TIME FOR A SEPARATION?!

August 29, 2007

TIME FOR A SEPARATION?!

We were getting sick of each other, so I checked into the hospital for four days to get a break. Just kidding about being sick of each other, but not about being sick. I’ll elaborate.

As mentioned previously, we were staying here in Crossville, TN until August 15th, and then heading back to Gainesville, GA to follow-up with my gastroenterologist regarding the ulcers he found. Well, we headed back on the 14th, leaving at 5:00 a.m. in order for me to see our Internist, as I had been feeling really lousy, and was not getting any better. In a nutshell, I had been fighting a recurring infection that just wasn’t responding to antibiotics. Saw the PA that morning, got yet another Rx for antibiotics, and was scheduled to see a urologist the following Tuesday. When I went to the gastroenterologist two days later, I was even worse, and he asked if I wanted to be admitted to the hospital and find out what was going on. I said, “yes.”

Long and short of it, I was put on fluids and intravenous antibiotics, had myriad blood tests, and a c-scan. Nothing other than the infection was detected, I finally started feeling human again, and I was released. That first night back home, our wonderful friends, Donnie and Garnett Smith, had us over for dinner with their family. The company was wonderful, with my getting to play with Smith, their 4 month-old grandson, and the food was delicious, especially after the lengthy, lousy, liquid diet in the hospital.

Sitting around the table talking with Garnie and her family was truly cathartic and rehabilitative. I promised her daughter Natalie that I would remark in my blog about Garnett having a recipe for this amazing salad printed on the back of a funeral home fan. It may not seem that funny to others, but we certainly got a good laugh. Mike and I can’t thank them enough for their generous hospitality. By the time we got back home, I was exhausted.

We more or less spent the week just relaxing and hanging out at the camper. We did get over to the clubhouse for lunch a couple of days and saw more of our golf buddies, but other than that, I really wasn’t up for much else. I did get treated to a round of golf with another wonderful friend, Terri Chandler, on Sunday, our last day in Gainesville. I didn’t play very well, but it was good to be out doing what I love. It was wonderful to spend the day with such a dear friend. Mikey could have played too, but he opted to stay at home. Needless to say, I slept the sleep of the dead that night, and arose Monday morning feeling well rested and healthier.

We took off on Monday and drove straight back to Crossville. As of today, we are now officially landowners in Fairfield Glade, TN. We signed all the papers today, then quickly went over to the tennis center to sign-up for lessons tomorrow morning. We will be here until September 10th, and hope to take advantage of all the facilities available to us as members of the community.

For all our tennis buddies in Arizona, by taking lessons, we’re hoping to be in much better form for the winter season than when we left in March. I’m still nursing a pulled hamstring, but I’m hoping the lessons will help regardless. Mike and I are trying to walk down to the tennis courts here in the campground each morning and hit the ball back and forth for about 45 minutes. It’s rather difficult to truly practice good tennis as the cracks have not disappeared from the courts, nor have the weeds. It’s probably futile, but it does give us a little workout. I’m sure Mike will be happy to have someone other than me to whom he can hit the ball.

As of September 10th, we will start making our way to Utah. We plan to meet up with our friends, the Carters, and explore different parks in Utah with them during the month of October. We will then make our way back to Mesa, AZ the first of November. We will stop in Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska to see family along the way in September. It’s truly amazing how fast the year is passing.

Hopefully the next update will be more exciting. I WILL get some pictures downloaded too. Take care, and love to all!!

….to be continued