for John. The trip in went faster than usual and I find that I am not nearly as nervous driving these busy roads. Reminds me of Chicago when I was hauling RVs. I'm getting good at this!!

John doing okay, walking with more confidence but remains pretty darn weak. Lots of swelling remains but I know that will take quite a while to reduce down. His appetite remains quite poor and I am hoping that will improve in the near future. He needs his protein and veggies to heal.

Jace arrived and I do believe John was pleased. He had sort of been dragging his ass for the morning and once Jace arrived he perked up and actually joined in the conversation. This is the first time since the accident that he had smiled.

We finally got an answer as to when John can be discharged and how he will be travelling home. Tomorrow is the day and he will be coming home with Jace and I in the motorhome. Perhaps there is a reason why I bought that fancy recliner for the living room. I think Hogan just lost his chair!!

The trip home was uneventful and we stopped to say Hi to the girls on the way by and Jace met all the crazies!! The look on his face when Erika started the snorting was priceless. As Erika would say " that is funny shit"!!

Finally back at the bus to see the dog and cook supper, answer emails and head to bed.

Thursday, April 15/2010

Laundry day today so I didn't head into Phoenix today to visit. It will be nice to just do something as mundane as laundry after the last few days. I will save visiting for Friday. It is so hot today that I avoided the outside for most of the day.

When I finished the laundry, I took a ride to the crash site. John says that he had his keys in the pouch of the bike so I thought I would go take a look and see if I could find them. I didn't find the keys but, I did find two gas receipts and a pen, all of which were in the pouch. There were still several small broken pieces of the bike laying at the site. It was kind of surreal to see them.

I headed home after this and stayed inside. I asked Jace to fly down tomorrow and he made the necessary arrangements and will meet me at the hospital. I won't tell John he is coming and I hope it will be a nice surprise when he arrives. I think this just may bring the reality of his injuries a little closer to home. John is not one to ask for help very often but, he needs help now - like it or not.

We are down to the final 10 days before we must hit the Canadian border so I hope I find out what the plans are with John and his transfer home. Is he going via Air Ambulance or is he going home in the motorhome?? Someone needs to make a decision. I think I'm getting another headache!!!

Wednesday, April 14/2010

Up early and headed into Phoenix. Thank heavens for the fancy little GPS in the truck which, I have lovingly begun to refer to as "Gwen, Phyllis and Shirley" as the girls keep me on track and tell me exactly where I need to go. Did I mention that I hate driving in the big cities - especially when I don't know where I am going!!

John's surgery went well and although he is quite sore and his leg is horrifically swollen, from a nursing stand point he is doing well. He is having lots of pain and seems to quite enjoy the relief that the morphine brings. He told me that physiotherapy was in and had attempted to get him out of bed and he became dizzy and nauseated and darn near passed out. This of course if typical for the first time out of bed but he wasn't too terribly impressed. I think perhaps he is just now realizing the ramifications of this whole situation and now realizing that -- NO -- he will not be driving the motorhome back to Canada!!

I stayed as long as I could, hoping to get to speak to the surgeon (silly me) but ended up heading back to Wickenburg none the wiser. I did however take a few pics of John's fancy fixation and also, his room was right across from the heli-pad where he originally touched down here at the hospital, Neat!!

Before I left, John did get out of bed once more and managed to walk about 20 feet and back with the aid of walker, hopping on his good leg (he is non weight bearing on the left leg ). He did VERY well but, it certainly took the wind out of his sails!! It is progress though and I was quite pleased. Now - if someone would only tell us what the plans are!!!!

It was an uneventful trip back to Wickenburg and I did stop and let everyone know how John was doing. They were all wondering and all have sent their well wishes to him and have opened their hearts and their lives to me. I think John and I have made some remarkable friends since we have been here. Doesn't God work in mysterious ways?